Rope was the first product I was introduced to for ‘tying down’ something. It was accompanied by my dad’s knowledge of knots, acquired in the Navy. The process usually ended with a request from me for something simpler than the double over handed navy knot and a son/father argument!
Rope content
Rope is basically made from three materials: natural fibre (NF), man made fibre (MMF) and metal. Some of the NF rope was made from plants such as hemp, cotton or jute. The MMF is made of products such as nylon, polypropylene, polyester, acrylics and aramids (Kevlar) or combinations of several. Wire ropes are made from various metals/finish (steel, stainless steel, galvanized steel).
Rope type
Three strand rope I acquired, with taped ends and unknown arborist knot. More often than not, once tied, most knots once stressed are impossible to loosen.
the three- stranded, ‘Z’ or right hand twisted rope is the most common, followed by those with four or more strands. It is cheap and available everywhere. This type has a tendency to unravel under load. If you’re pulling something this doesn’t really matter but if a load is being lifted this can allow the load to spin. An additional downside is that all the fibres are exposed to abrasion.
Braided is a rope made from three or more strands and then covered in a sheath. The entire rope is constructed of man-made materials. This is more expensive than twisted but is generally longer lasting as the sheath protects the strands from abrasion and the sheath prevents unraveling.
Choices
Choosing a rope for its manufactured content is a saw off.
• Polypropylene is cheap, doesn’t absorb water and is light weight. However it doesn’t like the sun and isn’t very resilient.
• Nylon is expensive and will stretch under load but is strong. It is affected by water and doesn’t like the sun either.
• In the middle we have polyester which is slightly less strong than nylon but is water proof and does not stretch as much.
Selection of small ropes from my rope bag, the collection in the zip bag are for tree felling, grab the zip bag and go, no knots etc. Note the burnt ends of the white ropes to prevent fraying.
Dos for rope
• To prevent fraying the ends, natural rope should be bound properly with twine, however, tape or shrink tubing will also work. When MM fibers are severed they are usually cut by heat which melts the fibres together permanently preventing any fraying. For this purpose, I glove up and melt the rope with a lighter, then roll the melting rope with my glove in the preferred direction leaving a blunt point with no sharp edges.
• Once coiled I like to store my rope on a hook high on the wall, out of the way of the sun’s rays and me.
• Away from the sun’s ultraviolet rays will help prevent digression
• Wash or brush off any debris after use and let dry prior to storage. This gives you the opportunity to examine the rope for any damage during use.
• Purchasing ropes for specific use is a good idea. A good example is a vehicle tow rope; buy a good heavy over rated one and store it in the vehicle. Probably the worst abuse a rope will get is for towing a stuck vehicle especially if the “Take a run at it!” theory of towing is applied
Don’ts for rope
• Don’t store damaged rope, or damaged anything. Repair any damages by the appropriate means before storage or if your farm is anything like mine, it will get forgotten and could cause grief the next time it’s put to use.
• If not cleaned the grit will work its way into the rope strands and grind away at them eventually causing individual strands to sever, degrading the ropes capability
• Don’t lift a load without at least one tether. Under a load, ropes will start to unwind causing the load to spin, so a tether will let you control this without entering into the drop zone
• if you have safety or climbing rope it should be marked as such for that specific use. Using it for tying down a tarp on a trailer or towing is not a good idea as it will become susceptible to elements and stresses, causing damage that may go unnoticed
Wire rope
Dos
All connections should use the basic principles of a proper end and this is the way I do the job:
Wire rope connectors have to be properly sized to prevent compromise. This is a partial collection of what I used to build my airplane.
• Wrap a single spool of electrical tape around the immediate area where the cut will be made.
• Cut the wire rope to the desired length with a wire rope cutter or a grinding wheel.
• Slip a wire sleeve onto the existing wire.
• Slip on a piece of heavy epoxy lined shrink tubing long enough to cover the length of the sleeve and the cut end of the wire.
• Cut/grind the eyelets off the thimble.
• Loop the wire around a proper sized thimble.
• -Slip the cut end into the sleeve leaving about ½” sticking out.
• Take up the slack.
• Using needle nose ‘Vise grips, clamp the cable at the base of the sleeve.
• Using a ‘Neco press’ or multi groove crimper, press the sleeve into place.
• Slide the shrink tubing over the sleeve and shrink with a heat gun.
• By using a properly installed end the addition of attachments is rudimentary
The line-up prior to crimping. Note how close the sleeve is with the thimble ears trimmed
Don’ts
• Don’t use bolt cutters to cut wire rope as it causes the strands to fray making it all but impossible to thread it through the sleeve.
• If you use a grinding wheel, use the tape after the cut.
• Don’t use an improper size of thimble. The slack between the thimble and rope can allow for uneven distribution of the pressure exerted to the rope and cause the thimble to be plucked out of its position which will allow the cable to collapse and even bend which puts extreme stresses to just the bend
• Don’t use a sleeve that is not the proper size or quality for the application.
• Don’t use a hammer or a vise to crimp the sleeve. Proper multi groove pliers which have the sleeve size stamped over the appropriate crimp are the only tool used here.
Crimping is done as follows:
• While the vise grips are in place and if the sleeve is large enough I start by crimping in the centre of the sleeve, next I crimp the one end and finally, remove the vise grips and crimp the other. If the sleeve is not large enough to allow this I start with crimping the end against the thimble first, then remove the vise grips and crimp the other end.
• If you work from one end to the other the pressure exerted around the wire by the sleeve will not be disseminated evenly. But by starting in the middle and squeezing to one end and then the other it will be fitted properly.
• As an alternative to sleeves wire rope clips can be bolted into place, not my choice but great for infield repairs.
Maintenance:
All ropes will be subject to the elements and should be inspected after use for damage and any grit cleaned off. They should then be coiled up into a large spool of their preferred direction. If you look down on a piece of rope and the angle between the braids goes from top left to bottom right it is ‘S’ or left handed. If the angle goes from top right to bottom left it is ‘Z’ or right handed, which most are. The preferred direction of coil for left handed is counter clockwise and clockwise for right handed. If you try to do it backwards it will look like my sock drawer and store just as efficiently.
Wire cables are the same and all effort should be made to prevent kinking of rope and especially wire rope. A note here: experience has taught me that when handling wire rope leather gloves are a must; over time with use the strands will break and become a wicked source of injury.
— Dan Kerr