Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Living
Outside
Play
Technology
Workshop
Step 7: What Kind of Rope to Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Step 8: Further Sources of Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Author:kyle.marsh
I'm a developer for DreamHost. I enjoy working with my hands and building things. I also enjoy working with electronics. Halloween is my favorite holiday because it's the only time that EVERYONE tries to one-up each other dressing up.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Image Notes 1. Notice that the end goes underneath the rest of the rope to make this crossing turn.
Image Notes 1. Bitter (or "working") end of rope 2. 2. Standing part of rope #2 (actually the standing part is all of the rope except the working end).
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Image Notes 1. BIG space in the middle comes from making it loose. If you're a sharp-eyed viewer you'll notice that this looks a bit different from the other pictures; they're tied with 1/4" manila but this mat was completed earlier with 3/8" manila.
Image Notes 1. This is the loop you just tied. 2. This is one "end" of your rope. It's actually most of the rope that's not, to pun slightly, tied up in the knot shown. 3. And here's your working end.
Image Notes 1. Here's that loop we made in the last picture. 2. Standing part with the remaining length of the rope (actually this will be its own working end when you run out of room on the other end).
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
3. By feeding the working end back through next to the standing part we've made our 3 leaf clover into a 4 leaf clover and begun to "double" it. 4. Remember how I told you to keep it loose? This is important, and hard to do when you're starting so I'm gonna keep mentioning it.
Image Notes 1. Think of a sailmaker's palm as a giant thimble that you wear on your hand. 2. Waxed whipping twine. Quite strong, and the right size to put a whipping or seizing on most common diameters of rope. 3. Sailmaker's needle. It's quite thick, but it has a sharp point that flattens out quickly into a three-sided head. The flat sides are useful for pushing aside sections of twine to get the point where you want it.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Image Notes 1. Try to keep the wrapping turns even, tight, and close together. 2. Wrapping should be about 3x as long as the diameter of your rope.
Image Notes 1. Catch this tail in the loop to lock down the beginning of the seizing.
Image Notes 1. If you didn't use a palm before, this is where you definitely want one...the strands are tightly bound together now, so it's very difficult to get a thick needle between them.
Image Notes 1. Seizing 2. One end of this rope has a sailmaker's whipping on it.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Image Notes 1. This is where the base of the eye will be. The unlaid strands to the right will merge with the standing part.
Image Notes 1. Strand goes under one strand of the standing part and back out.
Image Notes 1. First strand exits here. 2. Second strand exits here. 3. Third strand exits here.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Image Notes 1. The end comes in from the right and joins with the pass next to it in the splice to the left.
Image Notes 1. Even after you've got the basic shape tied it takes a lot of patience to work this into a nice even mat.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Image Notes 1. One lead.. 2. Lead #2 3. The third lead 4. One bight of lead #2
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Material
The first choice to make whether to use a rope made of natural fibers or synthetic fibers. Natural ropes are generally softer and more pliable than synthetic ropes and often more aesthetically pleasing. They hold knots very well but wear out much faster than synthetic ropes. They are usually constructed as laid ropes but cotton can be found in a braided line. Synthetic ropes come in a wide variety of sizes, colors and constructions, so you can easily find one to suit your needs. They are strength-rated so you can tell how much load they can take before breaking. Many synthetic ropes are very slippery and have trouble holding knots, and they are usually stiffer and have more "memory" than natural ropes. Natural fibers commonly used to make rope include: Cotton You're familiar with this...you can buy it just about anywhere as clothesline. Cotton rope is soft, flexible and stretchy and usually comes in a warm off-white color. Sisal Sisal is bristly and splintery but immensely cheap...you can find 50 and 100 foot rolls of it at just about any hardware store for <$10, I think. It's a pale tan color and good for parctical purposes. The hairiness makes it generally unsuitable for purposes that will put it in contact with skin, like a bellpull or something. It is also pretty stiff and has a lot of "memory" so it holds onto kinks with irritating tenacity. Manila Manila is not quite as bristly as sisal and has less memory. It's darker than sisal and nearly as strong as hemp. In the WWII era is was very common but it's become harder to find these days. I've had good luck finding it at hardware stores. Hemp Hemp was the most common ropemaking material all over the world for a very long time. It makes the strongest natural ropes with decent stretch and is quite soft and pliable. It takes dye well, so you can get it in just about any color. Hemp rope tends to decay quite quickly so it's not as suitable for outdoor tasks as sisal or synthetic ropes. Jute Jute was a very common material for making ropes in Japan. It is difficult to find today (at least in the US) and I know very little about it. I've heard that it is similar to both hemp and manila. Coir Coir is another rope that I have never come across. It is made out of the fibers from coconut husks and is very weak, but it floats. Needless to say it is remarkably uncommon and, honestly, doesn't have much recommending it unless you live on an island where you can't get much else cheaply or easily. Synthetic fibers include:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Nylon Polyethylene Similar to nylon. PE rope is almost as strong, but not quite as stretchy as nylong. While nylon gets a fair amount weaker when wet, PE retains most of its strength. Polypropylene I've got something against polypropylene. I hate it. It floats, it's cheap and it won't biodegrade, so I accept that has its merits for some water-related purposes (rescue lines are a good one). It is usually extremely stiff, though, with very high memory. Even though it doesn't biodegrade, it does photodegrade -- water won't kill it but prolonged sunlight will. After it's started deteriorating it becomes quite bristly and splintery (much like sisal but plastic...eew). It's generally a pain to work with and you should try to avoid it for almost all projects. Fancy Stuff There are a variety of new, fancy fibers that are used to make ropes with special purposes. Aramid, High-Modulus Polyethylene, and Liquid Crystal Polymer are a few. They make ropes with extremely high strength, heat resistance or chemical resistance, or very low friction (high slipperiness).
