CHAPTER XII ERECTION AND COSTS Erection.—In stringing wires it is, of course, of importance to cover as much ground daily as possible, but this should not be done at the expense of injury to such an important and expensive item of the construction as the wire. Copper wires, whether solid or stranded, cannot be dragged without injury over the ground or over the crossarms. If either of these methods is adopted, it will result in nicks in the solid wire, or broken strands in the cables. Such injuries may not be visible and, with good fortune, may never cause failure, but anyone who has seen soft stranded copper wire snarl into a veritable “rat's nest” when removed through snatch blocks, will not deny that injuries may result from improper stringing. It is also necessary to be constantly on the lookout to avoid kinks, twists, or broken strands, either in unreeling or in stringing. When broken strands or injurious kinks do oceur, a new section of cable should be spliced into the line. It is almost impossible to remove the cable from a reel without forming kinks unless the reel rotates about its axis. The reel should, therefore, be sup- ported on a horizontal shaft arranged to turn freely, but not too fast, as all cable has a tendency to kink as soon as a little slack oceurs, If kinks do form it is, of course, desirable to remove them if possible to do so without injury to the cable. By immediate attention and adherence to the proper methods of manipula- tion, it is possible to remove a kink without injury to the strands. To do this it is necessary, as shown in Figs.' 141, 1, 2,3 and 4, to straighten the wire by pushing the ends apart without altering the lay of the strands. If this is not done cor- reetly, some of the strands will be stretched and the spiral of the wires will be distorted at the point of bend, and thereafter the cable will fail by the parting of the individual strands at much less than the ordinary strength of the cable. In stringing wires they should be pulled out through snatch * Mlustrations from Yellow Strand—Broderick and Bascom Rope Co. 217218, POLE AND TOWER LINE blocks with wooden sheave and frame and ball or special bear- ings and afterward lifted into place on the insulators or in the clamps. Any simple device which can be quickly attached to a Fr. 141.—Straightening kinks. crossarm to hold the top groove of the snatch block at the cleva- tion of the clamp, will be found to be very useful. Periodie inspections should be made of the condition of the snatch blocks, to prevent injury to the wire. If a dynamometer is used to ad-ERECTION AND COSTS 219 Fic. 143,—Derrick wagon raising pole.