On 09/28/2014 11:50 AM, Danny D. wrote:
OFWW wrote, on Sat, 27 Sep 2014 23:55:45 -0700:

If you installed these without lock washers I would recommend you go
back up and at least put nylock nuts as safety nuts. Heating and
cooling will cause those nuts to walk off the u-bolts.

Thank you for that safety suggestion!
That is a good point. Safety is paramount.

This treehouse 50 feet in the air in the redwoods has to outlast us
and it has be safe at all times.

Since we didn't use lock washers on the steel clamps, I will advise
my neighbor and I will snap a picture of the results for you.
....

I don't believe there's any reason to think the environmental thermal
cycling has any chance of loosening those sufficiently to worry over
from that standpoint.

We've got several miles of cable in feedlot fences with the same style
cable clamps with tension on them sufficient for retaining cattle while
working them. They've been installed w/o lock washers for some 60 yr in
SW KS which is quite extreme in both temperatures and particularly in
changing in extremes over very short time frames relative to CA redwood
country. Not a single one has come loose on its own in that time.

What I'd suggest and use would be

a) at least two/ location, preferably three, and

b) for looped connections (very few in this application; the cables are
terminated at the clamps which are welded to rod)(+), we also used
compression connector at the end to hold the cut end to the running cable.

(+) The rod is then connected via a turnbuckle for takeup tensioning to
a second rod which penetrates the end post/tie.

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