Had a governor rope jump the sheave in a 40-story Chicago building because someone reused a worn clip.

I spent six hours reroping the entire assembly with new 3/8" galvanized cable after that near-miss, so what's your rule for retiring old hardware?

3 comments

3 Comments

finley7772mo ago

Reusing old clips is just being smart with resources. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? That hardware gets expensive to replace on a schedule. A visual check for obvious wear should be enough. Throwing out perfectly good parts because of a date stamp seems wasteful.

wren6522mo ago

My buddy tried that with some old clamps on his project car. Thing rattled loose on the highway and took out a brake line. Scared him straight, he replaces that stuff on schedule now.

cameronrivera1mo ago

You ever see what happens when a clip fails? Wren652's story is exactly why dates matter. Metal gets tired you can't always see it. Saving fifty bucks isn't worth a totaled car.