Old timer in Kansas City told me to trust the load line by feel

Back in 2011 I was running a 50 ton Link Belt and this old timer named Ray who'd been on cranes since the 70s kept yelling at me to stop staring at the digital readout and just feel the cable tension through the controls. I thought he was full of it, so I ignored him. Next big pick of a concrete panel, I bounced the load because I was fixated on the numbers dropping a tenth of a pound. He made me redo the whole lift with my hand barely on the lever, and honestly it went smoother, no jerk at all. Who else had a guy like that who made you ditch the electronics and go old school, and did it actually stick with you?

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phoenixa644d ago

I've got the opposite problem, I can't feel anything through the controls because I'm too busy holding my breath and praying. Had a guy named Dewey on a 90 ton who used to smack my hand off the joystick when I'd stare at the screen too long, said the load talks to you through the seat of your pants not through some computer. Took me forever to get it but he was right, once you learn the feel you can catch a swing starting before the readout even moves. The numbers are still good for the heavy picks where you need to know exactly what's on the hook, but for the everyday stuff the old guys were not wrong. I still catch myself glancing at the screen out of habit but my hand knows when something's off before my eyes do. Ray and Dewey were onto something, the machine tells you everything if you just shut up and listen to it.

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