We are starting to see increased incidents of hammer cable failures. We have tried dozens of cable reels for the hammer cable. The cable is very stiff and has significant memory making it very prone to tangling and challenging to wind. If the cable is not carefully untangled and pulled on it can cause the cable to fail. Not as often as the delicate accelerometer cable, but often enough to be of concern. The Cord-A-Way reel used by MLI is difficult to source, is not very durable (jams and breaks is not used properly) and puts a lot of stress on the midpoint of the cable where it hooks. We have tried 3D printing different designs without success.
The cable is too stiff to perform the figure eight, over and under technique, as with the accelerometer cable, to prevent tangling. Simply winding the cable around your hand will not uncoil properly. We have shown in our prior training the technique of folding the cable length in half prior to winding. That will work if one is careful to keep the each wind of the coil in front of the half way loop, but that has proven to be difficult to master. We have come upon a better solution.
- Unwind the cable, remove any kinks and stretch it out to its full length.
- Bring the two ends together and find the midway point of the cable. Mark it with a Sharpie.
- Take a large cable zip tie and affix it to the center point, pulling it tightly so it will not slide. You can also use the cable zip ties like this: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-30-Pack-8-in-Cable-Ties/50005768
- If using a standard cable tie, trim-off all but about an inch of the excess. Trim the sharp edges.
- To wind tangle-free, loop the cable over your thumb and wind the cable around your four fingers.
- Use the magnetic clasps to hold coil together. Place in kit under the strap.
- To release, hold the tab made by the cable tie, remove the clasps and let the cable unwind on its own.
- Shake the cable and run a finger between the cables to separate them.
