Rainy days splicing

[moray]

pdqdl, that is scary!

The reason I tend to think double braid and 16-strand are more or less immune to coming apart is that they are so tight to begin with. You yourself entertained us all with your hilarious description of how tight they are. That extremely tight throat in these constructions does the very same job that stitching does: it holds everything together until rope tension generates the Chinese finger cuff effect.

Any other details on your mishap? Type of rope? Maybe the throat area softens up over time, though I haven't noticed that with any of mine.

 

[Ghillie]

Ease up there, Moray! I'm just quoting (sort-of) from the Samson Book. I'm not in the habit of pulling apart my splices like you are.

You should have a little more respect for securing the splices, too. I had a double braid splice come apart on me while I was in a tree. It was scary! My whipping failed to hold the cover tight, and it pulled apart in my hands, 25' up a tree. I didn't own a needle to do proper lock stitching with, and I thought whipping was good enough. The splice was a year or two old, and I didn't inspect it before the climb.

I never did another splice in double braid until I bought a stitching needle.

Wow, that is scary. Another lesson learned, I am glad to hear it was not a painfull one.

 

[pdqdl]

1/2" Stable braid, on a double length lanyard, two eyes and a prussic loop in the middle.

It was one of my first splices, and was assembled with the proper instructions, but I did not have any fids to use as a measuring device.

I know for a certainty that the core re-bury was not as long as it should have been, since it could be felt ending inside the eye. According to the book, that is not supposed to be a problem.

 

[moray]

...I know for a certainty that the core re-bury was not as long as it should have been, since it could be felt ending inside the eye. According to the book, that is not supposed to be a problem.

Do you mean the crossover never got buried? If so, the throat may never have been very tight.

 

[pdqdl]

No, NO!

The crossover was buried, but the tail of the buried core was not as long as the entire eye. In fact, it was only about 3/4 of the eye.

 

[canopyboy]

lock stitch instead of whip lock?

Wow, this has been an insightful discussion on finishing a splice. Thanks for bringing that up. I'm hoping to finish the rest of my splices tonight. And while I'm sure there is plenty of core buried, I think I'll inspect them before each climb now too.

 

[pdqdl]

Samson says right in their splicing book that the buried core in the eye is not essential to the strength of the splice; the two sides of the cover that form the eye are strong enough.

If you get the buried core length right, it makes a prettier eye. Core-less eyes are flat and droopy.

 

[moray]

No, NO!

The crossover was buried, but the tail of the buried core was not as long as the entire eye. In fact, it was only about 3/4 of the eye.

Ah, I was confused before, but I can see clearly now...

So the buried part of the core in the throat of the splice, between X and Z, was MISSING??? Well, now we're getting somewhere. So the throat of your problem splice was probably loose as a goose because it was missing some of its stuffing. Since it was also missing the stitching, its a wonder it ever held anything. It didn't lack strength, as you point out, but it lacked security. Your story is a vivid reminder to everyone that the splice throat is vital--it better be tight or it better be well stitched.

 

[pdqdl]

Um, well,....yeah.

That about sums it all up. I wouldn't say the throat was loose when spliced, but over a year or two it certainly got loose enough to separate.

 

[canopyboy]

A little closure... found the time to finish all of the splices. The first one was a learning curve. I think it's fine, but the others came out better and I just made another to replace the first.

Time to go climb with it.

 

[Ghillie]

A little closure... found the time to finish all of the splices. The first one was a learning curve. I think it's fine, but the others came out better and I just made another to replace the first.

Time to go climb with it.

Nice looking splices canopyboy! I haven't tried to do any tight eyes with Class I rope yet but I noticed a spot on my XTC that looks like I nicked it with something. I am going to cut it out and resplice it so I might try a tighter eye to clean things up.

Any tips on making a tight eye with 16 strand?

 

[moray]

...Any tips on making a tight eye with 16 strand?

No difference, really. It's the only kind I make anymore, and I can't even think of a good reason for a big eye in a climbing line.

You seem to have a really nice rig for pulling everything home. Next time I do a tough splice I will have to set up a rig something like yours.

 

[Ghillie]

No difference, really. It's the only kind I make anymore, and I can't even think of a good reason for a big eye in a climbing line.

You seem to have a really nice rig for pulling everything home. Next time I do a tough splice I will have to set up a rig something like yours.

Thanks. I did not think there would be much of a diffence.

I think the static anchor and being able to use your body weight really made a difference.

 

[Adkpk]

Nice eyes canopy boy. What is that length of rope for? It looks a little short for a climbing line.

 

[canopyboy]

Nice eyes canopy boy. What is that length of rope for? It looks a little short for a climbing line.

Double ended lanyard for moving around in the canopy. 45ft long. I've wanted to try it since reading about Sillett's spider rope in The Wild Trees. Yeah, too short to climb with. Just a side project to keep my self entertained.

I don't like to put eyes in my climbing rope, seems like I have more trouble getting them stuck and through tree savers than it's worth.

 

[Adkpk]

Double ended lanyard for moving around in the canopy. 45ft long. I've wanted to try it since reading about Sillett's spider rope in The Wild Trees. Yeah, too short to climb with. Just a side project to keep my self entertained.

I don't like to put eyes in my climbing rope, seems like I have more trouble getting them stuck and through tree savers than it's worth.

Interesting. Here's what I use. I thought I was the only one. Although I am getting more used to using the tail end of my rope.

 

[canopyboy]

Using the tail of the rope works for me if I need it, but I liked the idea of leaving the main climbing rope rigged high and moving around on a shorter line. I tried it out yesterday and climbed a small silver maple. Started on the ground and just used the new set up to move up the tree, from one side of the canopy to the other and then drop back down on the other side. 'Course, I'm limited with moving my tie in to about 20 feet at a time. Not sure I can throw and retrieve much farther than that though. Plus it was easy to stay tied in at two places and be well positioned for a cut or other work where you want a bit of stability from two lines.

The moral is I love my new double lanyard and highly recommend it. But everyone has their own way.

 

[Ghillie]

Using the tail of the rope works for me if I need it, but I liked the idea of leaving the main climbing rope rigged high and moving around on a shorter line. I tried it out yesterday and climbed a small silver maple. Started on the ground and just used the new set up to move up the tree, from one side of the canopy to the other and then drop back down on the other side. 'Course, I'm limited with moving my tie in to about 20 feet at a time. Not sure I can throw and retrieve much farther than that though. Plus it was easy to stay tied in at two places and be well positioned for a cut or other work where you want a bit of stability from two lines.

The moral is I love my new double lanyard and highly recommend it. But everyone has their own way.

That is what I want to try out, a shorter section for moving about. I have been double crotching a lot with my other 120' climbing rope but it becomes a mess quickly.

My last purchase was 120' of XTC that I made two lanyards and two splittails out of. I should have 60' left to put eyes on and use it for the second attachment point.

 

[Adkpk]

It's definitely a lot easier to throw the snap end of the lanyard as opposed to the end of the climbing line. I will post a pic of my new retrieval tool later.

 

[canopyboy]

It's definitely a lot easier to throw the snap end of the lanyard as opposed to the end of the climbing line. I will post a pic of my new retrieval tool later.

I agree that throwing a snap or biner end is more convenient then using a throw bag while in the tree and much easier than throwing the plain end of the climbing rope over. And the shorter length is way easier to manage than a the loop in a 150' climbing line.

My buddy just ordered one of those sidekick rope retrieval sticks, we'll see how it works, I also just had a mini grapple from New Tribe show up I was planning to use with this lanyard but haven't had the chance yet. I'm interested to see what you use.