Home pull tester and cable swaging.

[Paul Smith]

While building a replacement for my outdoor work bench/test stand support, I added HOME PULL TESTER as a 3rd function.

The key element is a ball bearing grooved trolley supported by a couple of angle iron clips.  I needed a steel cable, similar to a control handle cable, to complete the system.
As mentioned here and elsewhere, swaging is the best way to terminate cable, but the tool is kinda spendy.

I bought the cable at Tony's (Home Depot), for 20 cents a foot.  The swage kit was $1.24.  They allowed me to do the swaging myself in the store without buying the tool.   U.S. Boat also condones this practice, but they didn't have any 1/16" cable.

I used 1/16" cable because it's virtually identical to what comes on the better ready-made handles.  The rated working load is 124 pounds.

While I'm testing my lines and planes, I will also be testing the cable and swaging process before I apply it handles.

So in use, if I want to test just a plane, I can clip the leadouts to the cable and lift the weight.  I'm making lines, I hook up a handle and the lines and lift the weight.  Currently, I have 20# and 33# weights, which covers anything I intend to build.

[FLOYD CARTER]

I make up my own lines from bulk cable.  I drive a small nail into my patio bench (it is 80" long) and after cutting to length and wrapping the ends, slip the ferrules over the nail. I pull each wire individually to what I estimate about 50 lbs.  Since I use the "AMA wrap", they always pass the pull test.

Floyd in OR

[Paul Smith]

That was my old process.  I'm trying to upgrade.  At least up to 19th century technology. 

A lot of contests pull test by feel.  This system is intended to be used on existing lines and airplanes to guard against failure due to fatigue.