Northern Strands, safety is one of our top priorities. Therefore, knowing how to properly clip wire rope using Crosby clips is very important in order to practice safe rigging. Keep in mind that the wire rope clip must be the correct size for the diameter of the rope that is being used and that there is a specific number of clips that are required according to rope size.

A quick rule of thumb for proper clip installation is, "Never Saddle a Dead Horse". This refers to the live end of the wire rope that rests in the saddle of the forged wire clip and the U-bolt that is placed on the dead end of the wire rope. 

Here is the proper way to install Rope Clips as illustrated by the Crosby Group's 2015 General Catalog: 

1.  Turn back specified amount of rope from thimble or loop. Apply first clip one base width from dead end of rope. Apply U-Bolt over dead end of wire rope – live end rests in saddle (Never saddle a dead horse!). Use torque wrench to tighten nuts evenly, alternate from one nut to the other until reaching the recommended torque. 

2. When two clips are required, apply the second clip as near the loop or thimble as possible. Use torque wrench to tighten nuts evenly, alternating until reaching the recommended torque. When more than two clips are required, apply the second clip as near the loop or thimble as possible, turn nuts on second clip firmly, but do not tighten. 

3. When three or more clips are required, space additional clips equally between first two – take up rope slack – use torque wrench to tighten nuts on each clip evenly, alternating from one nut to the other until reaching recommended torque.

4.  If a pulley (sheave) is used in place of a thimble, add one additional Fist Grip. Fist Grip spacing should be as shown.

For more information on wire rope and wire rope clip installation, please contact us!

Northern Strands

306-242-7073

Email: info@northernstrands.com

Source: https://www.thecrosbygroup.com/catalog/

     There are a number of important factors to consider when using chain to lift a given obstacle. Shiny, gold, Grade 70 Transport chain is intended for load binding only. This chain is used to hold heavy items down to a flatbed truck and the gold-chromate finish as well as the carbon-steel construction makes this chain easy to spot and more difficult to break. 

Have you wondered why rigging experts always suggest a sling that has a significantly higher breaking strength than the actual weight of the load you are lifting? The manufacturers know that the rigging used in overhead applications need to have room for error. This is known as the Safety Factor.

Northern Strands manufactures wire rope slings rated up to 36,000 lbs and sells round synthetic slings that are rated up to 140,000 lb capacity. This capacity is the Working Load Limit of the sling, which is the maximum amount of weight or force that the sling's user is allowed to put on the sling. Note: These slings do not break at the working load limit. These slings are designed with a safety factor of 5:1. This means that 5 times as much force as the working load limit has to be applied to the sling before it potentially fails. This means the wire rope slings have a Breaking Strength of up to 180,000 lbs and the round synthetic slings can withhold up to 700,000 lbs.

Why are these capacities reduced by such a drastic degree?

Among others, here are 3 good reasons:

1. Shock Loading - Unexpected drops where the load can accelerate and then must be 'caught' by the slings.
2. Wear - Working load limits are based on slings in brand new condition and a safety factor can help account for normal wear and tear until it is deemed unfit for further use.
3. Uneven loading - Slings are made up of either wires or fibers that must all share the weight of the load evenly. If any situation arises where the sling is bent or wrapped around an object, there is potential that some of the wires or fibers will be taking on a greater share of the load than others.

Visit Northern Strands website to use the sling tension calculator. The Northern Strands Sling Calculator has been designed to assist you in selecting slings with enough load carrying capacity for your lifting applications. It is your responsibility to assure that the slings you use are appropriate for your application.  http://www.northernstrands.com/sling-calculator.aspx

To inquire about Rigging and Safety Factors, contact:

Northern Strands @ 306-242-7073

or Email info@northernstrands.com

Did you know that Northern Strands is the largest manufacture of rigging products in Saskatchewan?  Our Rigging Warehouse has the ability to manufacture many different types of custom wire rope and rigging products.

