As far as H & S is concerned always take heed !  However you should consider what weight you are likely to lift and I would think its probable the shackle will be far stronger than the scaffold pole you are using ???  Usual caveat’s apply here !

Photo’s – when you create a post or reply there is an icon at the far right of the legend – box with a mountain in it, hover on this and it says “inset image” and away you go.

John

A 2 Tonne D shackle with 1.5″ jaw opening is £9 from Zoro (ZT1024832X). Hang that on your scaffold tube and hang your one from it.

Greensands – just to point out that at 44mm o.d. you haven’t got a standard scaffold pole, the od of those is 48.3mm. It sounds more as though you’ve got a length of (probably) 1.5inch NB pipe.

Not trying to be picky but if you decide eventually to buy another shackle or fitting you could wind up with the wrong size.

I’m reasonably familiar with scaffold tube from theatre work as it used for lighting bars and general rigging – we’ve also got 1.5 in NB pipe in the central heating system and that can cause confusion when the scaff. clamps don’t fit!

I am sure you know what you are doing but I would be careful here.

Cutting or filing that shackle could weaken it and/or introduce stress risers, which might cause it to fail one day.

For your current purpose a shackle failure might be benign, but years from now when you have forgotten all about it, you might use that shackle in a more safety critical role or for a larger weight.

Surely not worth the risk – just buy a known good make of shackle of the right size. If this one fails and causes injury after resizing it, you might wish you had spent the money ?

Why not turn a suitable solid extension to fit inside the (alleged) scaffolding pole at one end (with clamping screw[s] to suit) and a fit for the shackle on t’other – possibly with a groove to locate the shackle loop and a retaining clamp and screw?

On 11 February 2024 at 07:23 JasonB Said:

Peter how will that fit on to 44mm 1 3/4″ Pole

It won’t, my mistake early morning post. Buy the correct one for 11 quid.

A blacksmith solution is probably best  hammer it on the beak of an anvil rather than cutting away metal.

Nigel

We don’t know how Greensands is using any of this gear, or at what loadings, … but I suspect that the tube is being used as a substitute for an overhead rail.

Without the detail, and lacking the analytical tools, I suggest [gut-feeling] that the tube would fail long before the modified shackle … and also that the substantially larger contact patch will decrease, rather than increase, the risk of risk of indenting the tube.

Obviously all of this project is outside normal ‘lifting & handling’ regulations, but if Greensands is happy with that, so be it !!

The machining looks well-done, and the modified shackle may [for all we know] still have an enormous safety margin when loaded as he intends.

Note: I am happy to retract any or all of the above if/when the configuration is disclosed.

MichaelG.

“Health & Safety orientated members look away now”. That didn’t work!

Nice result.

Can’t follow your maths there Nigel, maybe 2/3 reduction in one direction but nothing taken off in the other direction so only a 30% reduction in area though to me it looks less than 1/3, say 1/4 which would be a 20% reduction in CSA