Mike_In_RI Posted September 19, 2020 Share #1 Posted September 19, 2020 SOLVED The photo below shows my first and only try at rope making. It's 7 feet long and .022" thick and was produced on the Syren Rope Rocket. I'm quite pleased with the way it looks as it's the right color for my project and has no tendency to unravel. However, I want to make sure I am not leaving out a step. My goal is to get ~ .040 to .045", "bright straw" color, right laid whale line. These are the steps I took: - Three threads of Mara 30 (right twist) unwound and rewound quite tightly with a left twist - I did NOT stretch, apply water or apply beeswax after this rewind >>> Should have I done that here?? - Then right twist the above tightly - Stretched the rope, applied water & beeswax .. done. To get to the thicker rope I need to untwist/retwist several threads ahead of time. Should I do that lock-in step as part of the rewind. I'm thinking .. yes. Thank you for any tips on the matter. Mike Ryland Craze and mtaylor 2 Current: Hannah - Plans by Randle Biddle published by Nautical Research Journal Finished: New Bedford Whaleboat - MS ; 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit - NRG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_In_RI Posted September 20, 2020 Author Share #2 Posted September 20, 2020 This try looks good as well but has a small tendency to unwind. It is made up of 3 strands of Mara 30 and right twisted. The thickness is ~ .056". My previous posts question is still in play... should I need to dampen/wax the left twisted 3 strand rope prior to the final right twist? Thank you in advance for any input, Mike mtaylor and Ryland Craze 2 Current: Hannah - Plans by Randle Biddle published by Nautical Research Journal Finished: New Bedford Whaleboat - MS ; 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit - NRG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_In_RI Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share #3 Posted September 21, 2020 Looks like I don't need an an extra hardening step after an untwist/re-twist unless I intend to store the the thread.. which I don't intend at this point. In any case, I have some nice .045" right twist Mara rope with almost no unwinding tendency. Both these samples were heat treated. Up to now I only have 7 foot lengths made so I'll scale that up. Thanks for looking in, Mike Ryland Craze, mtaylor and Chuck 3 Current: Hannah - Plans by Randle Biddle published by Nautical Research Journal Finished: New Bedford Whaleboat - MS ; 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit - NRG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryland Craze Posted September 21, 2020 Share #4 Posted September 21, 2020 Nice looking rope. You did a good job making this rope on the Syren Rope Rocket. mtaylor 1 Ryland Member - Hampton Roads Ship Model Society - Ship Model Society of New Jersey - Nautical Research Guild Current Build - Armed Virginia Sloop, 18th Century Longboat Completed Build - Medway Longboat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_In_RI Posted September 25, 2020 Author Share #5 Posted September 25, 2020 Thank you Ryland. The Rope Rocket pretty much does the work... set it up and follow the videos. I've been making short (7 foot) lengths with Mara polyester thread and am getting consistent results. Also, I found a color that is suitable for my project which was the reason I am trying to make my own rope. Some cotton thread (Aurifil) is on order for comparison so by next week I'm hoping to have the material settled and start making longer whale line. Sorry I did not respond sooner. It looks like my notifications are not coming. I'll have to check that. Best, Mike mtaylor 1 Current: Hannah - Plans by Randle Biddle published by Nautical Research Journal Finished: New Bedford Whaleboat - MS ; 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit - NRG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTHokiEE Posted October 27, 2020 Share #6 Posted October 27, 2020 On 9/25/2020 at 4:12 PM, Mike_In_RI said: Some cotton thread (Aurifil) is on order for comparison so by next week Did you ever give the Aurifil a try? I have some Mara that I have been happily experimenting with but I am interested in giving cotton thread a try as well. Current Build: HM Sloop Echo 1781 (First Scratch Build) Previous Builds: HM Cutter Alert, Sharpie Schooner, Chesapeake Bay Flattie, Half-Hull (NRG) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenD Posted October 27, 2020 Share #7 Posted October 27, 2020 Aurifil is expensive but looks pretty good. Limited colors in 80wt though. here are some of my Aurifil samples. It looks better and behaves well when treated with watered down white pva. Ryland Craze, Gregory and VTHokiEE 3 Ropes of Scale.com - Rope and cable for the scale modeler. Finished builds: HM Cutter Sherbourne - Caldercraft - 1:64 - 9th century longship - Falkonet - 1:72 Current builds: HMS Snake - Caldercraft - 1:64 - Tender Avos by BenD - Master Korabel - 1:72 - 19th Century Four-Oared Yawl by BenD - Falkonet - 1:24 scale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTHokiEE Posted October 27, 2020 Share #8 Posted October 27, 2020 2 hours ago, BenD said: Limited colors in 80wt though. Those samples look quite nice. I noticed the limited colors in my window shopping (I didn’t see anything remotely close to a standing rigging color). The search continues, but the Mara is working as well (simply fun to experiment). Current Build: HM Sloop Echo 1781 (First Scratch Build) Previous Builds: HM Cutter Alert, Sharpie Schooner, Chesapeake Bay Flattie, Half-Hull (NRG) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_In_RI Posted October 29, 2020 Author Share #9 Posted October 29, 2020 On 10/27/2020 at 1:58 PM, VTHokiEE