Safety Thimble for Steel Cable?

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Did a search and this is the only one I came up with

Looks good, but at $130 bucks, it's pretty spendy


Any other options out there?

 

[80t0ylc]

Did a search and this is the only one I came up with ............... Looks good, but at $130 bucks, it's pretty spe
ndy

Any other options out there?

Yeah, save your money.

[URL="http://www.fuelslut.net/ihost/files/123/safetythimblesteelcable11.jpg"][URL="http://www.fuelslut.net/ihost/files/123/safetythimblesteelcable11.jpg"][/URL][/URL]

As an example, in this pic if they just left the hook on the cable and hooked it on the D-ring, the thimble is un-necessary. 'bout the only thing it would excel at would be keeping tension on your fully wound cable. But if you got money to burn and like bling - go for it!

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Yeah, save your money.

[URL="http://www.fuelslut.net/ihost/files/123/safetythimblesteelcable11.jpg"][URL="http://www.fuelslut.net/ihost/files/123/safetythimblesteelcable11.jpg"][/URL][/URL]

As an example, in this pic if they just left the hook on the cable and hooked it on the D-ring, the thimble is un-necessary. 'bout the only thing it would excel at would be keeping tension on your fully wound cable.

There are a number of reasons why I want one (besides bling)


1) Flat base...

Flat mating surface won't get stuck or damage a fair lead when winched in like a hook or D-ring....

2) The standard hole will force me to go into my recovery gear and use the proper sized hook, clevis or D-ring for each pull....

A while back, I had to pull a buddy out of a deep mud hole where he had been stuck for days...

Handed him the cable with a standard hook and had him make the connection cause I wasn't about to go waste deep in muck for anyone

Thing is, his tow loop was slightly larger than the hook, so when I started winching him out, it snapped in place

Took 4 minutes to winch him out and over 40 minutes trying to get the damn hook off his tow loop

Had to bash it off with a mini sledge and ended up ruining the spring latch


3) No rattles

4) Looks cleaner than a crooked hook or one connected to a recovery point...

But if you got money to burn and like bling - go for it!

I don't, that's why I asked if there was a less expensive option out there

 

[cruiserjunkie]

They make the rubber stopper you can put behind the hook to keep it out of the hawse

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

They make the rubber stopper you can put behind the hook to keep it out of the hawse

The two rubbers ones I know of are both cumbersome

I had one of these on my Golf Cart and it worked well for keeping the hook in place, but sliding up and down the line while winching meant having one more thing to look out for

We have these on our fleet trucks, but they also slide down the line when winching on an incline as well as making the hooks stick out too far

 

[Southeast Overland]

Those are a new trick solution that just came out on the market. A bit pricey but seem to be well made. I don't know of a faster way to put a machined aluminum thimble on a wire cable. If I ran cable and wanted this type of machined aluminum thimble it would be the way I'd go (and I don't even sell these...).

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Those are a new trick solution that just came out on the market. A bit pricey but seem to be well made. I don't know of a faster way to put a machined aluminum thimble on a wire cable. If I ran cable and wanted this type of machined aluminum thimble it would be the way I'd go (and I don't even sell these...).

Yeah, it looks like a quality piece, just out of my budget right now

Last night I tried one of my D-Rings and although it looks much better than the standard hook, the cable loop barely fit over the pin (I actually had to press it in with a vise) and when after spooling it in, I had to put A LOT of tension to keep it from rattling

Also, because the loop is vertical, it got smushed between the fairlead and will probably need to be pried loose

 

[Southeast Overland]

Yeah, it looks like a quality piece, just out of my budget right now

Last night I tried one of my D-Rings and although it looks much better than the standard hook, the cable loop barely fit over the pin (I actually had to press it in with a vise) and when after spooling it in, I had to put A LOT of tension to keep it from rattling

Also, because the loop is vertical, it got smushed between the fairlead and will probably need to be pried loose

If you spool in your line more evenly you won't have to use so much tension to keep the rattles away. When your line is spooled in loose like that you have to put more tension on the thimble/hook to compress the loose line on the spool to keep the rattles away.

You could install a hook with a link and that would allow you to attach your hook to a recovery point via a shackle but on your bumper that would put the hook down low and in jeopardy of being hit by a rock or similar when wheeling.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

If you spool in your line more evenly you won't have to use so much tension to keep the rattles away. When your line is spooled in loose like that you have to put more tension on the thimble/hook to compress the loose line on the spool to keep the rattles away.

It's not the cable that rattles, it's the black part of the D-ring because the cable eyelet doesn't clear the fair lead when vertical

The round ends on the D-ring don't even touch the fair lead unless I put a bunch of tension on it (squeezing the eyelet between the slot)

The safety thimble will allow the eyelet to rest horizontally, so there's no clearance issues

 

[Southeast Overland]

It's not the cable that rattles, it's the black part of the D-ring because the cable eyelet doesn't clear the fair lead when vertical

The round ends on the D-ring don't even touch the fair lead unless I put a bunch of tension on it (squeezing the eyelet between the slot)

The safety thimble will allow the eyelet to rest horizontally, so there's no clearance issues

We are on the same page. I was saying that the shackle will rattle and extra tension will have to be put on the cable to compress the loose wraps - but - I didn't realize how pinched the thimble area was. How bad are you compressing the line? If you are compressing it too much it won't be good for the cable.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

How bad are you compressing the line? If you are compressing it too much it won't be good for the cable.

I don't think it's enough to cause damage, but it is more than I like

I'm thinking about adding some rubber boots to the D-ring to help space it out

 

[Gottagetone]

There are a number of reasons why I want one (besides bling)


1) Flat base...

Flat mating surface won't get stuck or damage a fair lead when winched in like a hook or D-ring....

2) The standard hole will force me to go into my recovery gear and use the proper sized hook, clevis or D-ring for each pull....

A while back, I had to pull a buddy out of a deep mud hole where he had been stuck for days...

Handed him the cable with a standard hook and had him make the connection cause I wasn't about to go waste deep in muck for anyone

Thing is, his tow loop was slightly larger than the hook, so when I started winching him out, it snapped in place

Took 4 minutes to winch him out and over 40 minutes trying to get the damn hook off his tow loop

Had to bash it off with a mini sledge and ended up ruining the spring latch


3) No rattles

4) Looks cleaner than a crooked hook or one connected to a recovery point...






I don't, that's why I asked if there was a less expensive option out there

I like the look of the thimble and the cool factor is certainly there but the reason above is why you use a D-ring attached to the strap then hook to the ring. Hooking directly to the strap is not safe and could end up turning that hook into a projectile.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

I like the look of the thimble and the cool factor is certainly there but the reason above is why you use a D-ring attached to the strap then hook to the ring. Hooking directly to the strap is not safe and could end up turning that hook into a projectile.

This is why I like the thimble

It forces you to use the correct gear for the job and doesn't allow you to take short cuts

 

[Southeast Overland]

I like the look of the thimble and the cool factor is certainly there but the reason above is why you use a D-ring attached to the strap then hook to the ring. Hooking directly to the strap is not safe and could end up turning that hook into a projectile.

Using a proper hook such as one by Excel is fine. It has a heavy gate but still you should never load the gate as the gate is not meant to hold any weight and would put the hook in a side load situation.

Now some of the hooks I see on budget lines are a different story. I wouldn't use them at anytime.