Crack Detection in Rigging

[holmek]

I see some longitudinal scratches on the swages of my rigging and cannnot determine whether they are cracks or extrusion/tooling marks. Anybody got a simple trick to help decide?

[veda]

firstly clean well with emery cloth. next you need a magnifying glass or jeweler's loop works well. they do sell a dye penetrant that will show up any hairline cracks. but general household items are shoe polish that after you clean up the area you rub in and then wipe down and take another look for any crack holding color.
best best get a rigger to look at it. also , if you see any cracks in ANY fitting; time to do a full rigging inspection ..deck and aloft. should be done every 6 to 8 months for rigging over 10 years in tropics.

[GordMay]

A Visible Dye Penetrant system allows a quick and easy check, without any special UltraViolet (blacklight) equipment. It is perfect for quick checks.
The Fluorescent UV system is more sensitive, finding smaller cracks than the visible system, but it requires the use of a UltraViolet light source.
Dry or Wet Magnetic Particle Testing is an excellent testing method for ferromagnetic materials.
And ...
What Veda said. ✓