Page 246 - The Complete Rigger’s Apprentice

twisted together (Figure 6-51B). Serve over the old exactly three turns from the old and new service.
piece for four or five turns, then trim its end flush. Lay the tip of a spike down and lightly wrap three
Continue to serve the rest of the bare area. turns back on with one of the ends, around the spike
Simple so far. The tricky part comes when you and the wire both. Remove the spike and thread the
reach the other end of the service; how do you get end under those three turns. Lay the spike back
a smooth, tight join down there? The best way is to on the wire opposite these three turns, and restore
serve right up against the old service, then unthread the other end’s three turns. Remove the spike, and
the iron and stow it carefully away. Now undo thread the end under the last turn of the other end,
then under its own final three turns (Figure 6-51C).
Begin tightening the turns on one side, slowly
Figure 6-51. Mending service.
and carefully, one turn at a time, with the tip of the
spike. When the turns are good and tight, pull the

B end to draw the last turn down. Tighten the turns
on the other side, and pull that end down. Finish by
jerking on both ends to tighten the crossover. The
two last turns should mesh into one another, leaving
a barely discernible join.
mending Use this same procedure for finishing service on
piece a grommet.
A
If chafe in an area is a recurring problem, dou-
ble-serve and/or leather. And check your running
rigging leads to see if there’s a way to lessen the
chafe.

Two-Way Service for Eyes
The best time to serve an eye is before you splice
it, so you can work on straight wire. But if you’re
chafed upper mending re-serving an eye, you have no choice but to work
service end of old piece
removed service within the confines of the eye. And it’s very difficult
here to keep the turns of the twine from separating as you
mending go around the curve of the eye. So start in the mid-
piece C
dle of the eye, serve down one side, then come back
and serve down the other. You’ll get fairer service
and work with shorter lengths of twine.

Pinned Mallet
Service gets tricky when, as above, you’re working
in tight spaces. But you can greatly expand a serv-
ing board’s range of usefulness with a metal pin set
lower end into the left-hand shoulder (for right-laid rope) of
of old ser- the board (or mallet). When you approach a con-
vice stricted area, lead the twine over the pin, as in Fig-
ure 6-52. This shifts the body of the mallet away
from the obstacle, allowing you to take more turns
in clear air.

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