Construction
Until the mid 20th century all rope was laid , meaning the fibers were twisted into yarns which were then twisted into strands , which were finally twisted into rope. The vast majority of laid rope is of three-strand construction, but I've also seen some 4-strand rope before. Almost all natural rope is laid (I've seen cotton braided before, but that's it). Laid rope is flexible and stretchy and you can do all kinds of fun things by unlaying it and playing with the individual strands (splices and stopper knots, mostly). An interesting (and mostly unimportant) note to make about laid rope is the direction in which it is laid...when you hold the rope vertically the strands will either wrap from the right to the left as they travel down (like the middle part of a Z) or from the left to the right (like the middle section of an S). Thus these constructions are called S-laid and Z-laid rope. The vast majority of laid rope today is Z-laid. Synthetic ropes can be laid or braided. There are many different kinds of braid out there and they all behave differently. Some different braids include multibraid and hollow braid . Multibraid rope is a solid braid, usually with four strands. Hollow braid rope is small (usually only up to 1/4") and extremely flexible, but not remarkably strong. It's fun to play with because it behaves a lot like a chinese finger-trap toy. Finally, kern-mantle ropes consist of a braided sheath (or mantle) that protects a very strong core. The core can be a solid braid or it can be made from parallel or gently twisting yarns. These ropes are very strong with low stretch and are used for applications like climbing where your life depends on your rope.
Size
I've been dealing with 1/4" and 3/8" rope for this instructable. Those are the most common sizes of rope available and the most suited for trivets. The smaller a rope is, the more flexible it becomes, but the weaker it gets. Decorative ropework often benefits from large-diameter ropes because they are less- prone to collapse a knot down on itself like more flexible rope would. The picture below shows a variety of rope in different constructions, materials, and sizes.
Image Notes 1. Tubular nylon webbing -- used extensively by rock climbers. 2. 1/8" Paracord -- tightly woven nylon sheath (or "mantle") around an inner nylon core. 3. 3-strand Z-laid nylon - 1/4" 4. Braided nylon with a fused (melted) end -- 1/4" 5. Sailmaker's whipping 6. Common whipping 7. Braided cotton -- 1/4" 8. 3-strand S-laid hemp -- 6mm 9. 3-strand Z-laid manila -- 1/4" 10. 3-strand Z-laid sisal -- 1/4"
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Image Notes 1. 1970's era Boy Scout fieldbook. Contains useful descriptions and step-by-step guides of knots, splices and lashings. 2. Useful little pamphlet I picked up at Boy Scout camp one year
Related Instructables
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/
Comments
6 comments
Add Comment
Dec 21, 2011. 1:41 PM REPLY
kyle.marsh says:
You're very welcome! Glad I was able to help!
kyle.marsh says:
Dec 21, 2011. 11:20 AM REPLY Yeah, my pictures aren't very clear for this part. Fortunately, the internet has a lot of good resources for learning knots and splices. Try watching this animated picture series and see if that helps [0]. Good luck, and if you have specific questions about tying off the ends of your mat I'm happy to answer them! [0] http://www.animatedknots.com/splice/index.php
Kiteman says:
Nov 8, 2010. 12:20 PM REPLY If I've got the right Des Pawson (and how many can there be?), I met him at a Scout Leader training event. Thoroughly nice chap, very helpful.
kyle.marsh says:
Nov 8, 2010. 9:57 PM REPLY It's gotta be the same guy. His book is amazing; if it's any indication of how he is in person then he's an excellent instructor. He definitely knows his knots.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Tying-Trivets-out-of-Rope-for-Holiday-Gifts/