Chain on Smooth drum

[uncle stinkybob]

Originally Posted by unclemack

@ svHyLyte



Or heat the drum with a blowlamp and wrap it with synthetic rope

oh I like that! LOL

[deblen]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

A l-o-n-g time ago, I home made a windlass for our old boat out of an old winch by wrapping a length of heavy leather obtained from a saddle-maker's shop around the drum. I soaked the leather in warm water for some while to soften it and laced the end edges together with waxed leather thongs passed through pre-punched holes, crossed as one does with shoe laces. The leather shrinks as it dries and grips the barrel very firmly. Saddle soap/wax kept the leather and lacing in good shape and gave the material enough flex to allow the chain to "grip" the barrel without damaging it or the chain.

FWIW...

or wrap a layer of 1/4" or so dacron 3 strand or a layer of rubberized inner fire hose material-just a thot. / Len

[Gaia]

[QUOTE=svHyLyte;2115403]A l-o-n-g time ago, I home made a windlass for our old boat out of an old winch by wrapping a length of heavy leather obtained from a saddle-maker's shop around the drum. I soaked the leather in warm water for some while to soften it and laced the end edges together with waxed leather thongs passed through pre-punched holes, crossed as one does with shoe laces. The leather shrinks as it dries and grips the barrel very firmly. Saddle soap/wax kept the leather and lacing in good shape and gave the material enough flex to allow the chain to "grip" the barrel without damaging it or the chain.

FWIW...[/QUOTE

Brilliant that!

Jim sv GAIA

[Ungvar]

I would be hesitant about the recommendations to wrap the drum with leather or synthetics. If you do that you won't be able to surge the chain, which is the primary advantage of a smooth drum over a gypsy. You will end up with all the disadvantages of a smooth drum and the disadvantages of a gypsy all in one little nightmare.


I say give it a try as is, see if you can live with it.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Consider that roustabouts on oil rigs use this method to twist pipe sections together/apart hundreds of times daily... 'course, a few limbs are lost now and then...
Jim

That takes me back to my youth, they were called "Roughnecks" in the US Oilfield, a pair of tongs were used to break torque and set the pipe called drill stem, but as you say chain was used to spin the stem. It was tossed or thrown. A practiced Roughneck could toss the chain in a second or two. Hands and feet were the worst injuries. Drill stem weighed I think 100 lbs per ft? Watching them work was amazing, all the precision of a Military drill team.

We used to say a drilling rig was the only place you would work where every work site had a Pusher, and Dope came in 5 gl buckets

[boatman61]

It'll work fine.. the only difference is you can't just stand there control in hand watching the chain come up.. you'll have to put 2 or 3 turns round the drum and hand over hand the chain maintaining tension while at the same time feeding the chain into the locker..
Its a bit of a pain if not used to it but you'll get the hang of it after a few goes..

[nzmal]

Update... Living with the smooth drum and not even thinking about it now. Does the job fine.

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

It may not be yottie PC, but it will work. We've had friends who did that very procedure every time they weighed anchor. Two or three wraps of chain around the drum and a bit of tailing force keeps the slippage down to zip. Consider that roustabouts on oil rigs use this method to twist pipe sections together/apart hundreds of times daily... 'course, a few limbs are lost now and then...

wouldn't be my first choice, but with some practice you'll get the hang of it. If it is in th budget, a proper gypsy replacement would be better, as Stumble says.

Jim

It's the motorman on a land rig who "throws" the chain and the "roughnecks" who work on the drill floor to handle pipe into and from the hole. Roustabouts tend to do materials handling and other chores not on the drill floor.

I worked on land and offshore drilling rigs for fifteen years and never saw anyone hurt by the spinning chain although it can look a bit dangerous and spectacular. The key to it remaining safe is to have a plaited rope "tail" on the end of the chain so that the end cannot get loose and whip out hitting anyone.

You can use chain or wire lines on a capstan it just tends to wear them out much quicker than rope.