I finally managed to build my vertical rope maker.

[Jacapa412]

After being scammed and blocked by the Czech shop HisModel and Mr. Radimír Beseda, and after returning the “endless” rope-making machine (PL4-3) without ever getting my money back, I was given a thousand excuses, including the claim that UPS had damaged the machine when I returned it.
Eventually, I decided to build my own vertical rope-making machine so I could finally devote more time to my HMS Terror.
I have now finished building the machine, which I designed and constructed myself, and I’d like to share how it turned out. After doing the calculations and preparing the drawings, and after several failed attempts to determine the exact positioning of the gears, I finally managed to get everything into its final position.Today, I finished assembling the machine, and I think that after a few adjustments and tweaks, I’ll finally be able to make my own ropes without having to pay the hugely inflated prices on the market.

For those wondering about the cost, I paid less than $100 for all the parts, including shipping. I was a bit intimidated at first, but thanks to the help of members of this great forum, as well as a few Facebook groups, I was able to put together the parts list and make the purchase.
I think I’ll finally be able to get back to work on my HMS Terror, since the beautiful and majestic Sovereign of the Seas is already waiting in the shipyard queue.

I’d like to thank you all in advance for your comments and for any help you can provide in improving the quality of my ropes. These are my first attempts, so I know there are still adjustments to be made.

If anyone here has experience making their own ropes, I’d really appreciate your feedback!!! positive or negative, it doesn’t matter. All advice is welcome!

Thank you all!

 

[Y.T.]

Vertical rope maker machine - best arrangement for simplicity, space, convenience, speed of making rope. I own such type machine for many years.

 

[Bluebeard]

After being scammed and blocked by the Czech shop HisModel and Mr. Radimír Beseda, and after returning the “endless” rope-making machine (PL4-3) without ever getting my money back, I was given a thousand excuses, including the claim that UPS had damaged the machine when I returned it.
Eventually, I decided to build my own vertical rope-making machine so I could finally devote more time to my HMS Terror.
I have now finished building the machine, which I designed and constructed myself, and I’d like to share how it turned out. After doing the calculations and preparing the drawings, and after several failed attempts to determine the exact positioning of the gears, I finally managed to get everything into its final position.Today, I finished assembling the machine, and I think that after a few adjustments and tweaks, I’ll finally be able to make my own ropes without having to pay the hugely inflated prices on the market.

For those wondering about the cost, I paid less than $100 for all the parts, including shipping. I was a bit intimidated at first, but thanks to the help of members of this great forum, as well as a few Facebook groups, I was able to put together the parts list and make the purchase.
I think I’ll finally be able to get back to work on my HMS Terror, since the beautiful and majestic Sovereign of the Seas is already waiting in the shipyard queue.

I’d like to thank you all in advance for your comments and for any help you can provide in improving the quality of my ropes. These are my first attempts, so I know there are still adjustments to be made.

If anyone here has experience making their own ropes, I’d really appreciate your feedback!!! positive or negative, it doesn’t matter. All advice is welcome!

Thank you all!

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Great piece of machinery!

I have to say, I'm really impressed with what you've created here.
Handcrafting the machine itself, including the small motor and gear system, is an impressive bit of engineering in its own right.

And the ropes look absolutely fantastic!
The consistency and tightness of the strands are remarkable, especially at this scale.
There is something very satisfying about being able to make your own rope exactly to the scale and appearance you need for a model.

You've built yourself a very useful little machine—and a beautiful one at that.
Excellent work!

 

[Jack Sparrow]

i have the one from shipworkshop.com. I haven't used it yet, because I am not sure where to put it. Question for you. If I increase the weight, tension, on the rope, will you get a looser rope?

 

[Bluebeard]

That's an interesting question about the weight.
My understanding is that increasing the tension on the finished rope while it's being laid up would normally make the rope tighter and more compact rather than looser.
Too much tension could also stretch the strands and change the appearance of the lay.

If you're trying to get a looser-looking rope, I would think less tension and/or less twist would be the direction to go. But I'm curious to hear what you've discovered with your machine, because you've obviously spent some time experimenting with it.
The ropes you're producing look fantastic!

 

[Jack Sparrow]

That's an interesting question about the weight.
My understanding is that increasing the tension on the finished rope while it's being laid up would normally make the rope tighter and more compact rather than looser.
Too much tension could also stretch the strands and change the appearance of the lay.

If you're trying to get a looser-looking rope, I would think less tension and/or less twist would be the direction to go. But I'm curious to hear what you've discovered with your machine, because you've obviously spent some time experimenting with it.
The ropes you're producing look fantastic!

I have starting experimenting with my other ropewalk which is a planetary ropewalk machine. If I increase the feedrate and keep everything else contant(ie. head RPM and rope tension), then the rope will be less tight because you are giving the head less time to add twists to the rope. So having said that, I thought to myself if I increase the weight on that vertical machine then it's like increasing the feedrate. But I haven't experimented with that vertical ropewalk machine yet because I am trying to figure out where to put it

 

[Steef66]

More weight will result in a tighter twist in the rope, and the twists will be closer to a 45-degree angle. The reason is that you don’t start turning the rope until its total length has decreased by 10 percent. More weight counteracts this shortening, causing the strands to become more twisted. In principle, the amount of weight depends on the number of strands, and you should use just enough weight so that the strand doesn’t break.

Nice machine you build! And sorry about your bad experience with HisModel.

 

[Dubz Modelling World]

Very good result! Now just change the direction of the motor to get historical correct right handed hawser rope

 

[Jack Sparrow]

More weight will result in a tighter twist in the rope, and the twists will be closer to a 45-degree angle. The reason is that you don’t start turning the rope until its total length has decreased by 10 percent. More weight counteracts this shortening, causing the strands to become more twisted. In principle, the amount of weight depends on the number of strands, and you should use just enough weight so that the strand doesn’t break.

