Tree Cabling Tools and Accessories

Buying guide

What goes in a cabling kit

Match the auger bit to the hardware: the hole should be about 1/16 in larger than the bolt or rod so it slides through without play. Ship augers clear chips well in green wood, and a longer bit lets you bore through a wide stem in one pass. Keep a second bit of each size, because a dull or bent auger is the usual reason a hole wanders.

For cable, you need a way to take up slack before you terminate it. A cable grip and a small come-along let you snug the line so it sits with a little slack in calm air, as ANSI A300 Part 3 describes, rather than drum tight. A proper cable cutter gives a square end that seats in a dead-end grip; bolt cutters crush strands and fray the end.

Working at height with cabling tools

Most cabling is done from a rope or a lift in the upper crown, so tools need lanyards or a bag. A nylon cable basket keeps a coil of EHS cable organized and feeds it out without kinks. A lag spinner on a drill makes eye lags far faster to install and keeps the lag straight in the hole.

Inspect the tools as you would any other gear: replace augers with chipped spurs, keep grip jaws clean so they bite the cable, and check that cutters still close fully. Follow the hardware maker's instructions and the A300 standard for where and how high to install a system.