[TowerTalk] HOIST BELTS

[Jim Lux]

At 10:09 AM 9/11/2005, TOMMY HALIBURTON wrote:
>To All,
>
>Does anyone have a source for the nylon/synthetic belts one uses for 
>hoisting purposes? I am about to raise my antenna and a couple of the 
>belts would be quite handy. Thanks for any assistance,
>
>Semper Fi,


Are you talking about "slings"?  Check the yellow pages phone book under 
Rigging - Supplies.  Industrial suppliers like MSC http://www.msc.com  or 
W.W. Grainger http://www.grainger.com/  or McMaster Carr 
http://www.mcmaster.com are other possibles.

In the Los Angeles area, VER Sales is a big rigging supplier.

You've got lots of choices on what you get.  I personally like what are 
called "soft slings", which are fibers inside a nylon fabric tube, because 
you can wrap them around odd shaped things  (like sections of aluminum 
truss) and distribute the load. Others prefer the flat woven webs. Still 
others prefer wire rope slings.  You can get them with or without shackles 
and/or eyes.

Finally, although they're not necessarily designed for rigging, the folks 
who make equipment for technical climbing also have a variety of useful 
stuff (web slings, locking carabiners, etc.).  Be aware that climbing gear 
is purpose designed.. it is designed to take shock loads without failure, 
but also to absorb some of the shock, and there are some design aspects 
that trade light weight for raw strength.  One wouldn't want to use that 
nice 11mm dynamic climbing rope as a haul line to drag an antenna up the tower.