Splicing 3-strand nylon

[chris95040]

So splicing a loop into a 3/4" 3-strand nylon should be pretty easy, right?

Any idea why I can't keep the individual strands from unraveling?

I have the ends whipped, i wrap them in tape at various spots along the length, but as soon as i start moving them around to make the splice, they end up untwisting into a lump of threads. The stuff is just so soft and smooth it doesn't want to hold together all twisty and nice.

I can hold it together well enough to make the splice, I guess, but the strands end up looking more like a set of parallel threads than a proper, wound strand.

[Snore]

Wrap each strand TIGHTLY with tape. Then make sure you fully open the strands you are splicing into. A leak plug can be used to leverage the twisted strands open.

The true OCD's may whip the ends. But since you rarely splice the entire strand, you will be cutting off your whipped ends.


Sent from my iPhone- please forgive autocorrect errors.

[Cruisingoneday]

Originally Posted by chris95040

So splicing a loop into a 3/4" 3-strand nylon should be pretty easy, right?

Any idea why I can't keep the individual strands from unraveling?

Haha... My partner and I sat down Saturday night and we tried to splice eyes into 3/4" 3-strand and we said exactly the same thing! How is this done?
If you find a method let me know... We had cut our free ends too long we thought, next attempt we were going to try it with much shorter free ends next time..

I came to the conclusion that I have to be smarter than the rope... That's the real challenge for me anyways..

[Red Sky]

I tried to save $$ and bought some black 3-strand from the local Ace Hardware to make dock lines that would be permanently tied/installed at my slip. I too found that if the line was soft, it wouldn't hold its shape/twist once I separated the 3 individual strands. Each of the 3 legs just basically turned into something that resembled a horse tail. In the end I just waited until WM put N.E. Rope 3-strand on sale and bit the bullet, the eye splice is easy when using the proper line.

[jimbunyard]

Alot has to do with the lay of the rope; some nylon 3 strand is so soft and loosely twisted that it's almost impossible to keep it from unlaying.

Way I do it with loosely laid rope is tape the rope before cutting, heat seal it after cutting, then pull the strands apart and re-seal them if they fray when pulling them apart initially. The melting helps keep the individual plies in their original alignment, which aids in retwisting them as they come unlaid as you make the splice.

After pulling the strand through each successive tuck, re-twist the (now untwisted) strand back up and work the re-twist back into and under the previous tuck. Once you get the twisted strand under its' tuck, friction will more or less hold it until you work around to the next series of tucks. It's kinda hard to put into words, but with practice you can get a nice looking splice with soft rope using a similar technique.

[Jason Flare]

When it untwists, twist it back.

Only worry about the amount of twist in the rope in the portion of the strands that you have just spliced into the rope.

In other word, retwist the strands as you tuck them and the rope will hold the twists in place.

ETA: What jimbunyard said.

[StuM]

What Jim and Jason said

The trick is to firstly heat seal each strand and then keep re-twisting the part that you are tucking, close to the tuck and not worry too much about the rest of the working ends.

[tenchiki]

And a splice made with the untwisted ends can actually be stronger and fairer than one made with the twisted ends. Not to mention easier to taper.

[chris95040]

I'll try it that way - making sure the part I just tucked is nicely twisted.

Thanks everyone!!

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by tenchiki

And a splice made with the untwisted ends can actually be stronger and fairer than one made with the twisted ends. Not to mention easier to taper.

What he said. Yes, twisting the strands, as others have suggested, works and looks cool, but tenchiki is correct. A splice made with lossened strands is smoother and stronger. I've tested them. This is actually quite obvious.

If the splice is for a windlass (rope-to-chain) it can be vital. There are only a few special cases (the laid-back portion of a long splice) where maintaining twist is beneficial. Otherwise, let them flatten out.

[chris95040]

Originally Posted by thinwater

What he said. Yes, twisting the strands, as others have suggested, works and looks cool, but tenchiki is correct. A splice made with lossened strands is smoother and stronger. I've tested them. This is actually quite obvious.

If the splice is for a windlass (rope-to-chain) it can be vital. There are only a few special cases (the laid-back portion of a long splice) where maintaining twist is beneficial. Otherwise, let them flatten out.

That does surprise me! Somehow, intuitively, I want to believe that the whole thing is stronger when the threads are all wrapped together. Guess I can't say why though.

But it also kinda looks like individual threads could work themselves out more easily in certain situations, if they aren't all wound tight around each other...

[Hydra]

After finishing the splice, its appearance is much improved by rolling it a few times under the foot: this smoothes the splice by pressing the strands into each other.

Alain

[Cheechako]

Yeah, it can be frustrating with today's very soft 3 strand. Older stuff was much more stiff. Best you can do is as mentioned, open the gap you are going thru well and just keep twisting the strands as you go.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by jimbunyard

Alot has to do with the lay of the rope; some nylon 3 strand is so soft and loosely twisted that it's almost impossible to keep it from unlaying.

Way I do it with loosely laid rope is tape the rope before cutting, heat seal it after cutting, then pull the strands apart and re-seal them if they fray when pulling them apart initially. The melting helps keep the individual plies in their original alignment, which aids in retwisting them as they come unlaid as you make the splice.

After pulling the strand through each successive tuck, re-twist the (now untwisted) strand back up and work the re-twist back into and under the previous tuck. Once you get the twisted strand under its' tuck, friction will more or less hold it until you work around to the next series of tucks. It's kinda hard to put into words, but with practice you can get a nice looking splice with soft rope using a similar technique.

A+1..

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by chris95040

That does surprise me! Somehow, intuitively, I want to believe that the whole thing is stronger when the threads are all wrapped together. Guess I can't say why though.

But it also kinda looks like individual threads could work themselves out more easily in certain situations, if they aren't all wound tight around each other...

With parallel core constructed ropes the core is loose. The twist just keeps them together.