. The problems of the stability of rope drums are quite urgent. The rope drum is in most cases a thin-walled shell, which, under the influence of external pressure from the rope, can lead to loss of stability. The stability issues of the drum shell, which is loaded with rope turns, are very important, because the safety and reliability of the rope hoist is directly related to them The studies carried out made it possible to obtain a new method for calculating the stability of cylindrical shells, which takes into account not only the length of the shell, but also the rigidity of the connection with the head. In addition, a calculation formula was obtained to determine the critical pressure of the oval shell, which gives a fairly good agreement with the experiments of American scientists. The work also considered the effect of the difference in wall thickness on the critical load of the drum. The studies carried out made it possible to conclude that the parameters of the rope drums make it possible to completely eliminate the need to install rings and stiffeners. Also as a result of research it was found that the shell of the crane drum under the influence of a radial load cannot lose stability. Studies have shown that in all cases the stability margin of the rope drum shell is greater than the strength margin. In this case, the load created by the rope wound on the drum is considered, with the ratios of the radius of the drum and the rope typical for crane construction. In addition, a coefficient was established that takes into account the elasticity of the shell-head joint. The studies carried out have shown that such initial deviations of the drum shell shape as ovality do not give a significant increase in the critical load. The results obtained are quite important, since they allow reducing the metal consumption of the rope drum shell and at the same time ensuring its reliable operation. A decrease in metal consumption is achieved by reducing the thickness of the shell and the absence of the need to install rings and stiffeners. This will lead to a decrease in metal consumption and energy consumption of the crane itself, and also simplifies the technology of manufacturing a rope drum.