making footropes stiff

[Antonio Vasquez]

i have tried to put white glue on my foot ropes to stiffen them up so they hang naturally on the spars. that doesn't appear to be working very well. is there something else that works better?

[mtaylor]

Yes.   Try diluting the white glue with water... about 50/50.  Some also use solvent-based varnish.  Once the footropes are on, coat with the solution of choice (test to see which works best for you).  

[Sea Hoss]

On my Syren build, in the manual it was suggested to use an appropriate gauge black wire. I think I used 28. At that size it is difficult to know the difference and I could shape the hang of it until it looked right.

[Bob Cleek]

Applying shellac to the foot rope works well. The shellac soaks into the thread readily. As the alcohol solvent evaporates, the shellac begins to harden. Before it becomes completely hard, it can be shaped as one desires. When it hardens, the string will stay where you had put it. For smaller scales, however, blackened fine wire is easier to work with.

 

[wefalck]

Yep, shellac or zapon are my solution. You can soften it with the solvent again, if you are not yet happy with the shape. This can be also done in sections.

[Maury S]

Try "Matte Medium"

Maury

[Antonio Vasquez]

hmm, maybe i will try wire. Thanks for the input everyone.