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Question about a stubborn governor rope sheave
I was working on a 20 year old traction job in a downtown Phoenix office building last Tuesday. The governor rope was jumping off the sheave on every down run. My old foreman, a guy named Ray who retired three years back, always told me 'if the rope walks, just tighten the guide bolts until it stops, it's always slack hardware.' So I cranked those bolts down hard. The rope stopped jumping, but the next day the building manager called screaming about a grinding noise. I went back and found the sheave bushing was totally shot, heat welded to the shaft from the extra friction. The real fix was a full sheave replacement, which I knew deep down. Ray's quick fix cost me six hours of overtime and a very angry client. Have you guys ever followed some old timer's advice that ended up biting you later? How do you know when to trust a shortcut versus just doing the full repair?
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jakejones9d ago
Yeah, been there lol. I learned the hard way to always check for play in the sheave itself before cranking anything down. @davis.noah has a point about temp fixes buying time, but you gotta tell the client it's a band-aid, not a cure.
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kelly6389d ago
Ever get that gut feeling a fix is too easy? I learned to listen to mine after a quick bushing swap just moved the problem to the next floor. Now I check the whole run before touching anything.
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wesleyb209d ago
Those old guys had tricks" is so true. I used to think that was just cutting corners, but now I see it's about keeping things running until you can do it right. Changed how I handle callbacks for sure.
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davis.noah9d ago
Man, you're blaming Ray but that quick fix bought you time to order the right part without shutting the whole elevator down... sometimes a temporary hold is all you need to stop a bigger problem right then. Those old guys had tricks because they worked with what they had on the truck, not what was perfect. Maybe the real lesson is knowing a temp fix is just that, and you schedule the real repair for the next day yourself.
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