Curious about your preferences.

[Tantrix]

Just curious about different rigging styles. I do light and PA rigging for small bars and clubs in my area and have noticed occasional differences in technique from club to club and wanted to know your preferred methods in the following 2 scenarios and why.

 

1. OK; obviously for bars and clubs the lighting (truss) and PA rigging would be considered permanent installation. But; I often see lighting truss and PA flown from structural I-beams using basket and stringers and some I see the use of beam clamps and stringers. I have always considered the use of a basket more so with temporary installation (like for concerts) and not for permanent installation. (Let's assume that all rigging is dead hung...for argument's sake)

 

2. I presently use 12" box truss for bar and club lighting and use spansets as opposed to truss liftpoints. Is there a real benefits or downfall to using one over the other?

 

Just curious what everyone prefers and why ?

[Seano]

1. Baskets are fine for permanent installs imo, though beam clamps look better (from a purely aesthetic PoV) to some. Obviously not all beams are sling-able, sometimes the bottom flanges are all you have to work with.

 

2. Unlikely to be an issue, but lifting with a sling can offer more stability than lifting brackets to a straight truss. (More apparent when climbing on the truss.) Spansets are more vulnerable to damage by local heat sources, sharp edges or chafing. Another option would be steel slings, either steel wire rope (usually PVC sleeved) or soft steels (GACflex etc.)

[Tantrix]

Thanks Seano :) I will assume that no one else has a preference.

[trussmonkey]

Like Seano says its really down to preference and venue restrictions/policy. Personally

 

1) if money is not an issue then beam clamps are better for me but baskets are not a problem either. note if it is a permanent install you should be looking at install/safety shackles.

 

2)using spansets can be easier to work with especially if you have to bias the pick up one side or the other (if you have an unevenly loaded truss) but poly coated steels do work too. Gakflex (soft steels) are ok but inspection can be difficult (talked about in another topic). Personally I use poly coated steels.

 

TM

[Tantrix]

I use pin/bow shackles always (even for temp setups.

 

My question was intended to see if the way I do this is "typical". I guess it is typical :)

Like Seano says its really down to preference and venue restrictions/policy. Personally

 

1) if money is not an issue then beam clamps are better for me but baskets are not a problem either. note if it is a permanent install you should be looking at install/safety shackles.

 

2)using spansets can be easier to work with especially if you have to bias the pick up one side or the other (if you have an unevenly loaded truss) but poly coated steels do work too. Gakflex (soft steels) are ok but inspection can be difficult (talked about in another topic). Personally I use poly coated steels.

 

TM

[trussmonkey]

for permanent installs it is prob better to use shackles that dont have the conventional pin but a bolt to which a nut gets screwed on and then a split pin inserted after the nut to stop it spinning off. Safety Shackle !!!

[david.elsbury]

I assume those sort of bolt shackles are considered slightly more fit-for-purpose than just using a standard shackle and mousing it?

 

Edit to add question: How often do unmoused shackles actually work loose? I'd have thought it's a very, very slim chance, but mousing is still good practice... can someone elaborate? :)

[Simon Lewis]

I assume those sort of bolt shackles are considered slightly more fit-for-purpose than just using a standard shackle and mousing it?

The guys at a Crosby seminar said that as far as they were concerned, thumb turn shackle pins were for temporary lifting applications only. When asked what constituted "temporary", he said, "long enough to lift the load, put it in place and then take the lifting equipment off". He considered something that stayed up for hours, days or weeks to be permanent and needing a bolt and split pin shackle pin.

[Andrew C]

He considered something that stayed up for hours, days or weeks to be permanent and needing a bolt and split pin shackle pin.

Oh dear... Worm - Can - Opened... I'll bet this all goes all "Tallescope" on us!

 

:huh:

[Simon Lewis]

Oh dear... Worm - Can - Opened... I'll bet this all goes all "Tallescope" on us!

We smiled and didn't pursue it further. Their website is more reassuring: "Bolt-Type Shackles can be used in any applications where round pin or screw pin shackles are used. In addition, they are recommended for permanent or long term installations and where the load may slide on the shackle pin causing the pin to rotate".

 

 

 

[ramdram]

Thing with Tallescopes issue is that there are, or were, conflicting views from several authoritative sources on their deployment.

 

If you google up the use and care, so to speak, of lifting hardware then you may discover there is much, much less of a spread in the method statements.

 

I suppose it might be that Tallescopes are a bit of a "johnny-cum-lately" in the "rigging" business cf shackles or eyebolts, say. Some of these latter items are a work of art in themselves.

[Seano]

Oh dear... Worm - Can - Opened...

 

Nah. No worms in that can worth worrying about. ;)

 

E2A:

I'm inclined to agree with Trussmonkey though, on aesthetic grounds as much as anything else. Nut/bolt type shackles *look* reassuringly permanent, and compared to screw-pin shackles are relatively er.. tamper resistant. All good for the client's peace of mind.