said: Did you ever give the Aurifil a try? I have some Mara that I have been happily experimenting with but I am interested in giving cotton thread a try as well. Sorry for the delay in responding. Still have trouble getting any notifications. I have had one trial with Aurifil Mako 28, color "Toast", 2 threads/strand x 3 strands, thickness .027" (10 strands/10 method). It twisted nice and tight. I stopped at this trial because the color was too dark for my current build. I've since got another color and will try that soon. Mike VTHokiEE and Gregory 2 Current: Hannah - Plans by Randle Biddle published by Nautical Research Journal Finished: New Bedford Whaleboat - MS ; 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit - NRG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTHokiEE Posted October 29, 2020 Share #10 Posted October 29, 2020 52 minutes ago, Mike_In_RI said: I have had one trial with Aurifil Mako 28, color Looks pretty nice; I was looking for a dark brown so I decided to order their "Very Dark Bark" and see if it can pass muster for standing rigging and their "Light Beige" to see what it looks like for running rigging. Current Build: HM Sloop Echo 1781 (First Scratch Build) Previous Builds: HM Cutter Alert, Sharpie Schooner, Chesapeake Bay Flattie, Half-Hull (NRG) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted November 12, 2020 Share #11 Posted November 12, 2020 Nice work....I missed this topic. Your rope looks great. Keep up the good work. Once you get the hang of using the Syren Rope Rocket it becomes second nature. Remember to make a recipe card as the results will be same each time you use it. Chuck Chuck Passaro - MSW Admin Sloop Speedwell - POF scratch Block Island Boat - POF scratch HMS Winchelsea - POB scratch build HM Cutter Cheerful - POB scratch build Royal Barge - POF scratch Medway Longboat- POF Scratch SYREN SHIP MODEL COMPANY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_In_RI Posted November 13, 2020 Author Share #12 Posted November 13, 2020 Thank you Chuck. It took hardly any time getting used to the Rope Rocket.. pretty much stuck to your video tips. Well done. I'm running a spreadsheet with about 20 trials so far with a split of about 50/50 cotton/polyester. I finally found some weight 12 Aurifil and twisted it up today: Mako 12 2 t/s x 3s .038" (10 strands/10 method) Mako 12 3 t/s x 3s .047" This color is 5011 Rope Beige. Under the shop lights (LED 5000K) it is grey while under LED 2700K lights it is tan. 🤨 Notwithstanding the price, I currently favor the cotton just to avoid the heat treating step for the poly. Mike VTHokiEE and flying_dutchman2 2 Current: Hannah - Plans by Randle Biddle published by Nautical Research Journal Finished: New Bedford Whaleboat - MS ; 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit - NRG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTHokiEE Posted November 13, 2020 Share #13 Posted November 13, 2020 12 minutes ago, Mike_In_RI said: Thank you Chuck. It took hardly any time getting used to the Rope Rocket.. pretty much stuck to your video tips. Well done. I'm running a spreadsheet with about 20 trials so far with a split of about 50/50 cotton/polyester. I finally found some weight 12 Aurifil and twisted it up today: Mako 12 2 t/s x 3s .038" (10 strands/10 method) Mako 12 3 t/s x 3s .047" This color is 5011 Rope Beige. Under the shop lights (LED 5000K) it is grey while under LED 2700K lights it is tan. 🤨 Notwithstanding the price, I currently favor the cotton just to avoid the heat treating step for the poly. Mike Interesting on the color - I was not happy at all with the light beige color, but the very dark bark looked pretty good. I'm currently torn whether to continue testing other colors (I was interested in the ermine and the rope beige) or deal with the characteristics of Mara (currently leaning towards the latter). Current Build: HM Sloop Echo 1781 (First Scratch Build) Previous Builds: HM Cutter Alert, Sharpie Schooner, Chesapeake Bay Flattie, Half-Hull (NRG) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_In_RI Posted November 15, 2020 Author Share #14 Posted November 15, 2020 On 11/13/2020 at 11:09 AM, VTHokiEE said: Interesting on the color - I was not happy at all with the light beige color, but the very dark bark looked pretty good. I'm currently torn whether to continue testing other colors (I was interested in the ermine and the rope beige) or deal with the characteristics of Mara (currently leaning towards the latter). I should have mentioned in the previous post that, by eye in indirect sunlight, the actual color to me is a grey-beige. So it's OK for me. I think cameras, monitors and overhead lighting whether at home or in a store can really influence color perception. By now, I'm walking the rope color trials up to the room where I will display the model. Mike VTHokiEE 1 Current: Hannah - Plans by Randle Biddle published by Nautical Research Journal Finished: New Bedford Whaleboat - MS ; 18th-Century Merchantman Half-Hull Planking Kit - NRG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenD Posted November 28, 2020 Share #15 Posted November 28, 2020 The best colors from Aurifil for tan rope in my opinion are #2326 Sand #2325 Linen #5010 Beige #6010 Toast. I even purchased the color card from them. The #5011 rope beige is just a little too grey. Jorge Diaz O 1 Ropes of Scale.com - Rope and cable for the scale modeler. Finished builds: HM Cutter Sherbourne - Caldercraft - 1:64 - 9th century longship - Falkonet - 1:72 Current builds: HMS Snake - Caldercraft - 1:64 - Tender Avos by BenD - Master Korabel - 1:72 - 19th Century Four-Oared Yawl by BenD - Falkonet - 1:24 scale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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