Wire broke on my Treo Castle ...

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Guest

Is there anything special I should do? I searched to find if there were any posts that had any info but could not really find anything. Anyone have any advice ?

ging ;)
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Emil Pampell-Tx
Posts: 6743
Joined: Tue Nov 11, 2003 1:26 pm
Location: Tx, Richmond (SW of Houston)
Martin Colony History: First started in Gretna, La in 1969 with a small homemade house, have had martins ever since at 2 different homes in Texas

Some places sell cables, do you mean the cable that holds up the house, or is it a rope that broke...normally, if this happens, you go buy a new one and replace it. The hardware section sells cables in many stores..
PMCA Member, 250 gourds, 6 poles, 2traps
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John Miller
Posts: 4866
Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

If your need Castle parts other than just a cable, you may want to call the Nature Society, Griggsville, Il. Do google search for their website/number or send me a PM. As I recall, the parts lady only works til noon or maybe certain days - ha - but probably will know what you need.
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Guest

Its a winch and pully system and the wire cable that hooks around that pulls it up and down. I guess my question is can they be replaced and weaved back thru or do I have to get a new winch system.

Thanks for the help !!

ging ;)
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Joe Zorn

ging,

Cut off a piece of the old cable and take it to your hardware retailer. He can more than likely sell you the length of cable you need, or will tell you where to find it.

Then just restring the cable back through the pole, pulleys and wench as it was before. There is no need to purchase an entire new wench system.

Joe
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Guest

Thanks for the info everyone, I am going to go with Joe and just get some new wire.

BTW... I called Nature House for info and help and I would like to let everyone know how NICE they were !!! Audry if you read this forum I would like to say thanks again !!!

ging ;)
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Guest

ging,

I have the same house. When I put a new cable on, I slid it through the tube hole @ bottom of house. Then up over pulley and down to bolt/ bracket that is mounted to house. The only thing I think you will have to do is remove the 6 screws that holds the roof in place to get to the bolt that the cable hooks too. Also you will need to put a loop on the end of cable, so when you take the old one off (washer/nut) you can slip it over bolt and retighten. I used the type of cable "crimp". It's a piece of metal with two holes in it. You thread the wire through one hole and loop back into the other hole. Then you can tap it with a hammer till it is good and secure, you could use a couple of them if you want. They also have cable clamps...you loop it through and tighten a couple nuts they may work better. But have not had a problem with mine. Just DON"T put loop on it until you get it through the tube that runs up the middle of castle and over pulley.

Tighten bolt that hold cable and put screws back in roof. The I slid house up pole a few feet and used my safety lock to hold in place. Made sure that cable had no kinks in it and attached to pulley and cranked till snug. Made sure the cable was on same side of pole as winch. Then with the safety clamp firmly in place slowly ran it up. Then if ok, raised and lowered normally to check again.

Again this is how "I did it". There may be a better way, but had good success with this. Hope it helps!

Good luck
Craig
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Guest

Craig,
Thanks so much for typing that out ! It will help ALOT :)

ging :)
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Laverne
Posts: 2216
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 1:58 pm
Location: TX/Alvin
Martin Colony History: Erected 1st house in 1997. Birds were checking it out before Mike got down from the ladder. Six cavities had a little colony 1st year. Grown to 88 cavities all gourds with near 100% occupancy. Most important factor for success is rain = bugs.

...and one other thing, ging...

get down on your knees and give thanks to your God for allowing this cable to break now - instead of when your house was full of eggs and nestlings.

Last season, one of our ropes broke on a gourd rack. 11 eggs were broken and five young died from the fall. :cry: We still had a successful season, fledging 161. But, that rope caused a serious setback for the martins nesting in that rack.

Everybody, please, check your ropes and cables for wear and make sure they are securely attached. There are many ways they can fail besides just breaking. Eyebolts can pull out of weathering wood and the motion of wind can cause an attachment to become loose and then fail. Just keep a check on these places all through the season. We now do a routine check of everything with every nest check. And I would recommend lowering the housing once a week to check it out even before egg-laying begins.

Have a great season - to all!
Sincerely,
Laverne
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Guest

Your are right on that one Laverne !!! That and that fact that it was down and I was not standing under it when it fell... :roll:

ging ;)
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Louise Chambers
Site Admin
Posts: 6208
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:07 pm
Location: Corpus Christi, TX

I'd like to also remind everyone to use a safety bolt or clamp on their pole systems. Place it above head height and always use it - it could save your head/life if a rope or cable fails.

For more information, read the article (pdf) on safety. It's one of the first links in announcement at top of page titled "resources for the season'

Louise :wink:
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Guest

Well that is one thing I did do right ;) The house was down so no safety violation here ;) I would hate to have a bunch of cartoon martins flying around my head after I got smacked with one of those !!!


ging :)
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Guest

Thanks everyone for the info and help. Everything looks great and now everything is Martin Ready !!! I really appreciate the support !!


ging ;)
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