Posted by Keith ( Alberta ) on Tuesday, December 18, 2001 at 11:02PM :
In Reply to: Winch Cable Question posted by Drew Rogers on Tuesday, December 18, 2001 at 10:44PM :
Is it better to have the cable stronger than the winch ? and let the shear pin do its job?
Of course it is better ,the job of the shear pin is to fail when excessive loads are applied , this is important because if the cable were to break it would become a whip. A good friend of mine met an old timer who had a nasty scar covering most of one side of his face. It was the result of a winch cable failure on a m 37 ( I think he crushed the truch as some twisted form of punishment).
If the shear pin fails everything should just relax or go slack.
From what I have found 3/8 cable is rated higher than the shear pin , but go with 7/16 for safteys sake ... the head you safe could be your own.
Sorry for being so long winded