Reduce ratchet strap frustration

[ductape]

Consider yourself lucky if you use ratchet straps very often and have never had one accidentally pull apart while trying to make it go around the object to be secured. A friend asked for a solution to tying down his mobility cart without having to deal with either this or the way too much excess length of the straps. Cutting them a little longer than needed, folding the end over a bit and putting a rivet through it seemed to help.



Here in the US, they are generally called either pop or blind rivets. I've heard that there are literally dozens of people who aren't Americans, so there may be another name for this type of fastener elsewhere. As is usual with plastic web and rope, a swipe with a flame over the cut end helps keep it from fraying.



The end of an old welding rod was cleaned of flux, heated up, and pushed through the doubled-up webbing. Held with 1/8" x 1/4" rivet with #6 washers. Roughly 3mm x 8mm with appropriate sized washers. Missed the center by a bit, but it doesn't really matter much except for aesthetics. Larger rivets would work better with wider or thicker straps. With only two hands and a poor quality camera, It's difficult to show how the flap catches over the ratchet side slot to keep it from escaping, but it worked.
Apologies if this has been submitted before. I couldn't find anything similar using the search function.

[hemmjo]

This might be a good idea for straps used for only one purpose, so a constant length is needed. If you use a rivet, make sure you have enough turns cover the rivet when you tighten it so the rivet does not damage the working part of the strap. You could also use some quick-set epoxy to hold the fold closed.

[DIYer]

Thanks ductape! We've added your Ratchet Strap Holder to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: ductape's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Ratchet Strap Holder by ductape

tags: ratchet