Splicing eyes - from the Knot Question thread

[treeclimber165]

Sherrill has small (40') packages of whipping/ lockstitching twine available cheap. It's a little smaller/ softer than Zing-It throwline. I've also used 60lb Spiderwire (spectra) fishing line but think a larger diameter would work better. For needles, Sherrill has one for about $5 or you can hit the dollar store and get a package of upholstery needles. On my first couple splices I used a bent paper clip similar to how I used a coat hanger for splicing.

I have Samson's lockstitching and whipping instructions in a .PDF file, check your email.

 

[mikecross23]

Brian,
Thanks for the lockstitching and whipping instructions! Good idea making this an entirely new thread. I didn't know I was going to get so in depth when I started asking questions on Lync's thread "knot question."
-Mike-

 

[mikecross23]

Boy my gears are turnin' today!

Brian,

I remember when you were here, you showed me the elecrical shrink wrap you used to cover the whipped portion above the eye splice. Is that a common item that I could find at Home Depot or Lowes? More specifically, what is it called?

Thanks,
-Mike-

 

[treeclimber165]

HD only has black shrink tubing, and my local one only had up to 1/2". I found the 3/4" clear shrink tubing at a local electrical supply place called Skycraft Surplus. Maybe some place like RadioShack or something?

 

[tophopper]

homemade fid

Mike, here is what I use for my splices. it is simply doubled over as nick mentioned and attached to karab for a handle. once you have the fid all loaded up, then what I do is clip it into an eye screw in the ceiling, then you can use both hands (and your bodyweight) to massage and pull the splice thru the bury. This is actually alot easier than the wands

 

[tophopper]

fly splice

Here is a pic of my first splice in the fly. i got it on my second try. This makes splicing 16 strand look really easy. you have to be really careful not to get things twisted up in the cross over. it took alot of patience but i am pleased with how it turned out. I dont like the awkward shape of it though, too bad you couldn't bury the cover instead of cutting it off. The final bury on this said a minimum of 6", for extra measure I buried an extra 4".
Now I will finish it with some shrink tube.

 

[treeclimber165]

Sir John,
I like your homemade fid. What type of wire are you using? Coat hangers are not quite long enough to do arbo rope in one pull when you fold the wire in half. I'm thinking something like the bulk wire sold to hang accoustical ceilings? Dunno if it would be stiff enough.

 

[tophopper]

Brian,
The wire is electric cattle fencing. Any Menards, home depot, fleet farm, etc should carry it. I cant say what it costs because mine was given to me. i do know it is only availble in 1/4 mile rolls!
im down to my last fid with what I was given and soon will have to buy some too.

It works well, it is strong and yet thin. You can bend it and abuse alot before it is garbage. and when it is, oh well you have another 1/4mile or so on the shelf.

 

[geofore]

splicing

That looks to be aluminium wire he is useing for the fid. Love this starting from the beginging on splicing. Once you get good at it you'll wonder why you had such trouble at it in the first place. I save splicing for days when it snowed too much to work or rained out days. I learned how to splice three strand in Boy Scouts and went from there. With the new ropes you have to learn new splicing tech., progress.
Most good electric shops will have shrink wrap or shrink tubes, any place you would find an electritian buying his supplies is a good bet. Look it up in the Yellow Pages. Call an electritian and ask him where he buys his stuff.
Knitting needles and crouche needles if the wife will loan you hers till you buy a good set of fids.
Carry an awl in the tool box to untie the occasional knot that locks up on the job.

 

[mikecross23]

MISSION FAILED! I messed up my second attempt! Things were looking good but I pulled apart the connection btwn the fid and core strands while trying to get it out at mark D.

Tophopper,
I like the fid you made. Just need to find some good wire for it. Might even spring the 50 smackers for the Toss splice wand!

 

[mikecross23]

What are ways you guys connect your pull strands to the home made fid?

 

[treeclimber165]

Mike, can you pull the core back out and try again? Or was it FUBARed? I had a couple get FUBARed myself. The worst was the first splice I tried using the Toss wand. Had to cut the rope apart to get the wand out.

