Human pulling power

[drjbrennan]

I am doing some research on strings and cords and need to find what is the maximum force that the average man can exert in the "pulling hands apart"
action.
Not the world record, just the average guy.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[fluffle9]

i don't know where you could find such data - i'd do an internet search but for reasons too boring to go into here i can't - but have you considered just doing some kind of experiment?

when i was at school, we had these things for measuring the force exerted by an object that you hung on a hook - they were basically a box with a spring in it. you could get some of these and pull on them, or failing that i guess you could just use a spring and hooke's law (force = spring constant times extension)

so if you find a big spring that you can exert your maximum "pulling hands apart" force on without breaking, and hang a weight off it, use F=mg to find the force it exerts, measure the extension, and from that you can find your spring constant, and then you can find how much force people can exert in the manner you describe.

(sorry if that's rather overcomplicating stuff!)

 

[Anome]

What you need is one of them spring balances. If you hold the hook end in one hand, and the other end in the other, and pull apart, the maximum reading will be the force in kilograms (x9.8 for Newtons) or pounds or whatever.

Used to have one for weighing luggage before trying to convince the people at check-in it was under the limit. And fishermen often have them too.

 

[Melf]

so its nowt to do with "pulling" the same/opposite sex then? (not that i would)

 

[rynner2]

I am doing some research on strings and cords and need to find what is the maximum force that the average man can exert in the "pulling hands apart" action.

:shock:
Not getting into bondage, are you? 8)

I have info at work on the strength of various types and sizes of rope, if that's any use.

PS: tried a Google on rope, SWL, etc and found this
http://www.nawashi.com/rope.html
which is about bondage! Technical though - the only picture is of ropes!

 

[drjbrennan]

I am doing some research on strings and cords and need to find what is the maximum force that the average man can exert in the "pulling hands apart" action.

:shock:
Not getting into bondage, are you? 8)

I have info at work on the strength of various types and sizes of rope, if that's any use.

PS: tried a Google on rope, SWL, etc and found this
http://www.nawashi.com/rope.html
which is about bondage! Technical though - the only picture is of ropes!

You won't believe the looks I get when I tell people I've been perfecting new types of lashings and whippings.
I seem to remember that you are a nautical cove, (apologies if I'm wrong) so you'll understand sennits and bends and mats and slings etc, I'm a knot tyer, and buying some new cord, but the seller can only tell me strength in terms of "nobody can snap it with normal hand strength" so I thought I might get a rough idea from this post.

I'm off to do some double grapevine hitching.

 

[rynner2]

I'm off to do some double grapevine hitching.

That's a new one on me!
(Or is that a euphism for going googling?! )

 

[drjbrennan]

Pics here.

http://www.backpacking.net/makegear/hiking-staff/

 

[rynner2]

The French whipping on that hiking staff is what I know as
'West Country Whipping'.

Another case, I suppose, of "Different ships, different long-splices"!

 

[Spookdaddy]

According to one old book I've got on engineering the average human male can develop about one seventh of a horse-power or about 100 watts. For short periods he can double this. Don't suppose that helps much.

Maybe you could try a gym. Don't some of those machines have readouts so that in the brief periods customers can bear to take their eyes off themselves in the mirror they might actually be able to tell how much work they've been doing? Before jumping in their cars to drive the half-mile home!