Make your rope on a rope walk

dockattner said:
Hello Stephan,

Not sure what your source thread budget is...but I was using Gutermann E151 (and E121) for my ropes. Finding that in the US was difficult so I had a Polish builder (Matt) purchase some and send it to me when he traveled once to the US. I bet you can find it in Europe. A forum sponsor (Ropes of Scale) also sells it now at a slight mark-up:

ropesofscale.com

Polyester Thread

Miniature Rope for the scale modeler. These products are designed for rigging model ships but can be used for most scale modeling or dioramas.
ropesofscale.com

I did not experience this twisting issue.
Click to expand...
Hi, sorry off topic question. I was just wondering why you are using E151 and E121 thread? I am looking into buying some thread for my ropemachine and I am not sure what to buy. I haven't tried the e151 or e121 thread yet.
 
Steef66 said:
Thanks Paul, I found a shop in England.
www.williamgee.co.uk

Gutermann Skala 360 Threads - Fast Delivery | William Gee UK

20000m cone. Gutermann Sewing Thread Skala 360, 100% Gutermann Thread, Buy Gutermann Skala 360 Sewing Threads Online and other products at williamgee.co.uk
www.williamgee.co.uk www.williamgee.co.uk
But the sending and import will be more then the product. :(

On Etsy it was cheaper but not the colours I need. Out of stock. Have to wait.

Question is there any stretch in a single yarn of yours? You can test that easy. Just pull on it. You feel the elasticity or not.
Click to expand...
I didn't like thread for blind hemming (Gutermann Skala 360 and super-thin Serafil) - it is semi-transparent and elastic. The E121 and E151 are opaque and not elastic feeling. Maybe @BenD can comment. I think he uses this for his poly ropes and since I am out of the rope-making business if I need rigging in the future, I'll just order from him.
 
Jack Sparrow said:
Hi, sorry off topic question. I was just wondering why you are using E151 and E121 thread? I am looking into buying some thread for my ropemachine and I am not sure what to buy. I haven't tried the e151 or e121 thread yet.
Click to expand...
Short answer: I could make small ropes with it that had excellent definition. There are other choices as well, but this was the best source thread in my hands and for my hanging system.
 
dockattner said:
I didn't like thread for blind hemming (Gutermann Skala 360 and super-thin Serafil) - it is semi-transparent and elastic. The E121 and E151 are opaque and not elastic feeling. Maybe @BenD can comment. I think he uses this for his poly ropes and since I am out of the rope-making business if I need rigging in the future, I'll just order from him.
Click to expand...
oh you decided to not continue? Can't say I blame you, but I have invested a couple of dollars on a planetary gear machine and so I will have to get some value out of it. It seems to work great, and I am thinking that the E121 and E151 threads will make it work even better.
 
Jack Sparrow said:
oh you decided to not continue? Can't say I blame you, but I have invested a couple of dollars on a planetary gear machine and so I will have to get some value out of it. It seems to work great, and I am thinking that the E121 and E151 threads will make it work even better.
Click to expand...
Yup. After the first 100 meters of making rope 3 meters at a time the charm came off. I enjoyed learning the process and felt like I was able to make some pretty nice rope. You can make longer lengths of rope with a horizontal system and that might have kept me in the game.

At the end of the day I felt like spending my limited hobby time on things I enjoyed was the better choice.
 
dockattner said:
Yup. After the first 100 meters of making rope 3 meters at a time the charm came off. I enjoyed learning the process and felt like I was able to make some pretty nice rope. You can make longer lengths of rope with a horizontal system and that might have kept me in the game.

At the end of the day I felt like spending my limited hobby time on things I enjoyed was the better choice.
Click to expand...
makes sense. It is supposed to be fun after all.
 
BenD said:
You need to make sure that all the excess twist is out of the rope before using it. Also baking the polyester will reduce twisting like in that video. You can also add some counter twist if you need to while adding the ropes to the ship.