Here is a list of custom wire rope and rigging products our warehouse can manufacture:

• Spreader beams
• Lifting beams
• Material baskets
• Wire rope slings
• Man baskets
• Overhead lifting chain slings
• Transport chain assemblies
• Jib cranes
• Gantry cranes
• D-plates
• Synthetic tow cables
• Wire rope and synthetic winch lines
• Double braid tow rope
• Double braid nylon and polyester tow ropes
• 8 strand platted superdan tow ropes
• Polysteel fall protection lifelines
• Fall protection anchor slings
• Flemish eye wire rope slings
• Thimble eye wire rope slings
• Resin poured spelter sockets
• Four legged wire rope slings
• Three legged wire rope slings
• Two legged wire rope slings
• Multi legged wire rope slings
• Harrow cable assemblies
• Tow cables for tractors
• Draw bar assemblies
• Custom threaded studs
• Rail car puller wire rope
• Miscellaneous wire rope assemblies
• Overhead alloy chain assemblies
• Grade 100 overhead lifting chain assemblies
• Galvanized stainless steel wire rope assemblies
• Logging chokers
• Swagged sockets

We also fabricate custom lifting devices for mining, construction, agriculture industries. 

Here are some examples of custom lifting devices we've produced:

• Custom plate lifters
• Coil lifters

Examples of products we've fabricated lifting devices for:

• Concrete blocks
• Secan containers

All of Northern Strands rigging products come with a certificate of compliance.

Northern Strands rigging division has technically trained sales staff that can assist you with the development of rigging and lifting plans.   

Contact us today for a quote on your next custom wire rope or rigging product.  Phone 306-242-7073,  email sales@northernstrands.com or visit our website http://www.northernstrands.com/wire-rope-rigging.aspx

Did you know Northern Strands has been locally owned and operated for over 45 years?

On June 1st Northern Strands hosted the Crosby Shrimp Boil and Rigging Training event.  Crosby picks only 4 companies a year in North America to host this event.  It took months of careful planning and teamwork to make the event a success.  

We started at the Travelodge for Rigging Training.  We had excellent attendance for the Crosby Rigging Course.  Over 80 people attend training!  Crosby Group gave an excellent course on rigging.  The Crosby trainer covered everything from rigging inspection to how the working load limit can vary between different types of rigging hardware.

Did you know that Northern Strands offers a variety of safety training courses? i.e. Fall Arrest Training, Rigging Training, Winch Training, First Aid Training, Suspended Access Training, Wirelock Socketing Training, Emergency Medical Responder Training, Medical First Responder Training, Intermediate First Aid Training and more.

After training, we all headed over to Northern Strands for the second half of our event.  The Crosby Shrimp Boil!  This is the part everyone was waiting for.  The meal consisted of sausage, peppers, corn, mushrooms, baby potatoes and of course shrimp.  See the attached PDF for the full recipe.

Shrimp boil dinner.pdf (138.67 kb)

At the Shrimp Boil we provided demonstrations on Northern Strands new Mobile Test Center.   We pulled rigging to destruction and showed how damaged rigging will readily break below the working load limit.  Our new Mobile Test Center was engineered and fabricated for Northern Strands by our sister company Fortis Mining Engineering & Manufacturing.  

Northern Strands is now offering free, "Is Your Rigging Safe Demonstration's" to qualified customers.  We will bring our Mobile Test Center on site for your demonstration.  See the attached brochure for detail on how to book your rigging safety demonstration.

Is Your Rigging Safe Demonstration Brochure.pdf (1.25 mb)

In addition to the pull to destruction demonstrations, we offered tours of our Northern Strands rigging warehouse facilities.  We had employees giving demonstrations on how we fabricate 1" wire rope slings in our sling bay.

Northern Strands would like to thank all of our clients that attended the Northern strands Shrimp Boil and Training Event.  We hope you all enjoyed the training, dinner, pull testing demonstrations and tours of our rigging warehouse.  

Here are a few more great pictures from the Northern Strands Crosby Shrimp Boil!