Chicago grips are wire-pulling grips with hinged jaws that clamp harder as tension rises, holding a conductor, messenger or guy wire without crushing it. They hook to a come-along or hand hoist to tension service drops, messengers and overhead conductors, or to grab a cable for a short, hard pull. Line crews also call them come-along grips.
Put the Chicago grips on the messenger and crank it with the come-along until the sag is out.
Also heard as
- Chicagos
- come-along grip
- wire grip
Related terms
Tugger
Portable powered cable puller that winds rope on a capstan to pull wire through long or heavy conduit runs.
Weatherhead
Hooded fitting on top of a service mast where overhead service wires enter the conduit, keeping rain out.
Stinger
Lead that drops from a pole-top fuse cutout to a transformer's primary bushing, in lineman and service talk.