Rigging the Pushstick Mini
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If you are unfamiliar with rigging a zero-fleet winch, be prepared; it is a bit different than a standard winch. If you find yourself in the weeds at any point while rigging the machine, give us a call at 401-289-2942 x2, or drop us a line at
Before you begin, here are a few important tips:
When a side of the machine is mentioned, we are referencing what you see when the machine is standing vertical and looking at the open front of the machine.
Loading cable is best done as a team. One person will need to have their hands inside the moving machine. It is the responsibility of all team members to be on the lookout for dangerous situations, and to stop the process if there is ever a risk of injury or damage.
Disconnect the winch from the Spikemark network before loading cable, this ensures only a team member touching the winch can control its movement. Remote movement is an unnecessary risk during cable loading.
Drive the winch slowly whenever hands/tools are inside the body of the winch. Always be ready to stop motion. It may be helpful to have a team member standing by to use a Showstopper Remote to initiate an emergency stop.
Before moving on to the actual rigging, let’s take a look at how the drive cable is routed internally. Understanding the cable path is a fundamental building block to successfully rigging the Pushstick Mini.
Cable Entry
To Tensioner
To Aux Sheave
To Fairlead
To Drum
Cable Entry
To Tensioner
To Fairlead
To Drum
If you intend to use all 85’ of travel on the Pushstick Mini drum, follow the steps below:
Grab a spool of 3/16” aircraft cable, placing it on the right side of the Pushstick Mini.
Run cable through your rig, returning to the left side of the Pushstick Mini.
Lower the tensioner until the plastic guide blocks are in the bottom of their channels.
Move each limit switch to its extreme position (up or down)[b].
Drive the winch until the lower fairlead is about to touch the bottom of the lead screw.
Take the cut end of the aircraft cable and thread it through the left-side exit sheave, taking care to pass the cable through the standoffs.
From the exit sheave, run the cable up through the left-side tensioner sheave.
From the tensioner sheave, run the cable down, past the fairlead, to the auxiliary sheave.
From the auxiliary sheave, run the cable back up to the fairlead, and pass it over the top of the left-side fairlead sheave, and into the lowest groove on the drum.
Loosen or remove the external cable clip on the bottom of the drum, and pass the cable through the hole in the drum body.
Leave no more than a 6” tail inside the drum
Lay the cable in the lowest groove on the drum, and reattach the external cable clip.
Begin driving the winch, keeping an eye on the cable wraps. Ensure that they are laying neatly in their grooves.
With 3 grooves left on the drum, reduce speed to a crawl and complete the drum wrapping.
The bottom of the fairlead sheave should be aligned with the top groove and the cable keeper should be on the side of the drum.
Cut the cable, leaving 5’ outside the machine.
Take the end of the 5’ tail and pass it through the right-hand exit sheave.
From the exit sheave, pass the cable up to the right-hand tensioner sheave.
From the tensioner sheave, pass the cable beneath the right-hand fairlead sheave and into the drum.
Loosen or remove the external cable clip on the top of the drum, and pass the cable through the hole in the drum body.
Lay the cable in the highest groove on the drum, and reattach the external cable clip.
Use your 3/4“ wrench to raise the tensioner until the slack is removed from the system.
Drive the winch forward and backward a few times with no load to confirm proper operation.
If you need fewer feet of travel, the Pushstick Mini has got you covered. You only need to load as much cable as you’ll use.
Grab a spool of 3/16” aircraft cable, placing it on the right side of the Pushstick Mini.
Run the cable through your rig, returning to the Pushstick Mini.
Calculate the number of wraps of cable you’ll need. Each complete wrap around the drum is about 24” of travel.
Lower the tensioner until the plastic guide blocks are in the bottom of their channels.
Move each limit switch to its extreme position (up or down).
Drive the winch until the lower fairlead is about to touch the bottom of the lead screw.
Take the cut end of the aircraft cable and thread it through the left-side exit sheave, taking care to pass the cable through the standoffs.
From the exit sheave, run the cable up through the left-side tensioner sheave.
From the tensioner sheave, run the cable down, past the fairlead, to the auxiliary sheave.
From the auxiliary sheave, run the cable back up to the fairlead, and pass it over the top of the left-side fairlead sheave, and into the lowest groove on the drum.
Loosen or remove the external cable clip on the bottom of the drum, and pass the cable through the hole in the drum body.
Lay the cable in the lowest groove on the drum, and reattach the external cable clip.
Begin driving the winch, keeping an eye on the cable wraps. Ensure that they are laying neatly in their grooves.
The first (3) wraps on the drum are safety wraps, begin counting wraps after the (3) safety wraps are completed.
After the correct number of wraps are laid, cut the aircraft cable, leaving 5’ outside the winch frame.
Using your 3/16” hex key and 7/16” wrench, remove the socket-head cap screw that attaches the lead screw nut to the fairlead arm.
Spin the lead screw nut until the bottom of the fairlead sheave is even with the third groove from the top of the drum. For reference, every complete rotation of the lead screw nut will cause the fairlead arm to raise the height of one groove on the drum.
Take the end of the 5’ tail and pass it through the right-hand exit sheave.
From the exit sheave, pass the cable up to the right-hand tensioner sheave.
From the tensioner sheave, pass the cable beneath the right-hand fairlead sheave and into the drum.
Drive the winch at a crawl to lay the final (3) wraps of cable.
Loosen or remove the external cable clip on the top of the drum, and pass the cable through the hole in the drum body.
Lay the cable in the highest groove on the drum, and reattach the external cable clip.
Use your 3/4“ wrench to raise the tensioner until the slack is removed from the system.
Drive the winch forward and backward a few times with no load to confirm proper operation.
Setting the limits on the Pushstick Mini is a simple, straightforward process. Each fairlead has a striker which protrudes out and actuates the arm of a limit switch. After rigging the winch, and attaching the cable to your scenery, complete the following steps:
Slowly drive the winch until the scenery is in its maximum position in that direction.
Use[c] your 9/64” hex key to loosen the (2) #8 socket-head cap screws that hold the limit in place.
Slide the limit up or down until it contacts the striker on the fairlead.
Tighten the limit switch in its new position.
Repeat steps 1-4 for travel in the opposite direction.
Left Side
Right Side