An overview of suspension cables, which became the accepted method of suspending Vulcan offshore hammers from the offshore type leaders. Onshore hammers used sheaves to raise and lower the hammer, but this was not applicable to a stub leader. Originally Vulcan intended for its customers to use the bar head (the bar is at the centre of the hammer on the 560 hammer on the left, between the two spelter sockets) and use a clip-secured wrap between the leader and the hammer. The suspension cables, attached in pairs to both hammer and leaders, proved a cleaner and more reliable method of doing this. In these photos spelter sockets are shown, but Vulcan furnished (when the customer needed them) swaged sockets. In either case the hammer was given sufficient leeway to ride down with the pile it was driving and give the crane operator the opportunity to keep the leader moving with the hammer without the cables becoming tight.