zoidberg
Well-Known Member
I'm hunting for a business in Southern England that can do THIS for me in 16mm rope.
Any pointers?
Any pointers?
Bar tacking
- Thread starter zoidberg
- Start date
Refueler
Well-Known Member
Reel of sailmakers twine (waxed) .... Sailmakers needles and Palm ....... low temp heat shrink tubing .....
Total cost less than one made by 'shop' ...... AND I would be more confident in MY work than a shops !!
Honestly not trying to be smart or rude .... but such work is quite easy and IMHO good to know how as you never know when you may need to do yourself.
Total cost less than one made by 'shop' ...... AND I would be more confident in MY work than a shops !!
Honestly not trying to be smart or rude .... but such work is quite easy and IMHO good to know how as you never know when you may need to do yourself.
colind3782
Well-Known Member
Or give your nearest parachute centre a call and ask for your nearest rigger. Any parachute rigger will have a bar tacker.
Seashoreman
Well-Known Member
Any advice on how and where to buy the shrink tubing please?
Low temp/High temp? Amazon/ eBay?
If, for example, one needed it for doubled 10mm rope what would be the order?
Obvs never used it before but would like to experiment.
srm
Well-Known Member
Having been based in the far north of Scotland for most of my sailing career I have always done my own by hand. Rather than heat shrink I covered the join with a very tight whipping preferably using fine tarred nylon twine (from a commercial fisherman's chandlers). Each turn was stretched on as tightly as possible, which resulted in a shrink on whipping that never came loose under load. For the larger diameter ropes I made a simple serving board for the whipping to get the required tension using a small clamp to hold the last turn while the next was made. The rope is under tension using a winch while apply the whipping as this holds the work steady and increases the final shrink on effect.
None of my rope eyes have ever failed, not even those made in a hurry while at sea.
None of my rope eyes have ever failed, not even those made in a hurry while at sea.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
I think that he needs to do it now ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
zoidberg
Well-Known Member
There are lots of suppliers.... all over the UK.
I knew of one helpful specialist in Swindon, not far away, so I did a simple Google search query <heat shrink tubing swindon > and had over a dozen returns.
You could try < heat shrink tubing near me > and similar.....
Refueler
Well-Known Member
Seashoreman
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that. Indeed it is a thing that I am not familiar with, but would like to try.
I now see that it is freely available at such places as Screwfix.
However I am unfamiliar with its use. Perhaps you cant help with this?
Anyone else? If covering a whipping on for example a 10mm rope, bent back it is then 20mm.
Can you buy a 'sleeve' that fits over anysize and then heat it over the join.
I hope this is PBO as I have no idea how this stuff works. Sorry, OK.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
When you buy heat shrink it will tell you the % of shrink that it is meant to reduce in size by. So calculate the circumfrence that you want & deduct say 10-15% & that is the finished size of the shrunken tube. Say that is 40mm Then if you get heat shrink with 30% reduction your 40mm is 70% so the start size is 40/7*10 =57mm
I wouldimagine a 50mm heat shrink would do the job or 55 mm diameter. Just so long as you can slide it over the work. Cut it to length & slide up the rope prior to doing the splice.
Next, to shrink it you can use a heat gun- best for someone not used to it. Or a blow lamp,-not held too close. Place the tube over the work & gently heat. Rotate the work to apply even heat & it will shrink tight. You will have to move the heat along the work as you go & you do not want to burn the heatshrink or work underneath. You could do it over the flame of a gas oven.
Practice on 2 offcuts of rope first.
You can buy coloured or clear heat shrink. Electrical suppliers will usually have coloured. They will probably be able to supply short lengths in yellow & green ( Earth cable colour) in the larger size that you want
I wouldimagine a 50mm heat shrink would do the job or 55 mm diameter. Just so long as you can slide it over the work. Cut it to length & slide up the rope prior to doing the splice.
Next, to shrink it you can use a heat gun- best for someone not used to it. Or a blow lamp,-not held too close. Place the tube over the work & gently heat. Rotate the work to apply even heat & it will shrink tight. You will have to move the heat along the work as you go & you do not want to burn the heatshrink or work underneath. You could do it over the flame of a gas oven.
Practice on 2 offcuts of rope first.
You can buy coloured or clear heat shrink. Electrical suppliers will usually have coloured. They will probably be able to supply short lengths in yellow & green ( Earth cable colour) in the larger size that you want
Neeves
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure of buying heat shrink for any size of rope but you can certainly buy heat shrink for 2 x 13mm rope (and you are unlikely to use anything bigger). I bought a selection off Aliexpress, sold in unit lengths of 1 metre, and the largest is 80mm circumference and shrinks down by upto 2/3 in boiling water. The ability to use boiling water is useful as you you do not get localised over heating - its never over 100 deg C.
Just make sure you buy heat shrink for rope not electrical wiring - they are 2 different animals. In your search specify heat shrink for rope. Heat shrink for electrical application is made to specific electrical usage and is much more common place than for rope. Rope heat shrink has a much thicker wall thickness and when shrunk the wall thickness increases.
I have not used this source, there are hundreds on Aliexpress.
0.88￡ 20% OFF|1.22meter 4:1 Heat Shrink Tube With Glue Heat Shrinkable Tubing Thermoretractile Dual Wall Tubing Diameter 4 6 8 16 24 40 52 72 - Cable Sleeves - AliExpress
This link is for electrical heat shrink but there are many.
