Thread: Thomas winch - rope removal

I'm not sure about the Thomas but there is usually a grub screw to secure the cable end in the drum - not meant to hold the cable while winching as you should never operate the winch with less than five coils on the drum.

Yep there should be a grub screw holding the cable in the hole on the drum

You need to seperate the dog side, the one with the lever, from the drum, pull the cable out from inside the drum and it'll have a clamp or knot on the end

I have a Thomas Winch that has a grub screw holding the rope in place on the outside of the drum between where the rope enters and where it appears again. However, I have also seen drums with a clamp on the inside so if there is no obvious external grub screw, as Rovercare says, look inside the drum for a clamp. In the photo below you can just make out the grub screw.



permanent bends and kinks in wire rope can be dangerous under higher loading but the extent of damage and the potential to lead to problems is rope-specific. Spurs can break off from the kinks and do damage to whatever they come in contact with. Kinks if left in can cause the wires in the kinked region to wear faster and therefore lead to the inevitable. I'd replace it if I had kinks in my own rope.

I left my winch as 'polished aluminium' in colour. Looks quite good but I could see where the original drum colour was gold.

Maintenance I have had to do since owning the Thomas has been to 'sharpen' the edges of the dog clutch to remove some worn rounding, and to replace the roll-pin on the clutch lever to remove some lost leverage. No more problems engaging and retaining engagement of clutch.

Any pictures?

Cheers

Phil

thanks all for the replies. How does the screw come out? I tried fitting a allen key. Nothing I had fitted from the outside.

thanks

Originally Posted by rar110

thanks all for the replies. How does the screw come out? I tried fitting a allen key. Nothing I had fitted from the outside.

thanks

The exct size allen key I cannot remember but I do remember trying all the small keys I had and still having trouble so I sprayed the grub screw with WD40 and let it soak and then used a fine needle to clean the head. It was very gummed up with years of accumulated stuff. It was easier to get out after the prep work. I was getting ready to drill it out and re-tap the hole for a bigger grub if need be. After all, it only has to hold the rope in place until there are several windings on the drum.

Hope it works.

ok thanks all, I managed to remove the rope. I think it must be an imperial size allen key. I used a 5 mm but was very tight.

Next job is to remove the rope barrel so I can give it a paint. I also want to remove the lever that engages/disengages the drive so I can paint it. Any advice on how to do this?

Here are some pics of where I am up to.









thanks

Originally Posted by rar110

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, been away from the computer for a few days (good).

OK, on the shaft in the photo above you can see a large key and a collar that is stopping the drum from sliding off the shaft. There should be two keys, one on each side opposite from each other. Remove these. Depending on how often the winch has been maintained, there may be some difficulty in removing these. WD40 or similar, time and then a light tap from the end and a set of pliers should see them come out ok. Be wary of damaging the face of them as the dog clutch slides on them so the finish must be burr free and smooth for this to happen easily and securely.

Depending on how the winch has been abused the shaft may have some slight deformation around these key holes and so once the keys have been removed, check to see if you can remove the drum easily. If not, push the drum back on and use a file to flatten the shaft around the key holes as if you force the drum over the deformed bit you risk damaging the bronze bush material of the drum.

Be aware there are two springs and brush pads on the worm gear end of the drum that will fall out once you remove the drum.

To remove the lever, you need to remove the roll-pin holding the dog clutch lever in place. A simple tap with a hammer and appropriate sized drift or punch of the right diameter. The handle should slide out.

When I checked my one for maintenance I found the grease nipples were old and useless so replaced these with new ones. Also, check the hole in the end of the main winch shaft. It should not be blocked with old grease or whatever. It should also be cleaned so that you can grease the dog clutch easily when using the grease nipple on the end of the clutch housing.

Hope this helps. These are very good and simple winches. I see your dog clutch is still in pretty good shape. When I reinstalled mine, I set it up with grease every where and then activated the clutch. I pulled it all apart to check how 'deep' the clutch engaged and found it was not much. I replaced the roll-pin and found it engaged a lot more. Any 'slop' in the lever and clutch arm means that there is less engagement of the clutch. Check this on yours before putting it all back together.

Cheers,

Phil