Splicing

I use Piano wire, no tape is really needed. I tried using the tubular fid for splicing the blaze, but it was way too tight.

Maybe try some 12 strand first before delving into the double braid.

Have fun!
 
I will second Kathy's recommendation for the Brion Toss splicing instruction book. Definitely the easiest to use splicing instructions out there, with excellent and clear illustrations. Be warned, though, that it does not have the 16 strand splice in it.
 
Also, don't forget that Brion Toss has one of the best splicing videos I have ever seen. He has a two DVD set that covers many splices, including double braids, three strand, and the beloved 16 strand arborist rope.

In fact, when Brion is doing the 16 strand rope he specifically tells the viewer not to bother sending him that rope to splice, since it is a real pain in the neck to splice. I got a kick out of that!

Anyway, it is a great video, and he really takes the time to cover all the important parts of each splice. A true "must watch" movie. He probably still sells it on www.briontoss.com.
 
I feel like someone who is trying to get a tree down for the first time. I got a bit more than I bargined for. Well I'm diving in, wish me luck.

And thanks for all of the great information, keep it coming.
 
I think toss is out of his mind on the 16 strand. Its all Ive ever done and once i got it figured out, its not as bad as he makes it out to be. sure its a little bit of work, but all splicing takes some work.

as for the wands, I have 3 (sm,md,lg). Ive regretted them since the day I got them. I cant get that fool thing through the rope for nothing. It always gets snagged. But for some reason, i can push a doubled coat hanger every time. And thanks to Nick, I have some neat little hollow core rope to use for pulling the cover through.

I also have an assortment of fids. not sure how many, but Im sure its more than i need...right Nick?
 
I rarely use fids for what they were designed to be used for. I do use them for measuring. But mostly, the large ones get used as handles to allow me to run the splices home, and the small ones get used as pins to lock the cover/core together when needed.

I do agree with John, though. There are occasions when I wish I had another. I think I am going to buy another set...just to be sure. Oh...get the Yale Cordage ones. They are anodized and are smoother than than regular aluminum.

love
nick
 
Like Nick I use fids a ton for measuring, but also use them a lot for poking holes in hollow braid as well as for burying the larger hollow braid ropes. I also use them during one step of just about any double braid splice. Much like climbing techniques I like to have options.
 
Here is how you make a fid work better for you.

The attached photo is some of our shop fids with the hole drilled in the tip. Once you manage to get the fid out when you do the core bury, you can put a pin in the hole and get that fid pulled out of there, instead of trying to push it through.

The silver fid on the left already has a hole drilled in it from the plant, but we don't use those much since they tend to hang up a lot more than the Yale fids (which are the blue ones). In all our years of doing double braids, I don't think we have ever had the Yale fids get caught on the core or jacket.
 
That is a great idea with the fid John. I usually like to rotate the fid a bit to work it through a tight cross, but that pin hole can certainly be useful in a really tight situtation. Thanks for the tip.

OPTIONS Oh baby!!!
 
I guess it's a fid puller now!

That's a great idea, john. I'm not going to go drill mine yet, but as soon as I hit a bump, out come the drill bits!

The selma fid (the one on the left) is kinda crappy. It's a great idea, but they should've milled it from a solid pipe I think. I've had to tape all mine because they were snagging fibers inside the rope and messing up the ropes. I'm thinking about having the ends welded then polished smooth.

love
nick
 
Yea, I know exactly what you mean.

The best use for some of those fids is to be used as a tool to extract the core strands out of rope. Try that small Selma fid sometime to pluck the core out of rope. It works quite well.

I like your idea about welding up that seam. We have some really cool brazing rod around here that is perfect for welding that. I'll have to give it a try.
 
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