I understand you can buy coloured heat shrink, for rope, but have only used the transparent type, allowing you to see the sewing inside.
When I first used heat shrink for rope I simply used eBay but I then discovered the eBay source was from China - so cut out the middle man. Simply do as suggested: google 'heat shrink for rope'
Heat shrink for rope is used by a number of suppliers, including (I believe) Marlow - its an accepted practice.
Returning to the focus of the thread: Sailmakers in HK were my introduction to sewing rope where they joined 2 sheets using hollow nylon tape to give a smooth joint on the sail, cow hitch in the tape. We have replaced the nylon with braided dyneema and hand sewn but I have to assume any sailmaker can sew an eye into a rope end - but specify how long you want the stitching (or overlap). If they can sew a clew or head - they can sew 13mm rope.
You cannot sew a stretched rope - its simply too dense, or hard. But you can obviously (over) whip your sewing under tension - but leaving enough tail to sew the tails into the unstretched rope when the whipping is complete. And for real belt and braces - finish with a shrink cover.
Jonathan
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Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
I am learning something here, having not noticed any difference.
I am quite aware of the hard thicker ridgid large diameter types for handles etc, but not what you are suggesting
Can you tell us what the difference is please & how one would know?
Neeves
Well-Known Member
I am learning something here, having not noticed any difference.
I am quite aware of the hard thicker ridgid large diameter types for handles etc, but not what you are suggesting
Can you tell us what the difference is please & how one would know?
When you buy you specify you want heat shrink for rope, not electrical application. You buy, in the UK, from a specialist supplier who works in the cordage industry, preferably one working in height safety (then they know what they (and you) are doing. If you have any doubts you pick up the phone and ask them or you send them an email. Its like any other purchase - you check and double check. Its really not difficult.
You may not have noticed the difference because you have only used heat shrink for electrical work, or a cricket bat handle - not realising there is heat shrink for rope.
Here is a UK supplier - found with a quick search -
Heat Shrink
Make a google search and you will find a host of suppliers - there may be one near you whom you can visit (and discuss in detail) after everyone goes back to work. You will obviously find it very educational as you do a lot of mooring work.
Once you have ordered a couple of metres you soon learn to know the difference between electrical heat shrink and heat shrink for rope (in the same way you know which rope is dyneema and which polyester - they are different - but you will be hard pushed to describe that difference
I suspect you can use heat shrink for rope in some electrical applications but you would not use the common heat shrink for electrical application on rope - its simply too thin.
I would not use a naked flame to heat shrink on rope - too high a likelihood of damaging the rope.
And in case you have forgotten both the manufacturers of Dyneema and Marlow are quite happy using heat shrink, for rope, on dyneema - but do NOT use a naked flame to shrink (unless you are very, very careful).
Jonathan
Boathook
Well-Known Member
Interesting info Jonathan. Having read about heat shrink on ropes I was going to use my electrical stuff not knowing that there is different for rope.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
Heat Shrink tubing - most will shrink at least 50% despite specs saying about 30% ....
Second - it comes in various temperature forms .... low heat form that basically boiling water will shrink it or a Hair Dryer ... but this tends to be lower shrink % ... 30% ... as you go up the temp scale - the shrink can get to 50%.
I use mid range Heat Shrink and I buy it in boxes of Multi diameter as I use it extensively in my models and anywhere I am joining wires /// boat ... house etc. I use a BBQ gas lighter or if wifes Ciggy Lighter is handy !! Some have posted on another thread that such method damages the rope ... all I can say to that - is only if care is not taken to rotate and control the shrinking / flame application ...
Given that we Heat singe rope ends - I have never had any problem with this method.
I also buy continuous over 1m lengths of a particular size if used often.
OP has a 16mm rope ... doubled that's 32mm ... plus a margin .... so a shrink tube of 35 to 50mm should do the job ... I would go for the 50mm - to allow it to slide easily over the joint ....
Note the Heat Shrink is not designed to be load bearing - its cosmetic and to protect the underlying joint method.
Refueler
Well-Known Member
Been using Mid Range Heat Shrink with Ciggy Lighter on rope for years ..... with care .... NEVER had any problems.
Laysula
Well-Known Member
Why bar tacking and not a splice? Is it the length of rope or type of rope or the application?
Spirit (of Glenans)
Well-Known Member
I'm a bit disappointed with this thread, as the title led me to believe that it was about making one's way up a street with many pubs on both sides
Happy New Year to All!
Happy New Year to All!
zoidberg
Well-Known Member
The rope is 16mm braid-plus-parallel-core, NOT Marleybraid, and so very tightly woven that - try as I might in attempting a 'Marleybraid' eye splice - I could not bury the residual 'empty' sheath back into the already-full standing part. And I tried everything.
Note the 4 core strands of line laid 'Z' and 'S'.
Further research indicates that a professionally-done long bar-tack is likely to achieve a demonstrably stronger eye splice than any knot. Our friend Thinwater has published his research on this via Youtube, where other similar reports are available.
Yes, I could do the 'bar-tacking' by hand myself as suggested, but some li'l inkling of sense tells me that a professional setup, operated by a well-experienced professional, is likely to achieve a better outcome than my ham-fisted bosun'ry.
