Overhead Crane Attachments Compared: C Hooks, Grabs, and Tongs

Four attachments cover most overhead crane coil and slab handling: the C hook lifts through the coil's eye, the coil grab and coil tong both clamp the coil's outer diameter by different mechanisms, and the slab tong grips flat slabs rather than coils. The C hook reaches up to 70 ton and the others up to 45 ton — the differences are in grip point, material shape, and mechanism.

C Hook

Drops through the coil eye and lifts from the inner diameter on a counterweighted, curved saddle that hangs level when empty. Coil ID range is 508–762 mm (customizable). Available in counter weight, spring, and container load variants, the last for shipping container loading. Best where the coil eye is clean and accessible. Our C hook types and selection guide covers sizing and SWL in depth.

Coil Grab

Mechanically clamps the coil's outer (or inner) diameter with no external power needed. Coil diameter range is 1067–1880 mm (42"–74"). Standard, solid bar, and motorised rotation variants are available. Best where the eye isn't a reliable grip point, or where you want a purely mechanical attachment with no hydraulic or electric system to maintain — coil grab vs C hook takes that pairing head-to-head.

Coil Tong

Clamps the coil's outer diameter with a pair of arms, in manual, hydraulic, or motorised variants. Coil OD range is 800–2000 mm (customizable), with adjustable jaw opening covering a wider size range than a fixed grab. Best where coil sizes vary and you want one attachment to adjust across them, or where powered clamping control is useful. See our coil tong types and selection guide for the variants.

Slab Tong

Grips flat steel slabs rather than round coils, with full-range automatic adjustment and an auto-latch mechanism for secure gripping. Handles slab widths 150–760 mm and lengths 600–3000 mm, in automatic, slab-and-bar, and high-temperature variants for hot slab handling. This is the attachment for slab-shaped material — none of the coil attachments above are built for flat stock. Our slab tong selection guide covers sizing by slab width.

Side-by-side

Choosing the right attachment

Start with material shape: slabs need a slab tong, full stop. For coils, check the eye — clean and accessible favors a C hook; small, obstructed, or inconsistent favors a coil grab or coil tong instead. Between grab and tong, a grab is the simpler mechanical option with a fixed diameter range, while a tong's adjustable jaw and optional powered clamping suit operations handling a wider mix of coil sizes. Many steel service centers and mills keep more than one of these on hand and match the attachment to the batch rather than standardizing on a single type across all their material.