Front | Rear | Left Side |
Front: Open for Rigging | Right: Open for Rigging | Right Side |
Nick Bonner from Treestuff.com donated this Notch Aerial Friction Brake to me in 2019.
The Notch Aerial Friction Brake is 213 mm. long, 101 mm. wide, 101 mm. thick, and weighs 1530 g.
The Notch Aerial Friction Brake consistes of an upper pulley sheave and a lower friction spool mounted between 3.2 mm. painted steel plates. The spool is 72 mm. long and 63 mm. square with 12.5 mm. rounded corners. It is made from extruded aluiminum alloy. It is not solidm but hollow with 2 mm. thick walls and a vertical central rib with channels for the two bolts. The side plates are bolted to the spool with 3/8-16x 3-3/4 UNC hex-head bolts with corresponding flat washers and nylon-insert lock nuts.Each side plate has a slot and a second bolt and washer passing through a slot and into the spool. This arrangement limits the amount that the two plates can pivot to 50°, for a total of 100° with respect to each other.
The sheave is 30.5 mm. long and 44 mm. in outer diameter, with a U-groove reducing the inner diameter to 36.5 mm. It is mounted on a 22 mm. axle and held in place by an external retainingring set in a groove. One endd of the axle is 15 mm. diameter for 13 mm., and a A 57 mm. long, 6.3 mm. split pin through a cross hole acts as a handle. The other end is reduced and threadedd to 5/8"-11 UNC for 3-1/2 threads. These engage a jam nut welded to the rear side plate.
Each plate is pained black with tne Notch logo, "NOTCH," "AERIAL FRICTION BRAKE," "WLL: 1,000 lbs," and "Made in the USA" printed in green.
The Notch Aerial Friction Brake was designed for arborists. It is identical to the Treestuff TS-1 Aerial Friction Brake.
I'm not Tarzan and so I won't "claim to know anything" about arborist work. I found this description on the Big Bear Tools web site:
Two wraps are recommended for best use. A wrap is defined as crossing the top of the device. Larger loads (up to 1,000 lbs) can be rigged with three wraps. With three wraps on the device it will be harder to pull rope back while unloaded, and this is recommended only for the occasional large loads or for controlling a rigging line placed at the butt of the load.
The Aerial Friction Brake is based on a rope and rescue tool created by Carroll C. Bassett called the BMS Belay Spool. The benefits of this improved, arborist-specific design include:
- Canopy controllable friction
- Snatch function allows easy attachment to the anchor sling and the ability to attach a rigging rope mid-line
- Extra wide side plates to prevent pinching of the running rope
- Square bollard decreases surface contact of unloaded rope, decreasing friction and allowing the unloaded rope to be pulled back (more difficult with three wraps)
The Aerial Friction Brake was introduced in 2016 and discontinued 2019.
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