3 strand eye splice in old report

[srah1953]

Hi All
I'm trying to do an eye splice in used 18mm 3 strand rope. I washed the rope twice in the washing machine and soaked it in the bath for a couple of days as well but it is still quite stiff and very difficult to separate the strands to make the splice. I was wondering if any old rope hands had a suggestion as to how to make it work. While the rope is used, it is not over used and has plenty of life left. Nice and white too.
Thanks

 

[sailorman]

Hi All
I'm trying to do an eye splice in used 18mm 3 strand rope. I washed the rope twice in the washing machine and soaked it in the bath for a couple of days as well but it is still quite stiff and very difficult to separate the strands to make the splice. I was wondering if any old rope hands had a suggestion as to how to make it work. While the rope is used, it is not over used and has plenty of life left. Nice and white too.
Thanks

it sounds like you are using old 3 strand nylon

 

[lustyd]

with 3 strand don't try to push into it, just twist it and the gaps appear even on quite stiff stuff

 

[boaterbaz]

As lusty says, twist anti clockwise and the lays will open, use a fid to open further if required. Those Vee shaped ones work well. Tape up the ends of the three strands. Tapering them off also helps.

 

[knuterikt]

Use one of these (Swedish fid)

 

[srah1953]

Thanks for the replies.
It is nylon and have been using a fid as illustrated. Still not easy.
I have managed to complete one, hard work and it doesn't look pretty.
One of the problems is that the strands being pulled through twist and because of the tightness of the standing part, they are hard to pull through. A solution I've used is to untwist these strands before trying to get them through but I don't think one is supposed to do that.

PS How did I get the title wrong

 

[johnalison]

No. You need to keep the strands fully twisted or it will look awful and maybe lose strength. It really should be a straightforward job. Even a Phillips scewdriver can help a bit.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

The ideas mentioned so far are the way to do it; open the stands by twisting the rope against the lay, and use a swedish fid, provided the rope is not too hard - if it's too hard, you'll bend the fid.

I once (more than 40 years ago!) had to splice some cotton (I think) rope that my father bought - it was originally for making drive belts in mills, so it was incredibly hard-laid, and also impregnated with graphite as a lubricant! It was also a collapsed coil; anyone who has dealt with a collapsed coil will know what a job it was to untangle it. The only way I could open it was with an enormous fid designed for wire-splicing (it had a "screwdriver" end), and even then it wasn't easy; it was too hard-laid to open by twisting it. But it made great shore-lines for our mooring!

 

[boaterbaz]

If the individual stands are unlaying, try and twist them clockwise as you pull them through each tuck. the strands are laid up clockwise to make the finished rope whereas the individual "stringy bits" dont know the correct terminology are laid up in the opposite direction.

 

[LadyInBed]

quite stiff and very difficult to separate the strands

Sounds like the rope has a tight lay.
Bind / fuse each of the three strands.
Bind the rope where you expect the splice will end (not where it starts).
Then carefully un-lay the rope to the bind.
Re-lay the rope to where you want the splice to start and bind it.
Carry on re-laying the rope to the circumference of the eye and bind it.
Now make the splice.

Another thought -
Instead of un-laying all three strands at once, un-lay and re-lay each strand in turn.
You might find it a bit easier to re-lay.

 

[Amulet]

Hi All
I'm trying to do an eye splice in used 18mm 3 strand rope. I washed the rope twice in the washing machine and soaked it in the bath for a couple of days as well but it is still quite stiff and very difficult to separate the strands to make the splice. I was wondering if any old rope hands had a suggestion as to how to make it work. While the rope is used, it is not over used and has plenty of life left. Nice and white too.
Thanks

Just in case. I know you are using a Swedish fid, but which way?
When you want to tuck a strand put the fid in "backwards" - i.e., stick the point in where you want the strand to come out, not where you want to tuck it in. Be brutal, and shove your fid far enough to fit the strand in the hollow. Then shove the strand through as far as you can. Pulling the fid out tightens the tuck, especially if you put your thumb on the strand as you do so. Splices in old rope tend to look a bit scraggy. You can bash them about with a mallet (wood or rubber) to tidy them up if necessary. I just remade some mooring warps this way. If it is nylon, it does harden with age (UV I think). My splices looked a bit grim at first, but bedded down pretty soon.

 

[onesea]

Snip......You can bash them about with a mallet (wood or rubber) to tidy them up if necessary....... Snip

You can also stand on them and roll them in your hands for new soft rope or under your feet for old rope...

 

[srah1953]

Excellent. Thank you all very much.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Sounds like the rope has a tight lay.
Bind / fuse each of the three strands.
Bind the rope where you expect the splice will end (not where it starts).
Then carefully un-lay the rope to the bind.
Re-lay the rope to where you want the splice to start and bind it.
Carry on re-laying the rope to the circumference of the eye and bind it.
Now make the splice.

Another thought -
Instead of un-laying all three strands at once, un-lay and re-lay each strand in turn.
You might find it a bit easier to re-lay.

If you're going to all that trouble, a long splice might be in order - that involves unlaying the rope strands anyway. And, of course, a long eye-splice will (should) fit through a block up to the throat of the eye.

For a short splice, I'd be concerned that unlaying the rope might weaken the rope significantly. Long splices (which deliberately unlay the rope) are notoriously weaker than short splices.

 

[nigel1]

Open the rope further away from where yoyu intend the throat of the eye to be, then put the strand through, and then work the strand back up towards where you want the throat to be.

This is how we splice wire, with large diamater wire, say 2.5", the strand will be tucked about 3 feet away from where it will finally end up

 

[Kukri]

to quote my old Bosun, on a VLCC...

Don't bother trying to splice nylon after its been under load. Can't be done.

Get a new bit.

If the other end of the rope has not been under heavy load, end for end it and use the other end.

 

[LadyInBed]

If you're going to all that trouble, a long splice might be in order - Long splices (which deliberately unlay the rope) are notoriously weaker than short splices.

Sort of answers your own proposition!

My assumption is that OP wants to put a short eye splice in the rope, else he could just whip an eye into it, or even tie a knot

 

[nigel1]

Don't bother trying to splice nylon after its been under load. Can't be done.

Get a new bit.

If the other end of the rope has not been under heavy load, end for end it and use the other end.

Are you saying a rope that has been loaded, or overloaded.
Regularly used to re-splice nylon towing stretchers, up to 30" circumference. Owners would have been a bit miffed at buying a replacement instead of re-splicing.

 

[srah1953]

Absolutely. Knots are just unattractive particularly on permanent mooring lines. I've managed to do three at this stage (wet, windy, wintery day - keeps me occupied). The splices are by no means perfect but I'm working on the assumption that the tolerances in the rope are such that the cleats will probably pull out before the rope gives.

 

[Kukri]

Are you saying a rope that has been loaded, or overloaded.
Regularly used to re-splice nylon towing stretchers, up to 30" circumference. Owners would have been a bit miffed at buying a replacement instead of re-splicing.

Er, permission to choose my words carefully here?

I would expect a tanker's fibre tails, after some use, to have been relatively closer to their failure points than a big tug's towing stretcher, but I don't want to say "overloaded"!