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Making your own Ropes

Rope Walk – First Run Success!

Well… after getting everything set up and scratching my head for a bit — the rope walk is officially up and running!

First proper run today and I managed to knock out a 3.1 metre length of 1.5mm rope… and I’ve got to say — this thing works an absolute treat

I did hit a small learning curve at the start (as expected).

Got myself a bit twisted up with the direction of the wind…

I was aiming for a right-hand (Z) lay rope, so naturally I thought:

set the yarns to LH…


Nope ❌ — not how this one plays!

After a bit of trial and error, I realised:

Both ends set to RH… and suddenly everything just clicked

…and that beautiful rope started forming exactly how it should

Result:


✔️ Clean, consistent lay


✔️ 1.5mm thickness


✔️ 3.1m length


✔️ First go!



What really impressed me —

I could not achieve this thickness or consistency with my previous rope maker.

This setup is already proving to be a serious upgrade

Plenty more testing to come… different diameters, materials, and finishes — but for a first run, I’m stoked with how it turned out!

If anyone else is setting one of these up —


Don’t overthink the twist direction like I did





More updates soon as I dial it in further!

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Steef66 said:
Congratz, it looks good.
The machine is designed to setup both switches in the same direction. If you make RH rope both switches in stand I and cable/LH, both in stand II.
Click to expand...
I want to make apx 2mm rope. I need about 3 or 4 meters. Will run some tests over the next few days.
 
If you follow the 10% rule, this is 10% of the distance between the hooks of the “BOK” and the “WIEL”. You can also add a little more weight to get a tighter stroke in your rope, or experiment with the adjustment screw on the “KLOS”. Applying just a little resistance to the cable makes a world of difference. Have fun experimenting.
 
Steef66 said:
What yarn did you use for the test?
Click to expand...
The Gutterman Tera 20. 3x2, Went to 15%. Any less and it was not wound up enough. I had 28 gram weight but there was some friction between the Bok and the bench shelving, which is why I only used 28 grams of weight.

I’m considering adding something onto the bench under the Bok for apx 70cm long that has no friction. So the Bok slides freely. But this seamed to work. .

I didn’t want to use my Gutterman E Thread until I got this working.
 
Steef66 said:
If you follow the 10% rule, this is 10% of the distance between the hooks of the “BOK” and the “WIEL”. You can also add a little more weight to get a tighter stroke in your rope, or experiment with the adjustment screw on the “KLOS”. Applying just a little resistance to the cable makes a world of difference. Have fun experimenting.
Click to expand...
Maybe instead of going to 15% and 28 gram of weight. Would increasing the weight and reducing to 10% wound it tighter?
 
Try 200 to 300 gram and go to 10%. The rope will be a little thinner, but that's the experience. The friction of the bok is no problem. Only make sure that it moves steady. A thin glasplate or formica sheet does a lot of good. I used a white cabinet panel.
 
Another solid session on the rope walk today… and things are starting to dial in nicely

I kicked things off using Gutermann E No. 382 thread and ran a 3x2 setup with 200g of weight and 10% stretch. That produced a really clean 0.90mm rope — nice and tight, great consistency.

But then things got interesting…

Switched it up to a 3x8 configuration using the same thread, same weight and stretch — and bang

Out came a beautiful 1.5mm rope, which is absolutely spot on for my 1:50 scale SAN Felipe build.

This is exactly the size I’ve been chasing for the heavier standing rigging, and the finish on it is unreal — tight lay, consistent twist, and looks the part straight off the walk.

It’s amazing how much difference the strand count makes, even with the same thread. This rope walk is really starting to prove itself now.



Plenty more testing to come… but I think I’ve just unlocked the sweet spot



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I think section A was attached to the “BOK” and section B to the “WIEL.” The difference in stroke is noticeable. When you reach 10%, both machines should continue running at roughly the same potentiometer setting. And I think you can add more weight.
Otherwise, you're well on your way to making the perfect rope. This is already very nice, especially the section on the A side.
 
Steef66 said:
View attachment 586872

I think section A was attached to the “BOK” and section B to the “WIEL.” The difference in stroke is noticeable. When you reach 10%, both machines should continue running at roughly the same potentiometer setting. And I think you can add more weight.
Otherwise, you're well on your way to making the perfect rope. This is already very nice, especially the section on the A side.
Click to expand...
My mistake. I had 200grams weight not 100.

Yes I noticed the end at the Weil was a bit looser than at the bok.

I will try more weight soon and try the same rope.
 
Steef66 said:
View attachment 586872

I think section A was attached to the “BOK” and section B to the “WIEL.” The difference in stroke is noticeable. When you reach 10%, both machines should continue running at roughly the same potentiometer setting. And I think you can add more weight.
Otherwise, you're well on your way to making the perfect rope. This is already very nice, especially the section on the A side.
Click to expand...
Yes. I think I did run a different speed on the bok than I did on the Weil. So I need to make sure I run both at the same speed?

Is 200 grams enough or should I still increase the weight?

Also I did not add any friction to the cone. I had that set loose. Should I have had more friction on the cone with the thicker ropes?
 
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