Wedge Grips

[Menchhofer]

Purchased the wedge grips a few weeks ago and have been very satisfied with the ease of installation. As long as the installs are horizontal, they work fine. We are having concerns when the cable needs to be installed at an angle....they do not seat well against the limb/branch. In order to get them to sit properly against the limb, the entire end of the cable bends to compensate.

Anyone else have this problem? If so, any suggestions? What are we doing wrong?:

 

[treeseer]

I've had the same issue with wirestops, even after shaving bark off the low side. It'd be nice to have a "chock" that stays in place. cut a wedge of wood to fit and hold it in place with a finishing nail?

 

[pdqdl]

I don't think that there would be a good solution possible, unless you came up with some chamfered steel washers to match the angle that is required. A stack of wedges, each with a 10 degree angle, could be used to conform to almost any installed cable angle. I don't know where you would get them though, and you could certainly keep busy making them that your bench grinder...

Any type of wood block is likely to split and fall out under load, leaving the cable loose, rubbing the tree raw and loading the cable at the angle you were seeking to avoid.

You have already compromised the integrity of the trunk by drilling a hole. Get a hammer and a wood chisel, then contour the area under the anchor so that the cable is not bent so much. I don't think that increasing a 3/8 to 7/16 hole to a full 1 inch in diameter is that significant a change.

If your tree is not likely to recover from that small additional injury, you probably shouldn't be cabling it.

I don't do very much cabling, but I haven't ever seen a situation that called for a severe installation angle.