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Swore by chain slings for 6 years, then a lift in Gary, Indiana made me switch to nylon
For the longest time I would not touch nylon slings, I figured chain was the only thing that would not let me down on a job. Every lift I ran, from rebar bundles to precast panels, I reached for the chain and never gave it a second look. About 5 months back I was on a job in Gary, Indiana setting steel on a small building and the super asked me to use nylon on some painted columns so I would not scratch them up. I rolled my eyes but did it anyway. The thing that got me was how fast the whole pick went, no chain to drag around, nobody getting pinched, and when I set the column down I could actually see what I was doing without a chain hanging in my face. I did notice you have to watch the edges way more, so I started using corner protectors on anything sharp. Now I keep two sets of nylon in the truck and the chain mostly sits unless I am lifting something that will cut right through. Anybody else make this switch or am I late to the party on this one?
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park.tara25d ago
The edge thing is real and it sneaks up on you. I had a burr on a beam flange slice a strap about an inch deep and I did not catch it until the second pick. Now I run my hand along every contact point before the lift, even if it feels dumb, and I keep sleeves over the webbing on anything that looks rough. The killer is heat, though. Slag from a torch or a hot weld will melt right through nylon and you will never see it coming. Chain lets you get lazy about temp and nylon does not. So my rule is simple: sharp or hot goes on chain, everything else gets the straps.
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