Simple rope making machine in Lego

[Brinkman]

I showed my smallest ropemachine I built out of Lego in my buildthread and was asked for instructions on building it and thought that it would be good to create a new thread for it.

 

There are many here with much more rope making experience then me, but I wanted to show this simple and cheap way of making ropes. Maybe someone else also gets bitten by the ropemaking bug.

 

You can use this to make three or four stranded ropes up to a diameter of about 5mm, 3/16".

 

I had a lot of Lego as a kid but got rid of it as I grew up so this is cobbled together with parts from a fleemarket and parts from a friend so it looks a bit odd. I havn't built with lego for over twenty years so you could optimize it a lot, but it gets the job done. And Lego Technic has apperantly changed a lot too, but this only uses old parts.

 

I used LegoLink for reference and it seems to be lots of shops where you can buy individual bricks. https://www.bricklink.com/

 

Sorry for the red goo on the gears but grease makes it run better.

 

This is the main unit 

It has four axles

that each consists of

1x Technic, Axle 6
1x Technic, Axle and Pin Connector
1x Technic, Gear 16 Tooth
2x Technic, Bush 1/2 Toothed Type I

 

Superglue the connector to the axle.

 

The drive axle

1x Technic, Axle 8
1x Technic, Gear 24 Tooth
3x Technic, Bush

 

The superstructure
10x Technic, Brick 1 x 8 with Holes
4x Technic, Brick 1 x 16 with Holes
3x Plate 6 x 8
4x Plate 1 x 8

The changes I did with this list compared to my build is that the width of the standing part is unified and has a better roof. There is an extra beam in the base. Use cable ties to hold it together.

 

On the other end of the ropewalk we will have the sleigh (I can't find the english word for it now, but I think this is what it's called in swedish)

that is built from
4x Technic, Brick 1 x 16 with Holes
6x Technic, Brick 1 x 6 with Holes
2x Plate 6 x 8
1x Plate 4 x 6
1x Technic, Axle 8
2x Technic, Bush 1/2 Toothed Type I
1x Technic, Axle and Pin Connector

 

The changes here are a longer base, wider standing part, a better roof and an extra beam in the base. Use cable ties to hold it together and again superglue the connector to the axle.

 

 

The rope comes together at the top

that is a
Wheel 30mm D. x 13mm (13 x 24 Model Team)

 

But you could use anything with preferably six equally spaced holes.

 

 

Using the ropemaking machine
This is just a really quick guide and just like always - practise makes perfect. Please also watch videos of how people do this.

 

Clamp the main unit to the table, you can do this either like this

Or this by rotating the standing part like this

 

Clamp the sleigh to the table

 

Tie up the strands using thread. You can use any number of of threads per strand, but it requires a bit of practise to use a single thread in a strand.

 

Thread the threads through the top.

 

Each strand is tied to _one_ "hook" on the main unit, goes through _one_ hole in the top and all strands connects at the sleigh.

 

 

 

Remove the clamp on the sleigh and replace it with a weight. The size of this depends on the thickness of the rope.

 

Now the ropemaking can start. Move the top to the sleigh.

 

Turn the drive axle on the main unit. This twists each strand. Hold on to the top to prevent it from rotating. The strands will get shorter as they twist and the sleigh will move. Twist the strands until you see that the strands wants to twist together on the far side of the top.

 

Continue twisting the strands and begin to move the top away from the sleigh. The sleigh hook will start to turn and the strands twist into a rope. It is tempting to twist the sleigh hook too much and thus twist the rope, but it is important to let twist come from the strands. But sometimes you need to also help the twist from the sleigh side.

 

Too much turning on the main unit will make the strands knot and too much twisting from the sleigh will make rope that unravels. Perfectly balanced rope does not unravel when cut.

 

 

 

 

Continue until the whole rope is formed. And stretch the rope well when it is finished and cut from the ropewalk. This rope for example strecthed from 53cm to 58cm. The strands were 82cm before twisting.

 

 

Its good to wax the rope if it will not be painted and I like to wax the strands with beeswax before the rope is formed.

Please ask questions as I see how unclear this long post became... 

 

[KeithAug]

Nicely done.

[Wacom]

Ingenious🤗 

[Louie da fly]

This is fantastic, Silverman. I've bookmarked this page, and I expect I'll be going out and getting some lego for myself to make the rope walk. Very valuable technical instruction.

[Brinkman]

Thank you for the comments and Steven, you are most welcome after all the help you have given me and others here

[Moab]

Thank you for this great “build.”  My wife will think I’m crazy when I start buying LEGO blocks. Thanx again...Moab