Have You Ever Seen a Chain Shortener?

workinallthetime · Apr 21, 2007

i wondered if that transport chain was grade 70. hey if you get a chance take a pic of how you attach the chain to your tractor. im thinking of some bolt on d-rings for mine.
thanks man

Rara Avis · Apr 23, 2007

Chain grades...
Chain Grading

mars1952 · May 7, 2007

Hi: For those of you that want to make your own chain shortener and need to buy the parts I found a ready made Chain Shortener
Good Luck, Marshall

P.S. BTW, I found out that the orange hooks in the picture of my chain shorteners are grade 80.

workinallthetime · May 7, 2007

cant find any hooks around here above grade 43 for 5/16 chain, i did buy 20 feet of grade 70 chain and hooks at home depot for 34.00, in a package deal. i love it i think it lighter than my grade 43 chain 5/16th chain. i do have to say i still HATE the ratchet binders though, pinta to use. i made a chain shortener like the one you did with scraps i had laying around, good idea duno why i didnt do it sooner.

mars1952 · May 8, 2007

workinallthetime said:
cant find any hooks around here above grade 43 for 5/16 chain, i did buy 20 feet of grade 70 chain and hooks at home depot for 34.00, in a package deal. i love it i think it lighter than my grade 43 chain 5/16th chain. i do have to say i still HATE the ratchet binders though, pinta to use. i made a chain shortener like the one you did with scraps i had laying around, good idea duno why i didnt do it sooner.

Hi workingallthetime: The ratchet binders take some getting use to. They are slow and it is very annoying when you run them all the way down and they still aren't tight and you have to back up and take a different bite. But they don't pop loose and you can tighten the chain to just the right tightness. Sometimes with a lever binder it is either too loose or too tight.

My daughter was in the NC Army Reserve. One day they she was a passenger in a flat bed semi that was hauling a road grader. They went off the road and all the lever binders except one popped loose. Some how the grader stayed on the trailer and no one was hurt. After they changed to popped tires the 6X6 Semi-tractor drove out of the ditch and they were on their way. The binders had been secured with bungee cords but they still popped loose. Shortly after that I went out and bought four ratchet binders. I still use my lever binders every once in a while when I need more than four binders.
Good Luck, Marshall