Rope splicing help

[Magic Star]

Hi everyone.

Doing my rope work at home, struggling to do a double braid splice, the external skin does not stretches enough to pass the ends through. I have bought this 10mm rope at Canvey and wonder if the quality of the rope plays a role. For example a good Marlow rope, would it be easier to splice? Any thoughts?

On the Marlow video guys are passing the rope under external skin 3-4 inches with no problems, I cannot pass more than 1.5 inch. Could it be that the rope quality is not good enough to splice correctly?

Thanks for help

 

[Daydream believer]

Actually i would have thought that a rope with a loose cover was poorer quality as it slides over the core under load & the core can poke through the outer cover when the rope gets twisted

 

[prv]

Is the rope new or old? Splicing braid that's been used under load is difficult or impossible - I believe there's a special "old braid" splice but I generally just avoid doing it, using knots or sewing and seizing if necessary.

Pete

 

[Magic Star]

Daydream, I would think that there is question of just having extra 1 or 2mm stretching when not under load. I was thinking about the way the external sleeve is done and the number on braids.

PRV, the rope is brand new but does not allow to pass both external/internal sleeves further than where the rope splits. I can pass or internal alone or external, but not both together.

Thanks for replaying guys.

 

[FulmarJeddo]

I take it you are using Fids to feed the ends through? There's another useful video here or another here using Dyneema and using a hammer to assist in getting the ends through.

 

[knuterikt]

Daydream, I would think that there is question of just having extra 1 or 2mm stretching when not under load. I was thinking about the way the external sleeve is done and the number on braids.

PRV, the rope is brand new but does not allow to pass both external/internal sleeves further than where the rope splits. I can pass or internal alone or external, but not both together.

Thanks for replaying guys.

You are talking about this step?

The purpose of the measures and markings on the rope before starting the splice is to get excessive cover that can be bunched up to make it roomier.

As shown in the video - it's important to move the excess cover towards the entry point.

A piece of bungee cord tied around the rope close to the temporary stopper knot and pushed towards the bury point helps to bunch up the cover and keep it in place.

Using a winch to tension the part gong into the rope can help.
Sometimes using a log of wood (or wood mallet) to hammer the rope softer can help,.

But some ropes are more difficult to splice than others..

 

[srah1953]

It's hard to comment without seeing the rope and how you are going about it. I've found the hardest rope to splice is braided dyneema which always seems a very tight fit, but it is nearly always possible to do it but you have to keep working it. At times it seems that it will never work. One thing that helps is to bend the rope every which way just in front of where you are trying to push it through. It helps loosen it up.
PS don't do what I did once when working at home, I put the end on the door handle to pull against and, of course, the door handle came off.
PPS Don't mind the videos. They've been doing it for years and probably use an easy rope for the purposes of the video.
Bonne chance

 

[johnphilip]

It should work eventually

My first attempt, well second actually as I failed and cut off the end of the rope after my first go. I still don't quite follow how it all works but the fids were for me essential. Big one for the sheath and smaller for the core. A guy making up some very neat tackle in the chandlery advised that some rope sizes were easier as effectively they use the same cover for 2 or 3 core sizes then jump up to the next cover size. Trouble is I cannot remember where the step up was (if he is correct)
The other essentials were a strongly fixed door handle and a gardening glove to get enough friction to slide the cover back over the splice.

 

[{151760}]

Re: It should work eventually

I spent a whole day trying to put an eye splice in Marlowbraid. Eventually, I got the core pulled through after several attempts, but I could not get the cover tucked in. They are either Gorillas, or they used special rope in that video. I used a Hallyard Bend instead.

 

[prv]

PS don't do what I did once when working at home, I put the end on the door handle to pull against and, of course, the door handle came off.

I have a metal plate bolted to the garden wall for the purpose. I definitely wouldn't want to subject a domestic interior door to the sort of loads involved.

Pete

 

[Hadenough]

Not tried it myself yet but have been told that a little washing up liquid in the core helps the milking process.

 

[KREW2]

Re: It should work eventually

I spent a whole day trying to put an eye splice in Marlowbraid. Eventually, I got the core pulled through after several attempts, but I could not get the cover tucked in. They are either Gorillas, or they used special rope in that video. I used a Hallyard Bend instead.

This is what makes we want to ask the OP is he using braid on braid, or marlow braid. with marlow braid the technique is much different, and to my mind harder. If I recall correctly you do not use fids, but a needle.

 

[srah1953]

Re: It should work eventually

This is what makes we want to ask the OP is he using braid on braid, or marlow braid. with marlow braid the technique is much different, and to my mind harder. If I recall correctly you do not use fids, but a needle.

I don't know anything about Marlow rope. I don't do that much splicing so I didn't want to fork out for needles as well as fids. But eventually bought some and I would tend to use them now at every opportunity. They are generally easier because initially you just have to get the needle through and then use it to pull through the splice.

 

[{151760}]

Re: It should work eventually

This is what makes we want to ask the OP is he using braid on braid, or marlow braid. with marlow braid the technique is much different, and to my mind harder. If I recall correctly you do not use fids, but a needle.

The 'needle' is a huge thing, used in conjunction with fids. An added problem is that the fibres in the unbraided core quickly become tangled and matted. You need the biceps of a gorilla and leather gloves to get anywhere. The one eye I managed to almost make was then too loose to keep the thimble in place. I suppose after lots of practise it's doable, but I gave up.

 

[ghostlymoron]

I've got some Swedish FIDS which make most of the splicing easy. The part I struggled with was milking the final bit back over the completed splice. I tied it to one of our verandah supports but had to pull/jerk very hard to get it buried. It was old rope though.
I now use knots wherever possible and a halyard knot for attaching sails.

 

[KREW2]

Re: It should work eventually

I don't know anything about Marlow rope. I don't do that much splicing so I didn't want to fork out for needles as well as fids. But eventually bought some and I would tend to use them now at every opportunity. They are generally easier because initially you just have to get the needle through and then use it to pull through the splice.

Marlow braid has a solid core, braid on braid has a braided core, and is easier to splice so long as you have fids
I found it almost impossible to splice marlow braid with just a fid, however I find marlow braid on braid is not too difficult to get a soft splice, but to get it tight round a thimble is not so easy.