ARLO
Branched out member
In reading the threads on splicing double-braids I have noticed that many people are having a hard time getting the core past the area of overlap inside the cover on tightly braided ropes like Velocity, Tachyon, and Poison Ivy. The main complaint is that the cover is too tight to get a fid through, or that the core gets stuck as it is being pulled or pushed past the area of overlap inside the cover. The Samson splicing instructions are really worthless in this regard, as they just tell you to insert a fid and push the tail through. Yeah, Right! That works fine on loosely braided rigging ropes, but is a prescription for blisters and failure on a rope like Velocity. After much trial and error I have found a simple solution to this problem, as follows:
After you have inserted the cover inside the core and completed the taper on the cover, tape the ends of the longest cover strands to hold them together, and don't let them get pulled inside the core. Then, about 5" from the end of the core, reduce the volumn of the core by removing half the core strands, working your way around the core and removing every other left and right strand. If you do this right, the remaining core strands will still be braided (and, you don't need to worry about the taper you have created on the core because it will get cut off eventually when you taper and bury the tail). Now, insert a wire fid into the cover at mark Z and out at mark T, being careful not to snag the core. Capture the terminal 2.0" of the tapered core in the fid and gently pull on the fid until the core starts to pull into the cover at mark T. Now, clamp the ends of the tapered cover strands in a woodworker's vice (or 2 pieces of wood between the jaws in a bench vice). Then, attach a pair of vice grips very tightly to the ends of the wire fid, and pull firmly. If you have done things correctly, the tail will slide into the cover at mark T and pop out at mark Z with little or no milking required. Then grab the end of the core and pull it the rest of the way through. Hold on to the crossover and alternately pull on the ends of the core and cover to lock the crossover.
The rest of the splice is easy. If you are careful to get the crossover nice and tight and to maintain tension on the crossover during the bury it should go in with no need for brutalizing the rope with hammers. If you need to pound on it you have done something wrong.
The fid that I am using is a single piece of stainless steel wire with a sharp, rounded bend at one end. It is the same type of fid used for splicing Arbomaster. You can get them from Wesspur. The trick to doing this splice is to reduce the volumn of the core before you try to pull it through the cover. If you do it right you will be amazed at how easy it goes through.
After you have inserted the cover inside the core and completed the taper on the cover, tape the ends of the longest cover strands to hold them together, and don't let them get pulled inside the core. Then, about 5" from the end of the core, reduce the volumn of the core by removing half the core strands, working your way around the core and removing every other left and right strand. If you do this right, the remaining core strands will still be braided (and, you don't need to worry about the taper you have created on the core because it will get cut off eventually when you taper and bury the tail). Now, insert a wire fid into the cover at mark Z and out at mark T, being careful not to snag the core. Capture the terminal 2.0" of the tapered core in the fid and gently pull on the fid until the core starts to pull into the cover at mark T. Now, clamp the ends of the tapered cover strands in a woodworker's vice (or 2 pieces of wood between the jaws in a bench vice). Then, attach a pair of vice grips very tightly to the ends of the wire fid, and pull firmly. If you have done things correctly, the tail will slide into the cover at mark T and pop out at mark Z with little or no milking required. Then grab the end of the core and pull it the rest of the way through. Hold on to the crossover and alternately pull on the ends of the core and cover to lock the crossover.
The rest of the splice is easy. If you are careful to get the crossover nice and tight and to maintain tension on the crossover during the bury it should go in with no need for brutalizing the rope with hammers. If you need to pound on it you have done something wrong.
The fid that I am using is a single piece of stainless steel wire with a sharp, rounded bend at one end. It is the same type of fid used for splicing Arbomaster. You can get them from Wesspur. The trick to doing this splice is to reduce the volumn of the core before you try to pull it through the cover. If you do it right you will be amazed at how easy it goes through.