 

[mikecross23]

Originally posted by treeclimber165
Mike, can you pull the core back out and try again? Or was it FUBARed? I had a couple get FUBARed myself. The worst was the first splice I tried using the Toss wand. Had to cut the rope apart to get the wand out.

I think I might be able to get it out. I had just started to milk it out! I'll get it!

 

[tophopper]

this fid is made for pulling rather than pushing. Feed the fid thru at desired position in rope body, to attach simply put about 1/4" of taper core (or cover) end thru the loop in the end of the fid. When you start to pull it thru it will fold over on the loop. It should stay in the fid until is id removed where you should have just enough hanging out to finish pulling thru by hand,
This is a little difficult to explain with words, if it is still not real clear I can post a pic if needed.

I dont recommend the wand, you will find that a wire fid is much easier to work with. If you wanna drop some money into splicing, I recommend the video by Brion Toss, step by step instruction in an easy to follow format. Alot easier than trying to convert from paper into thought.

geo is right, once you master a splice you''ll wonder why it was so difficult before. with practice a 16 strand splice can take about 1/2 hour or so

 

[mikecross23]

Originally posted by tophopper
with practice a 16 strand splice can take about 1/2 hour or so

Well dang, looks like I over ran that time estimate by about, well, maybe 13 1/2 hours! ! ! Not that bad, but not good either. I removed the strands that I had pulled up into the core and snaked the fid back down and out, reattached and was successful the 2nd time. Now when I got to the end of the taper, I couldn't bury the last 3/4" to 1" of it. The rope was SO tight just above the eye splice, you couldn't drive a greased BB up it w/ a sledge hammer much less the last of the tapper! I do need some visual aid here. I'm too impatient and this is consuming me.

Thanks for the tips Tophopper.

 

[tophopper]

your on the right track! My first splices took forever too, and when i did finish one it didnt look real pretty. figure you're first 6 or so splices are just practice, youll figure out all the subtle tricks as you go!

Get the video!! This will remove all of your guesswork

what type of rope are you splicing mike? XTC?

 

[mikecross23]

Tophopper,
I've got an extra brand new 50' lenght of safety blue hi-vee to mutalate. Had it for a while but it's too short for anything more than a tie down. My first attempt looks way better than my second. That was discouraging! I still won't use the first splice for anything, but atleast it came out looking pretty good. I placed an order from sherrill this morning for the video, whipping twine, sail makers needle, and ten 1/2" rope thimbles. Should be here Thursday or Friday at the latest. I want to try again tonight but I think it would be more efficient to just wait until I can see the video. I'll let ya'll know what I think of it when I see it.

-Mike-

 

[NickfromWI]

That last few inches

When doing the bury, those last few inches can be a pain in the arse! As soon as it starts to get stop, and grap the throat of the splice and just bend it back and forth a few times. This loosens up the fibers of the cover and lets the strands that you are trying to bury slide in a bit easier. I milk a few times on every splice.

Another tip: Those cover strands which you have just run through the hollow in the rope, if you can tie a small loop on the end of that, then anchor it, you can get a decent pull on it. What I do is slip a rod or a carabiner through the loop that I've tied, then stand on the ends of the rod or carabiner, then (using proper lifting technique!) I hold on to the throat, straighten out my legs, and just use that opposing force to bury those core strands....taking care to cut each of the pulled strands just as they are being buried.

This might ease a little bit of the struggle! Have fun!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

When you start whipping and stitching you may want to make a sailmakers palm for your opposing hand.

this one is around 15 bucks

 

[mikecross23]

I got it!!! I picked up where I left off last night, clean slate and the last post by Nick helped me salvage last nights attempt to make the final 3/4" bury. From there the overlap was cake! One or two more good ones and I think I'll be ready to try it on my life lines. The splice came out tight enough that it stays put on a biner. I like the neat appearance and lack of play in the connection. The overlap is a tad bit larger diameter than the rest of the rope, but next time I can make my tapers better and avoid the imperfection.

Thanks for all the tips guys!

-Mike-