Finally got my swing radius down to under two feet on a tight pick

For the last six months, I've been working on a site in downtown Seattle where the space between buildings is just a joke. My first few picks there, I was swinging a good four or five feet, having to fight the load the whole way. It was slow and it felt sloppy. I started focusing on just the boom tip movement, watching it like a hawk and making tiny, tiny stick moves instead of big ones. Last Thursday, we had to set a 12,000-pound AC unit on a roof with maybe three feet of clearance on either side. I took a deep breath, went real slow, and landed it with the load swinging less than two feet side to side. The rigger on the roof gave me a thumbs up and yelled 'smooth as butter!' It's not a huge thing, but it makes the whole day feel better. Anyone else have a trick for keeping a load still in a tight spot?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_logan2mo ago

Nah, you're overcomplicating it... just feel the load.

patb122mo ago

Tiny stick moves" sounds good, but isn't just watching the tip a bit like overthinking it?

zara_hunt1mo ago

Ever try using the load's own swing against it? On a tight lift last year, I'd give the stick one small, sharp nudge to start a tiny swing, then catch it with the opposite move. It's like you're steering the pendulum instead of fighting it. That little bit of controlled motion felt way more stable than trying for dead stop.