BLP BLOG

By the Bishop Lifting Team • Riggers, Fabricators & Inspectors Since 1984 • 40+ Branch Locations QUICK ANSWER A chain fall is a manual chain hoist. Same tool, different name. "Chain fall," "chain block," and "chain hoist" all describe the same family of equipment: a hook-suspended hoist that lifts a load on steel chain through gear reduction. The name you use usually depends on the trade you learned in. What actually matters is which type you run — hand chain, lever, or ele…

By the Bishop Lifting Team • Riggers, Fabricators & Inspectors Since 1984 • 40+ Branch Locations • Last updated August 2026 7x19 wire rope is rated stronger than 7x7 at the same diameter, but the margin is small and it is the wrong reason to pick one over the other. 7x7 is stiffer and wears better in a straight run. 7x19 bends tighter, survives more cycles over a sheave or drum, and is the construction we stock in every size. The chart below gives verified breaking strength b…

By the Bishop Lifting Team • Riggers, Fabricators & Inspectors Since 1984 • 40+ Branch Locations • Last updated August 2026 A chain grade is a number that tells you the nominal strength of the steel in the links, and by extension what the chain is allowed to do. Grades 30, 43, and 70 are carbon steel and are for pulling, towing, and tying down loads. Grades 80, 100, and 120 are heat-treated alloy steel and are the only grades permitted for overhead lifting. Same size link, ve…

By the Bishop Lifting Team • Riggers, Fabricators & Inspectors Since 1984 • 40+ Branch Locations A wire rope is only as strong as the fitting on the end of it. Attach that fitting the wrong way and you give away a fifth of the rope's strength before the load ever leaves the ground. Termination efficiency is the number that tells you how much of the rope you actually get to keep, and it ranges from 80% to 100% depending on which fitting you choose and whether it was installed corre…