Recovery Equipment

[cliff]

I have just finished making up my recovery gear. All fully functional.



The snatch block has a roller bearing in it and works with the standard cable that comes with the bulldog winch right up to 3mm cord if you use that. The extension/protector is nylon cord platted together with stainless steel fishing thimbles to reinforce the ends and the ground anchor is 6mm brakeline and some flat galvanised steel I had laying around cut to size with a size 6 ball bearing swivle from the tackle shop on the end.

As soon as I get new drivers for my video camera I'll upload some video of it in action.

[Jus]

That snatch block is awesome.. That's a gotta have accessory for any R/C winch especially the underpowered ones.

[cliff]

Thanks mate, for those that dont know one snatch block will double your line pull rate.

[fernando]

Great looking scale equipment. Love the attention to detail.

[muddertrucker]

Originally Posted by cliff

Thanks mate, for those that dont know one snatch block will double your line pull rate.

Actualy it will only double it's capacity if you have 180 degrees change of direction. For example from wich of casualty(stuck vehicle) to snatch block on ancor point and back to casualty. In this case it's self recovery.

The same applys to one vehicle winching an other one, in this case the snatch block will be tied to the casualty.

A 90 degree bend in your cable will not decrease resistance, it's only used for a change of direction.

[Big Mike]

Originally Posted by cliff

The extension/protector is nylon cord platted together with stainless steel fishing thimbles to reinforce the ends

I recently tried to make something like this (out of aluminum tubing) and failed miserably.

Is this ocean-going tackle for game fish or something? Around here it's Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops, and I've never seen anything like that there.

Nice looking gear. Props to you for making it yourself...

[70duncan]

Wow. You did a great job on those pieces. I bet you have a ton of time into them.

[cliff]

Here is a video of a spot I found and the gear in action. For reference my rig is about 5kg and the drag brake was on.

[cliff]

You will need to find somewhere that supports big game fishing tackle. Then you should find what your after. I will go through my stuff and find some brand names and titles for what you need to look for. I just grab what looks right. The good thing about using this sort of thing is that they are rated to more than what the winch will pull anyway. Like the swivles are rated at 40kg I think.

As for the increase in pulling power, I figured it was some thing like that.

Buy the way I'm more than happy to make up some more for those interested, if there is enough interest I might even look into getting a star!!!

[Sith Lord]

Forgive my newbism about winch's. The Snatch Block is obviously the thing on the right? Does it just allow you to thread the cable through and hook back on yourself?? How does that increase the power/strength of the winch?

[team3six]

this is exactly why its good to go to school. Its basically pure physics. when you place the snatch block as your primary pulling point instead of the hook. pulling out more line and hooking to yourself and pulling greatly relieves tension on the winch and allows for more pulling power.
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5188934...ock-work_.html

Originally Posted by Sith Lord

Forgive my newbism about winch's. The Snatch Block is obviously the thing on the right? Does it just allow you to thread the cable through and hook back on yourself?? How does that increase the power/strength of the winch?

[cliff]

Yep, what he said. It also allows you winch from a different angle say if there is something in the way stopping your from a straight line pull. However the main reason for the snatch block is to reduce the load through the winch. Its all to do with physics and pulleys. Basically if you go out to the snatch block and back through 180 deg it will double the line pull capacity of your winch. As for threading the cable the block itself twists to open, loop cable around bearing and secure to something solid via a shackle.

[cliff]

Here are some pics of the stuff I use to make some of the items.

1. Thimbles for the straps.



2. Swivles for the ground anchors



3. Shackles

From the boating section at one of our local stores BCF (Boating, Camping, Fishing)



From Anaconda in the fishing section

[cliff]

A link to a short video of a verticle winch with one snatch block.

[team3six]

You know clif, not sure if you realize this but those shackles are bad ass. Depending on the size of them. You could make some cash. I say this because the only ones who offer them are RC4WD and finding them on eBay from hong Kong. Or just make them which looks like crap. The other two items you posted are really not needed. Scale yes, but they just add un needed weight. Your idea of a snatch block is fine. I have made several myself, the only issue is using thin aluminum twists eventually and either tears or puts a bind on the wheel. There is one vendor here who makes a really nice snatch block made of billet aluminum. Funny thing is even a lot of the experianced drivers don't use them or pullpals. Please p.m. me about them shackles as I would like to know their size and where to get them.

[cliff]

Thanks for the that but the snatch blocks are made from gal sheet and with the way I have the bearing set in it, they wont twist or pull through. We run winch events here that require the use of a anchor. The weight factor is minimal, we're talking grams.

As for the size of the shackles, they're 20mm tall and 10mm wide. I can source these from my supplier in pack of 2 or 100.

[3jeeps]

A snatch block also helps using the full capacity of the winch. The more cable you pull out the closer you are to the drum. If your cable is neatly wound and you have lets say 4 layers of cable you have less pull from the outermost layer than from the innermost layer.

[cave-man]

A snatch block is a very handy tool to have. I never thought I would use one but a friend of mine made a few and gave me one to try out.

In the last 2 comps that we have had I have used it twice. Both times I was able to winch the a$$ end of my Jeep over to keep from hitting a gate. This cost me a 2 point penalty instead of 5. Well worth it. We usually have a lot of weird angle off camber gates on our courses and I have found that using my snatch in these tricky areas really helps.

I will not compete without my snatch.

[cliff]

Its good to know that I'm not the only one that doesn't go out without his snatch!!!

[cliff]

Block that is!!!