I like your ropewalk setup.
Click to expand...
Hi, Ben. Can you post the temperatures and times that you use for "baking" polyester rope? I have been using 175F for 5 minutes. (79.4C).
 
dockattner said:
I didn't like thread for blind hemming (Gutermann Skala 360 and super-thin Serafil) - it is semi-transparent and elastic. The E121 and E151 are opaque and not elastic feeling. Maybe @BenD can comment. I think he uses this for his poly ropes and since I am out of the rope-making business if I need rigging in the future, I'll just order from him.
Click to expand...
The Gutermann E threads do have some elastic qualities. I've found it to be forgiving and easy to make rope with. It's not 2-3 plied like the other threads that most people use. It's the closest thing to rope-making yarns I have found, other than 1 ply linen.

Jeff T said:
Hi, Ben. Can you post the temperatures and times that you use for "baking" polyester rope? I have been using 175F for 5 minutes. (79.4C).
Click to expand...
I bake at 300F. size 0.35mm is 1m45s and the largest 1.8mm is 6m30s. It's a trial and error kind of thing, You don't want stiff rope but don't want unraveling. The 0.25mm I don't bake as it really does not react well to the heat.

-

I've had comments about the ridiculous prices of the Gutermann E thread I have in stock. I have contacted my sales rep at A@E to see if I can get a discount as I buy hundreds of spools a year. I was given a 20% discount. A price reduction on my thread prices is coming soon. Even so, it is still expensive as an import product. If you live in Europe you should be able to find this thread at half the price I am charging.

I'm also looking into linen threads again. I have a few leads but I won't get to hopeful. I've been burned in the past with poor products. Someday I hope to have a full lineup of linen rope and threads available.
 
BenD said:
I've had comments about the ridiculous prices of the Gutermann E thread I have in stock.
Click to expand...
Hmm. A spool that will last most model builders a lifetime and is otherwise unavailable in the US through normal means... I think under $20 is a rather fair offering, Ben. While I did not purchase my original stock from you, I made hundreds of dollars of finished scaled rope for about the cost of a Starbuck's specialty drink (and then sold on the remaining 3/4 spool to another ship builder).

I did not observe the E series threads to be that elastic. @Steef66 please note Ben's comment.
 
I'm making the anchor rope for the Discovery1789. It should be in the neighborhood of .08 to .1"(2-2.5mm). I twisted up three right twist ropes of .05". That went as normal. Now I had to twist those three in a left twist to get the anchor laid rope. When I did this twist it took hardly any twisting before the ropes started knotting. The ropes were shortening very quickly. I just let it twist up and got a very serviceable anchor rope. Is it normal for the second twist to go so quickly?

IMG_0352.JPG
Now i just have to make one the right color. :oops: Maybe it should be twisted a little tighter? More tension weight?
 
Last edited:
im a bit puzzeled about the hand of the rope twist....

i know the directions of each, but if you turn a left hand rope over, it has the same direction as a right hand rope n vs vs.

what else besides direction can i look for to tell the difference?
 
paul ron said:
im a bit puzzeled about the hand of the rope twist....

i know the directions of each, but if you turn a left hand rope over, it has the same direction as a right hand rope n vs vs.

what else besides direction can i look for to tell the difference?
Click to expand...
The direction of rope lay is determined by the direction the individual strands within the rope are twisted around the core. The picture illustrates if the strands are going upwards to the left, this is a left-hand rope and if the individual strands are going upwards to the right, this is a right-hand lay.

I didn't include the picture because you said you understand that part.

When you "turn it over" it still goes the same way. Try it with a piece of line, or even draw it on a piece of paper. :)
 
They don't change when you turn them over. I just tried it and I can't get it to change. Here's my final anchor rope. it came out a bit smaller at .09" which is actually closer to scale I think.

IMG_0357.JPG
Paul- if you look at rope vertically the lines(in this case) go up to the left like a "S". This is left hand rope.
Here's a link
It's kind of funny watching them try to make such a boring topic interesting. :)

Stephan- I doubled the tension weight. I like the angle better. Is it possible to make rope nice and tight like this and have it softer. This is like annealed copper wire. I may have trouble getting it to look natural.
 
Last edited:
Don Case said:
Stephan- I doubled the tension weight. I like the angle better. Is it possible to make rope nice and tight like this and have it softer. This is like annealed copper wire. I may have trouble getting it to look natural.
Click to expand...
Lower the weight, lower the speed of the strand and increase the speed of the cable. Some things to try.

Your anchor cable looks real good.


paul ron said:
im a bit puzzeled about the hand of the rope twist....
Click to expand...
Did you read the first post in this thread? Most answer you can find there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top