Rope Guide for Winches

You didn't like my response to your first thread?

Why 2 winches?

If the trolleys go back and forth, why not a cable loop and reverse the winch?

You might do a lot better if you explained WHY you want to do WHAT - rather than seeking suggestions that don't work because of something you haven't revealed.

thank you..

Place a smaller guide to hold line straight with your desired pull.

Leaving enough distance between guide and fairlead on the winch so it has room to spool properly.

thank you..

I like the small fairlead, where do I find one like it?

Using one layer of rope as guide to spool properly the rope is possible but that is limited to 1.5degree fleet angle. For more than 1.5degree fleet angle, you need a level wind. There is a lot of design for levelwind and you can talk to your winch supplier to design one suitable for you depends on your winch rigging arrangement. Google winch fleet angle or spoiling device and maybe you can find something useful.

thank you..

My winch has a spring loaded plate that helps guide the rope onto the reel as it is winding. This seems to work well with straight pulls as you have. You won't know for sure if this will work until you try it.

Also, 34point5 has a point. Will one winch work?

thank you man..

I think you are asking for trouble when you try to use the cable as a lead screw. The guide would more likely cause the cable to twist rather than the cable cause the guide to twist, especially when there is little or no load on the cable.

Zichau's comment about fleet angle is correct. Most cables will spool properly without any guide as long as the fleet angle is small enough AND there is sufficient tension on the cable. Level wind devices (a bar that is spring-loaded against the cable on the drum) work well at preventing the cable from climbing up on the neighboring strand, but do not prevent gaps between strands on the same layer.

Will this winch be used for lifting or for horizontal pulls? Will it always have a minimum load on the cable (weight, headache ball)?

thank you men...

How about putting jagged metal teeth on the outsides of the drum,where the rope is going to be strung through and using the block and tackle method of jacking it on through the gap.

thank you men..

40 plus years ago, I operated a line skidding machine in the woods which used wire rope for skidding logs up the mountain. To get the line spooled on the drum evenly it was a rule of thumb that you had to use 1 foot of lead for every inch of drum width. For instance, a drum 30 inches wide would have a cable pulley aligned with the center of the drum at a distance of 30 feet that would guide the cable correctly.

thank you men..