Wire rigging for 1885 Puritan by Mamoli

[bridgman]

Kit instruction for 1:50, 1885 Puritan call for o.5mm "metal plait" material for shrouds and stays. Material that came with kit

looks like a braided wire, gray color, flat, and less than a millimeter wide. Have not worked with this type of material for rigging

not sure how to make end terminations at mast, dead eyes and other terminations. Material is pliable and twists easily, but not sure 

how to finish it off neatly. Also looked at beading wire of similar diameter as it is pliable and easily knotted and available.

Suggestions, recommendations would be helpful!

Or, I just may revert to non-metallic material. 

Bridgman Bob

 

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Bob, a dark grey thread makes very good imitation wire rope for rigging.

 

John

[Roger Pellett]

Bluejacket Ship Modelers just finished a lengthy set of posts describing the development of a new model kit for the Schooner Wyoming.  Her standing rigging was wire tope.  I recall Nic answering a question about  what he was using.  I don’t remember the answer!

 

Roger

[Bob Cleek]

From the Blue Jacket Shipcrafters' post: 

Fine braided and twisted wire is readily available, although it may require a bit of toning down for modeling use. It would take a magician to turn in a Liverpool splice in 1 mm wire, but a socket terminal could certainly be fashioned from copper tubing and soldered on.

 

 

 

Here's a photo of Balclutha's wire cable standing rigging and turnbuckles. Her are simply doubled and seized as shown. Note the metal rod that runs through the top of all the metal thimbles which is intended to prevent the wire from untwisting under load. The turnbuckles are coated in painted canvas boots.

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Bob Cleek

[MrBlueJacket]

12 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Bluejacket Ship Modelers just finished a lengthy set of posts describing the development of a new model kit for the Schooner Wyoming.  Her standing rigging was wire tope.  I recall Nic answering a question about  what he was using.  I don’t remember the answer!

 

Roger

For the Wyoming standing rigging, I used .015 cotton line painted silver.

 

Nic

[Maury S]

Even wire shrouds would have been served.

Maury

[Joseph Schmidt]

My lightning sailboat I did with wire rope standing rigging. These boats changed over from natural fiber rigging to wire rope standing rigging and synthetic running rigging about the same time as fiberglass hulls were coming in.

The wire was from artwox, 7 strand stainless steel and was finely twisted. I used a single strand from clippings to wrap or serve the end into a simulated eye splice. The mini turnbuckles were also purchased and are functional making it easy to adjust the tension on the shrouds and stays.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Joseph Schmidt

[Stephen Allen]

I have found beading wire problematic because of its reluctance to bend without kinking, and because it needs a fair bit of tension to straighten out, putting a lot of strain on the mounting points and masts. I build in 1/48 and 1/72 mostly.
 

If you don’t want to use beading wire, then YLI make a range of silk threads in metallic colours ranging from a bright silver to a dull gunmetal. These can be twisted up on a rope walk like any other thread, although I have found that the ends usually need a little glue to prevent unravelling. The thread is naturally not fuzzy. The metallic look is easily dulled by a coat of matt varnish if you wish, but it isn’t objectionable - its not sparkly or anything. Gutermann also make a range of upholstery threads which come in a dark grayish colour that works well too. 1/48 with Gutermann upholstery thread on the left. Various YLI-based three strand standing rigging lines in 1/72 on the right ( its a work in progress shot so please excuse the stray ends). I use this in a single strand to replicate wire rope safety lines as well. Both can be tightly wound through blocks, pulleys etc, knotted, or secured with small crimps or bottlescrews, and don’t need a lot of tension.

 

Steve.

 

 

[Alex-Ks1]

When I did my Wyoming rigging I chose wire rope , to me it was easy to use . First I found NON stainless steel @1.5 MM thick , my hull was about 8 ft , this way I could wrap a working turn buckle then I could sodder a small thin wire in copper at the ends , Stainless steel won't so sodder . You have to take in account after time the wire will stretch .I didn't fully tighten the turn buckles , this way in time I could readjust the wire rope tension .

[bridgman]

Steve
Thanks for the tip on YKL and Gutermann, unaware of those colors. Should be easier to work

than bead wire! 

Bridgman Bob

 

 

 

 

 

[Alex-Ks1]

Steve made a point of the wire kinking , true , and it will bend . I make mine about 1 foot longer , cut each one and then hang them from a rack with a 10 LB  weight on the bottom end , then run a propane torch  over them at an even pace . This way they RELAX , and because I use NON stainless wire it works out very good easy to work with .I'm not looking for perfection, or I'm not trying to impress any one , I do it the way I want , and I'm having fun . The people that bought my Wyoming didn't know what a Schooner was , they thought a large glass of beer .After all I'm in Kansas  , NASCAR , WHEAT AND DUST , BTW.  racecar spelled backwards is still racecar