Nice machine you build! And sorry about your bad experience with HisModel.

Thanks. That explains a lot.

 

[paul ron]

thats pretty cool.

 

[AllanKP69]

Jack, I hate rigging and do not do it unless required so I don't use enough rope to make such a fine machine as you have done. Any thoughts to making and selling rope in stock and custom sizes? Could use a good one here in the States.
Allan

 

[Jacapa412]

Jack, I hate rigging and do not do it unless required so I don't use enough rope to make such a fine machine as you done. Any thoughts to making and selling rope in stock and custom sizes? Could use a good one here in the States.
Allan

Hi Allan,
Hahaha, nah, buddy, I haven't had a chance to think about that yet!!!! buuuuut you know what? I'll give it some thought. I'd just have to upgrade the machine and build a fixed board to mount on the gable of my house... . No, seriously though: today is my second day twisting rope whit this new baby, and you'll see in the photos that they turned out way better than the black ones I made yesterday. I'm still taking notes and learning; for now, I've got it mounted on the garage wall and I'm only making 7-foot-long ropes. But you're right, everything here in the US has to be imported from Canada or Europe, and we end up paying way too much for those ropes.
Greetings, my friend, and thank you for your great idea and the positive message.

 

[Jacapa412]

thats pretty cool.

Thank you Paul
You have no idea what I’ve been through and everything that led me to build my own machine. I’m absolutely thrilled, I used it again today and the results are spectacular, and I’ve only been using it for two days! I’m truly so happy that I finally managed to make my own ropes; thanks again for your comment.

 

[Jacapa412]

Very good result! Now just change the direction of the motor to get historical correct right handed hawser rope

Thanks, buddy! Your words encourage me to keep experimenting, and believe me, today's result was much better than yesterday's. Plus, I took your advice and reversed the machine's rotation, and look at the results! They speak for themselves.

 

[Jacapa412]

Vertical rope maker machine - best arrangement for simplicity, space, convenience, speed of making rope. I own such type machine for many years.

completely agree with you my friend!! also the results! They speak for themselves

 

[Rob444]

Your rope looks fantastic!

Rob

 

[Jacapa412]

Great piece of machinery!

I have to say, I'm really impressed with what you've created here.
Handcrafting the machine itself, including the small motor and gear system, is an impressive bit of engineering in its own right.

And the ropes look absolutely fantastic!
The consistency and tightness of the strands are remarkable, especially at this scale.
There is something very satisfying about being able to make your own rope exactly to the scale and appearance you need for a model.

You've built yourself a very useful little machine—and a beautiful one at that.
Excellent work!

Thanks, buddy, for your kind words, they really mean a lot to me.
Honestly, if I had known I was going to go through all that stress with that shitty PL4-3 elliptical machine by Aleksej Domanov, expensive piece of junk that didn’t deliver even 40% of the quality I achieved in just two days with the machine I built myself for a minimal cost of around $100, I would have never gone through with it, and after spending all that money—money I ultimately lost, since I ended up with neither the machine nor the cash!!! HisModel owner screwed me over twice.

 

[Jacapa412]

Your rope looks fantastic!

Rob

Thanks, Rob
I really appreciate your comment. And this is just the result achieved on the second day of testing.

 

[Jacapa412]

i have the one from shipworkshop.com. I haven't used it yet, because I am not sure where to put it. Question for you. If I increase the weight, tension, on the rope, will you get a looser rope?

Hi Jack,
As you can imagine, I’m just starting out making ropes, but based on my two days of experience, I can tell you that a drill chuck makes for the ideal weight. If not, I can weigh mine and let you know exactly how much weight I use. The key thing is to let the strands start twisting first; you’ll notice the weight rising due to the twisting force. Once it reaches about 10% of the total height, turn off the machine and release the weight so it can twist the three strands (or however many you're using) on its own. I thought it would be harder, but believe me, it’s super simple, just mount your machine high up and give it a try I installed mine. in the garage like at 8' hight and I made 7' long ropes. Check out the YouTube video I uploaded at the beginning of my post, and you’ll see how easy it is. Today, I used two pencils to keep the strands from twisting prematurely. I’ve attached a photo here; feel free to message me privately if you need anything, and I’ll help however I can. If you want, I can record another step-by-step video so you can see exactly what I mean. Anyway, good luck with Aleksej Domanov’s machine—I hope you didn’t make the mistake of buying the PL4-3 elliptical model; it’s absolute garbage.
By the way, what Bluebeard explained to you is correct; I have nothing to add.

 

[Jacapa412]

That's an interesting question about the weight.
My understanding is that increasing the tension on the finished rope while it's being laid up would normally make the rope tighter and more compact rather than looser.
Too much tension could also stretch the strands and change the appearance of the lay.

If you're trying to get a looser-looking rope, I would think less tension and/or less twist would be the direction to go. But I'm curious to hear what you've discovered with your machine, because you've obviously spent some time experimenting with it.
The ropes you're producing look fantastic!

Totally agree with you!! 100% I tried adding more tension to the lines today, and you’ve seen the result, the difference is remarkable; they twist much better if you let the threads wind up more.
BTW, where in Miami do you live? I’m in The Hammocks. It would be great to meet up and share experiences; I see you don't just build wooden ships but have done some plastic ones too. I’m just getting started with the *HMS Terror*, and I’ve already bought the *Sovereign of the Seas* for when I finish the *Terror*. They say it’s for advanced modelers, but I like a challenge, haha.