I finally managed to build my vertical rope maker.

[Steef66]

Hi Paul,
The gears are solid brass, purchased ready-made and use an Allen screw to secure them to the central shaft. I also bought a small 12V motor that runs at 1400 RPM; I was wondering if I should have bought a more powerful one, but for now, it’ll do the job until it gives out.

You don't need a powerfull motor for a vertical machine. The vertical machine in the shop got an 'education' motor. That's one you find in a toy box, you can stop it with halding a finger against it. Look for a DC555, that's powerful enough and when you think it should be more power, you can buy a geared one. I use a DC555 with a low speed (3000) at 12V. And it turns from 1500 to about 2800 in my machine. You can use it vertical too without the second part. To much speed is not okay. You don't get any control on it.

 

[Jacapa412]

You don't need a powerfull motor for a vertical machine. The vertical machine in the shop got an 'education' motor. That's one you find in a toy box, you can stop it with halding a finger against it. Look for a DC555, that's powerful enough and when you think it should be more power, you can buy a geared one. I use a DC555 with a low speed (3000) at 12V. And it turns from 1500 to about 2800 in my machine. You can use it vertical too without the second part. To much speed is not okay. You don't get any control on it.

Hi Steff,
I can definitely control the motor speed; mine tops out at 1360 RPM, but I can lower it if I want. Right now, I have it set to around 1100 RPM—not running at full speed yet. It also has a button to change the rotation direction. Thanks for the extra info; I'll keep it in mind. I've also saved the motor number in my notes, just in case, the photo shows the kit I bought, and I put everything into a plastic box.

 

[Jacapa412]

Today I ran a test with a different thread, this time using brown 100% polyester Gütermann 121. I noticed it’s more elastic than the ones I used yesterday, but the effect is spectacular. I made them all using 3 strands; the difference is barely noticeable on the one on the left which uses 3 strands, in the middle with 4 strands while the thickest one on the left uses 10 strands. I prefer this thread because it has less sheen and the twist is compact. I think I’ll try heating the ropes to make them even tighter; I’m very happy with the results.

 

[Jacapa412]

can you go down to 0.3 mm rope?

Hi Jack
Here are the ropes I made today. I used Gütermann E121 brown thread and made them all using three strands, the difference is barely noticeable between the 2 first from the right: the one on the right had three yarns per strand, the middle one had four yarns per strand, and the thickest one had ten yarns per strand. They could be made finer, but to the naked eye, the difference is hardly visible, you’d need a magnifying glass to really see it. In the second photo, where they are stretched out, you can see a slight difference in thickness.
Cheers

 

[Jack Sparrow]

looks great!

 

[Dubz Modelling World]

Super results!

 

[jasonized]

Would you be interested in sharing the plans, parts lists so others can benefit from your bumpy road results?
Maybe open a discussion on local kit building?
Cheers!

 

[Phillipsart]

Congratulations on your success. Your rope looks great.

Now you can move on and make excellent rope and not worry about that PL4 machine anymore. What I nightmare that machine is.

Mine still sits in my cupboard. Every time I see my pl4 machine it reminds me of the stress it caused.

 

[TheGatzby]

I used Gütermann E121

Did that thread have a color number?

 

[Jacapa412]

Did that thread have a color number?

Yes my friend

 

[Jacapa412]

Congratulations on your success. Your rope looks great.

Now you can move on and make excellent rope and not worry about that PL4 machine anymore. What I nightmare that machine is.

Mine still sits in my cupboard. Every time I see my pl4 machine it reminds me of the stress it caused.

It was a nightmare trying to say anything nice about this machine. I’m done with mine, but it certainly caused me stress and headaches—what with the experience with HisModel (where I was ripped off) and the customer service from Mr. Aleksei Domanov. He is even worse than the machine; he leaves a lot to be desired, despite his YouTube videos spanning over a decade. Thanks for your comment.

 

[Jacapa412]

Would you be interested in sharing the plans, parts lists so others can benefit from your bumpy road results?
Maybe open a discussion on local kit building?
Cheers!

I didn't draw up formal blueprints, since I'm an architect, I just used sketches, imagination, a few measurements, and some cutting. I did run calculations, though (albeit in Spanish) and I can certainly make the list available to the forum members. I'll give it some thought and put together a summary for that section of the forum. Thanks for the comment and the idea.

 

[paul ron]

just looking at your machine, its as simple as it gets. 4 gears, how complicated is that to figure out.

 

[Jacapa412]

Did that thread have a color number?

Those are all the colors and prices for the 3 spools I bought from ropesofscale.com (Canada).

 

[Jacapa412]

just looking at your machine, its as simple as it gets. 4 gears, how complicated is that to figure out.

Hi Paul
I totally agree with you!!!, It’s a simple machine if you know what to buy and how to build it; the tricky part is that the gears are made of bronze, and the teeth on all four gears have to mesh perfectly. Believe me, aside from the calculations I did, I ruined a whole set of Plexiglass pieces because the holes didn't line up correctly. You really need a drill press for this; no matter how hard you try, you’ll never get the holes in the two plates to align perfectly using a handheld drill, and that’s why the whole system fails. I wouldn't call it an easy job, but it’s certainly achievable. Here are some of the calculations I made, sorry they’re in Spanish.

View attachment ChatGPT Image Aug 21, 2026 at 08_10_47 PM.png.pdf

 

[Jack Sparrow]

may i ask why e121 instead of Gutermann MARA?

 

[Jeff T]

Those are all the colors and prices for the 3 spools I bought from ropesofscale.com (Canada).

View attachment 637811

Consider using E151 for larger ropes and additional diameters. Same material as E121; just more "yarns" per thread.

 

[Etwas_63]

I’ve already posted photos of my vertical jig in the *Saint Philip* build thread. I took the path of least resistance and built it using Lego parts. I’m quite pleased with the result. For the thread, I used Gütermann 240 (shade 722, light beige) and 682 (brownish-black) for the standing rigging, along with some Russian-made polyester thread—though the specific manufacturer is unknown, as I simply found it in my wife's stash.





The motor and the battery pack—which also serves as the control unit—come from a Chinese Lego-compatible set. These Chinese motors are more powerful and have a higher RPM, handling the task perfectly. Plus, the remote control feature is very convenient, and the battery lasts a long time.

 

[Y.T.]

you should use just enough weight so that the strand doesn’t break.

Pearls of wisdom words! This makes the tightest wound rope for modelling!

 

[Jacapa412]

may i ask why e121 instead of Gutermann MARA?

That’s actually a good question; I bought that type of thread because it’s highly recommended, but I’m looking at other options too. This "121" is just a single strand, it's super fine, and sometimes it would snag on my fingernails, which is annoying, hehe. However, I used a different thread for the beige and black ones that I post before; that one comes as a 3 yarns twist, and even though it's polyester, it has much more sheen than the Gütermann. I’m going to check out the option Jeff T recommended, I’ve heard Gütermann 151 is good too, but I haven't heard much about the Gütermann 240 that Etwas_63 uses, though I do like the color.