Update: I miss the gritty feel of manual winch control.

New joystick systems are smooth, but they disconnect you from the machine. We learned more by feeling the strain through the handles.

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3 Comments

faithp367mo ago

My old 1987 crane taught me everything.

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palmer.jana7mo ago

Those old machines definitely have character... but they can teach some hard lessons too. My time on newer rigs showed me how much safer and smoother the job can be. The basics might be the same, but you don't have to struggle with worn-out hydraulics to learn them. Sometimes the best teacher is equipment that doesn't fight you every step of the way.

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walker.hayden7mo ago

Yeah, that old crane taught you the hard way... but learning on worn-out gear can build bad habits you have to unlearn later. Sometimes you pick up more from a machine that just works right.

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