Cabling wire stops

[mikewhite85]

So I've used Rig Guy wire stops for a long time. Can't complain. Way better than the traditional method. However, they seem to have doubled in price over night (not sure why??). Not a big deal compared to what you need to charge to install a support system. However, now they're basically the same price as Wedge Grip dead ends, which seem even easier to install. Have any of you guys used these?

They claim to have 100% of the breaking strength of the size strand they terminate. I see mostly 5 star reviews on the various arborist supply sites. However, there are a few negative ones that say they failed when there was a lot of limb movement. Based on these anecdotal reviews, It seems like you need to have constant consistent tension for them to perform properly. Anyone have any experience with these, good and bad?

I mean we'll order 100 stops at a time and it gets spendy. Would love to hear any experiences you guys have had. I love how easy these wedge dead ends look to install.

 

[ATH]

So you know how much easier the wire stops are vs. traditional.... Wedge grips are that much easier than wire stops. I've only done a couple of wire stops...so I'm sure you are much more efficient at doing those than I am. I bought some wire stops and wedge grips and tried both. Haven't bought any more wire stops.

I've read some negative comments about both. I think proper use is important. A part of that is certainly minimizing movement which means proper tension.

 

[mikewhite85]

Thanks ATH. I'd just hate to have a cable fail on me and want to be sure before I try the wedge grips. Have you installed a lot of them?

 

[ATH]

No...we have not done a bunch. We don't do a ton of cabling.

 

[pdqdl]

I seldom do cabling, and I've only used the wire stops. I found them rather tedious to use, but I had good confidence in their holding ability. Part of the problem was that I only wish to use EHS cable, and that stuff is just hard to work with.

I suspect that the wire stops might be superior to the wedge grips in EHS, but I couldn't find any information on that suspicion.

The wedge grips do look like they would be considerably slower to get grown over than the wire stops. If closing over and hiding the installation is important, it looks like wire stops would win that point.

Regarding cabling with EHS: The only thing I found worthy of cutting that stuff was a battery operated grinder. All the hand tools that said they could cut 3/8ths EHS would have taken a far stronger person than myself to pull off. It probably didn't help that I was unwilling to spend $350 for a tool I would probably lose before I needed it again, and wouldn't get paid for by the job at hand.

 

[mikewhite85]

We use angle grinders to cut ehs. One on the ground and one in the tree! I'm always breaking those wafer disks.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think Im going to try out those wedge grips on some simpler cabling jobs and see how they hold up.

 

[ATH]

regarding cutting:
I use angle grinder. I tried a cheap diamond bit and it cut slower. I've heard good diamond bits are worth it. I'll probably pick up a Diablo bit next time I am in a Home Depot.

I have also heard that a battery operated bandsaw is the shizzle for cutting cable and bolts. No sparks. No kickback.

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Metalworking/Band-Saws/2429-20
I haven't bought it because we don't do a ton of cabling and because I don't want yet another battery platform (don't have any other 12V and the 18V is a bigger saw that I'd want in the tree).

 

[pdqdl]

EHS cable will eat up any kind of saw blade, and replacement blades cost much more than the cheap cutting disks.

A diamond blade will not perform well in any kind of ferrous metal. I wouldn't think of it. Now a cubic boron nitride (cBN) wheel might be just the ticket. They work great on chainsaw grinders, and they don't really throw sparks. I've never seen a 1/8th inch thick CBN wheel, but there is a whole lot of stuff I've never seen. Finding one might be tricky...

That being said, CBN wheels do throw lots of sharp metal filings. I'm not sure that up in a tree sparkly grindings would be any worse than damn sharp filings.

 

[ATH]

This one says it is specifically for cutting metal and it lists several ferrous metals. I'm not saying I've used it and that it works...but that is the designed application. Don't know if it would work in EHS or not. Like i said, I have a cheaper one...it makes the cut, just slower. However it is far less likely to break as well.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/DIABLO-...Metal-Cutting-DDD045DIA101F/301454106#overlay

 

[sean donato]

There are a few diamond wheels for angle grinders out there, I've used Lenox brand wheels of several varieties, and constantly gone back to a abrasive cut wheel. The diamond wheels to last longer, but take more power to cut with and take longer to cut with. Not what i would want to be using in a tree. A pack of pearl abrasive cut wheels is pretty cheap and they cut through cable fast. Can't comment on this specific cable but we have 1 1/2" winch cable at work and it's a quick job to cut a tail off the drum with the pearl wheels. Not so much with the Lenox diamond wheels.