That guy at the supply house who said 'just oil it more' got me thinking about how I treat my governor cables

He showed me his log book with exact oiling dates and governor test results for the last 3 years and now I wonder if I've been way too casual about a part that can literally lock up mid-car and kill someone, has anyone else switched to a stricter schedule after a close call?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakota_murphy901mo ago

Started keeping a log in a cheap notebook after my neighbor's governor cable snapped on a 60 foot ladder... guy was lucky he was only ten feet up at the time. I write down the date every time I oil it and give it a quick test by pulling the handle a few times. That notebook has saved me twice already, once when I found the cable was starting to fray and once when I realized I'd gone six months without oiling it. It's not fancy, just a spiral and a pen I keep in my truck, but it keeps me honest about maintenance. I figure if I'm going to trust my life to a piece of cable, I can at least remember when I last greased it.

morgan9151mo ago

That "keeps me honest" part really hit home for me @dakota_murphy90. I do the same thing with my pruning shears after I nearly lost control of them on a sketchy branch one time. It's wild how a simple spiral notebook can stop you from getting lazy. I bet the frayed cable find alone paid for that notebook a hundred times over.