Page 243 - Barbara Merry "The Splicing Handbook"

TWENTY-SIX
Making Your Own Rope

Rope designers use methods such as the following when working with a new

fiber or yarn to get a feel for how much material is needed to make a specific
rope and how much it will need to be twisted during manufacture. Many
thousands of feet of rope have been sold from displays of short samples made
this way.

TOOLS & MATERIALS

Twine (at least 10 feet/3 m)
Scissors or sharp knife
Wooden pencil
Vinyl tape

If you are using nylon twine, tape the ends to prevent unlaying. Tie one end of
the twine to a fixed hook. Holding the pencil horizontally about 3 feet (915 mm)
from the hook, alternately pass the twine around the pencil and hook until you
have made at least 1½ complete rounds, the equivalent of three rope yarns. The

diameter of the twine and the number of rope yarns formed will determine the
diameter of the strand of rope you are making. This strand will be one-half the
diameter of the finished three-strand rope, although you will triple your worked
piece after the initial twisting.
When you have three or more yarns, tie off the unsecured end to the pencil or
hook. Pull on the pencil to impose a uniform tension and length on the yarns.

Lightly grasp the bundle of yarns in the fist of your left hand with the pencil
resting outside your thumb and forefinger. The tube formed by your fist is
similar to a ropemaker’s strand tube.

While keeping tension on the bundle of rope yarns with your fist, turn the