cutting, feeding, fixing model ship rope

[palmerit]

First time working with rope (on my Sherbourne). 

 

1) What's the best way to cut it to get a crisp end? Scalpel? Scissors? Clippers? Recommended kind? I suppose that question goes for other kinds of rigging when I get to that step (soon).

 

2) What's the best way to feed thick rope through a narrow hole? I had to feed it through the holes in the grates and the ends kept coming undone. I ended up pushing it through with the sharp end of a narrow pin file. But it took a long time and a lot of tries to finally get it through (I had to cut the rope a few times to get a fresh end to try again).

 

3) How can I fix / finish the ends of rope like this? And should I have fixed / finish the ends before cutting the rope? And before trying to feed through the narrow holes? I've seen 60% water / 40% PVA recommended by some. Should I use CA glue on the ends instead? Should I treat with CA (or water/PVA) before I make a fresh cut?

 

4) Should I treat (have treated) the entire length of rope with water / PVA?

[Gregory]

I  put CA (super glue) on the ends of rope.  After it cures, I cut it at an angle  with scalpel or clippers to create a point for threading through blocks or other holes.

[popeye2sea]

If you want an authentic way to finish a rope end, whip the end with thread before trimming the rope close to the whipping.

Might be worth the effort for the larger ropes used on a ship.  Probably not worth the effort for smaller stuff.

 

Regards,

 

Henry

[palmerit]

15 minutes ago, popeye2sea said:

whip the end with thread before trimming the rope close to the whipping

Pointers on how to do that? Is that a standard technique?

[Gregory]

Whipping is just the method of dressing the end of a rope.

How to Tie a Common Whipping Knot? Tips, Uses & Video Steps

 

Modeling it may not always be worth the effort depending on the scale you are working and the size of the rope.

Edited December 16 by Gregory

[Dr PR]

If you are having trouble pushing a rope through a hole, either the rope is too big or the hole is too small.

 

Side cutters are essential for cutting rope very close to something. The blades are beveled on one side only and the cutting surface is smooth when the jaws are closed.

[paul ron]

i use clear nail polish to stiffen the rope end to keep it from fraying. some people use diluted wood glue.

 

cut the tip on an angle. i use a scaple #11 with no problems.

 

whipping the end is a nice way to finish it but do that after it passed through the hole.

 

as mentioned, either the rope is too thick or the hole is a tad too small.

[palmerit]

4 hours ago, paul ron said:

either the rope is too thick or the hole is a tad too small

The hole was actually just the right size. It's that if you don't treat the ends of the braided twisted rope (like I did) and just try to push it through and grab the end from the other side with tweezers (like I did) it's easy to get a "traffic jam" of rope on the other side (like I found). Pushing through with something like the sharp end of a needle file works, but was tough on the rope (and tough on my fingers when the needle file slipped past the rope pushing on a small grate). Seems either clear nail polish or CA on the ends (them trimming them) might be a good solution to making a narrow point to slide through a tight opening.

Edited Monday at 06:57 PM by palmerit