Least Favorite Rope To Splice?

Adam_P

Adam_P

Location
Randolph, MA
Just curious.. I used to hate 16 strand until I made a 3 foot 3/16" "needle" for it. Now I don't mind it at all.

I did a coupe eyes in tachyon today and the final 2 inches of the bury are a pita. I used a swabish to finish up.

So.. what's your least favorite and why? Maybe we can pick up a few tricks to help with the tough ones..
 
Adam, what do you mean by a 3/16 "needle" I've been trying to avoid spending the $$ on a Toss wand but have had trouble getting something small and stiff enough to pull the cover through without distorting strands. A picture would be great. Thanks.
 
Tachyon, by a long shot.

Hey Eric, have you tried 0.050" (I think) piano wire? You can get small reels of it wherever they tune pianos for a few bucks. I made a 40" wire fid for 16 strand with it and an old shackle. I have a Toss wand and it's very cool but I rarely use it on anything but hollow braid.
 
Here ya go.. Jim Fiorentino who does the splicing for Shelter Tree showed me his version at New England Grows earlier this year. He did a 16 strand while I was watching to show me how well it worked so credit (and big thanks) to him.





Just get some 3/16" rod, cut to the length you'd like, torch one end and pound it flat or stick it in a vise to squish. I drilled a few holes in it for the eye. Nothing fancy at all.. the whole thing took less than 20 minutes to make.

My big problem with 16 strand was getting hung up moving the cover past the core in those final 10 inches. Now I can just put the tip in the vise and give it a quick pull and I'm good to go.

I also have the really long toss wand but prefer the needle method by a long shot. I'll sell you my long toss wand for $50 if you'd rather have it though... :)

Like blinky said, piano wire is def worth giving a look. I have a medium toss wand that I also only use for hollow braid. Almost everything I do now, including the tachyon from yesterday, is with a piano wire fid.
 
I've never played with tachyon, but I hate, hate, hate, hate blaze/bandit. I've successfully completed a couple of splices with the stuff, but I don't think I'll ever WANT to mess around with it again. I think I've been trying to bury too much (I've been using the measurements from the Toss vids) but after all the trouble I've had with it, I just haven't had the heart to try again with the shorter buries I've gleaned from manufacturer's instructions.

I've made my peace with 16 stand. I bury in three phases like on the Toss vid...once to get that maximum diameter sunk in good, twice to get it almost all the way to the portion containing the core, and finishing with a wire fid to get it through the core stuffed area. The wire fid I use is a wire fid I got from wesspur and twisted around an old 'biner. I used to get cover hung up with a core yarn or two occasionally on that last bury, but I've got a system that works for me now. I've found that the secret (or at least it was the final little trick that I needed to get consistent with this splice) is to make certain that all of the core yarns are all equally tight before you go for that last bury. If one of them is looser than the others, you can bet that I'll manage to snag it with the cover during that last bury.

I've also got an extra long "arborist" length toss wand, but I use it only very rarely. The small get's a lot of use when I'm messing around with OP, ice tail, and 16 strand. I'm about to make new whoopie/loopie slings so it'll probably see some use then, but then again, in that application, it's sort of overkill......I may end up trying to sell it and get a micro sized wand. I can see that getting WAY more use than the extra long.

Edited to make it read better and add more details about my preferred way to make 16 strand splice.
 
Thanks Adam and others. I'll have to give that a try. I have made several wire fide from Music wire that I have gotten at a hobby shop and they work good for tenex etc. but I seem to have trouble getting them through the 16 and 24 strand ropes without picking a strand or two on the way. I did a tight eye splice on a piece of blue moon that I am turning into a CE lanyard that turned out beauiful except for tha one strand pick. I followed the NE ropes video and it was really easy, slid right into place. I'll think about the long wand and let you know about buying it from you.
 
Jim F had his 16 strand splicing tool (call it a needle or whatever) at one of the splicing symposiums and it was really cool! In my experience, doing a 16 strand splice in one pull is without a doubt the easiest way to splice that rope.

Brion Toss has made an arborist long wand in a smaller diameter that turns 16 strand splicing into a pretty easy deal. It is kind of a specialized item, and nobody talks about it much. Maybe it is a secret item that pro splicers don't want people to know about.... Anyway, once we started using that one it shaved a ton of effort and time off of 16 strand splices.

Josh has nicknamed it "Excalibur". It also comes in pretty handy for splicing double braid if you need to make large eye splices.

Now, at least for me, that 16 strand splice is real easy.

So, I guess the point is..... The right tool for the job makes all the difference.
 
Also, there is a nice technique out there for getting those tight eyes to come together on 24 strand. If you can't bring that throat up to close and finish that splice this could help big time.
 
Blinky,
Two words.......Splicing Symposium
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Where: Rockville, Maryland

When: June 21-21

Cost:$250

The knowledge you will Gain from being there....PRICELESS
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I know how far the drive is from your part of NC....You can make it. Come and join us, I am looking forward to it.

Patrick
 
[ QUOTE ]
And???

Could we trouble you to share that little tidbit John?

[/ QUOTE ]

lol, talk about a cliffhanger!

John, I usually use a schwabisch to milk the cover back up at the end. I thought that was the holy grail of burying when I found it. If there's something even better maybe I can make peace with tachyon..

I wasn't trying to intentionally sell my want by starting the thread but if any of you guys are interested shoot me a PM.

Is there Splicing Symposium around the Boston area in the future? If people bring tents they can have it at my house.. I'll supply beer and a fire pit..
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Yea, it is really something you have to see to understand, but basically it is how you pre-taper the core so that you have enough fiber removed in order to make it easier to bring the throat up to where you need it to be.

Actually, if you guys are looking for a Splicing Symposium in the not to distant future then take a look at the one in the Baltimore area. You could catch a flight down there for less than what it would cost to drive.
 
John, don't forget to tell people that they have to join the Splicer's Union to get the REALLY secret stuff that you draw on the board at the Splicing Symposium.

BTW, my dues are all paid up for the year, right?
 
Agreed on tachyon, no fun. I just finished putting a snap on a section of blue moon, realized I'm rusty at double-braid, snagged the cover on the bury and now I'll get to look at the "slightly imperfect" part forever.

Love 3-strand, although I like 16 strand too. I have a bent wire puller long enough to do it in one shot easy, not useful for anything other than the 16 strand splice.

Ryan
 
I have not refined my 24 strand splicing like I should but I will splice 16 strand all day everyday. I just love the stuff and it shows in my gear and rope choices.
 
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