Making Your Own Ropes.

[AllanKP69]

As smaller scales are not unusual, does anyone make rope for scales such as 1:96? Using a 74 gun ship as an example the top gallant buntlines would be 0.11mm diameter and the braces about 0.19mm. Smaller rates would be even smaller. I am guessing thread will be needed versus rope but I believe even fly tying line only goes down to 0.15mm.
TIA
Allan

 

[Jack Sparrow]

As smaller scales are not unusual, does anyone make rope for scales such as 1:96? Using a 74 gun ship as an example the top gallant buntlines would be 0.11mm diameter and the braces about 0.19mm. Smaller rates would be even smaller. I am guessing thread will be needed versus rope but I believe even fly tying line only goes down to 0.15mm.
TIA
Allan

Probably not the correct way, but I just use thread that fits the smallest blocks in the build. I don't think there is a block with as small as 0.15 mm hole but I don't know this for a fact.

 

[AllanKP69]

I just use thread that fits the smallest blocks in the build.

At this size the wound rope appearance would not be evident anyway, so a good thing. I do try to match the right size rope to a reasonable extent as the sizes for each line is easy to calculate for any given size and era of English warships from the 17th century onwards.

I did some searching and did find 0.1mm bead thread so it is out there.

Allan

 

[Jack Sparrow]

At this size the wound rope appearance would not be evident anyway, so a good thing. I do try to match the right size rope to a reasonable extent as the sizes for each line is easy to calculate for any given size and era of English warships from the 17th century onwards.

I did some searching and did find 0.1mm bead thread so it is out there.

Allan

Me too, but when things get really small, I throw in the towel because I have a hard time working with that. I don't think I have ever worked with that fine a thread as 0.1 mm

 

[Bob Cleek]

One last thing to do is go over it with Bees Wax before removing the rope from the walk.

Er... Well, there's differing views on this subject. Bees' wax has some issues with archival quality and acidity. Waxes are like "fly paper" to dust. A case will of course limit this somewhat, but it's impossible to avoid all dust. Fortunately, most of the synthetic cordage these days doesn't have the "fuzz" the organics do. For sealing and shaping catenaries and coils, etc., thinned clear shellac renders was unnecessary.

 

[Bob Cleek]

I'm familiar with Guttermann Mara, but not Scala. Is Scala a left-handed laid thread? It appears that you've laid up some very nice right-handed three-strand line which is correct, of course. That would mean that the thread was laid left-handed. If not, what's your secret for producing such nice right-hand laid line? You don't reverse the twist on the threads to begin with, do you?

 

[Bob Cleek]

Heat-treating rope will help them from unraveling. It does make them more stiff and difficult to use. Don't go over 300F and don't leave them in there for more than a few minutes.

When they make the polyester thread it starts as pellets and is heated and stretched into small fibers.

Yes. Detailed directions for "heat setting" polyester thread laid cordage are in the "drop-down" "articles" section of the masthead menu of the MSW forum. There's a lot of good information in there from Alexi Domanoff about thread choices and "menus." The purpose of "baking" the laid up cordage for a very short while at a very low temperature is because polyester is melted and extruded to fine monofilaments to make polyester thread and fabric. Polyester melts when heated sufficiently. When cordage is laid up, considerable tension is stored in the twisted fibers. Heating them to a specific temperature for a specific period of time as described in the articles cited relaxes the tension in the twisted fibers when they soften. This relaxing the tension prevents unraveling of the laid-up cordage.

 

[Winter]

I'm familiar with Guttermann Mara, but not Scala. Is Scala a left-handed laid thread? It appears that you've laid up some very nice right-handed three-strand line which is correct, of course. That would mean that the thread was laid left-handed. If not, what's your secret for producing such nice right-hand laid line? You don't reverse the twist on the threads to begin with, do you?

Gutterman skala is not a twisted thread, just like Gutterman e 121

 

[johnv]

My home made rope run. More details at johnsmachines.com. And some early efforts used on my Mamoli Constitution. The table is 3m long, and the ropes made are about 2.6-2.7m long. 2.6m goes a long way on a 1:93 model. It takes maybe only 5-10" to make each length.

 

[Winter]

The approximate thickness of the three-row rope is obtained from Gutterman skala 240 and Gutterman e121 threads. The number of threads in the strand is indicated at the bottom, and the thickness of the rope is indicated on the right. The black line is under load, the red line is cut off. The author is Alexey Vikulaev.

 

[BenD]

The approximate thickness of the three-row rope is obtained from Gutterman skala 240 and Gutterman e121 threads. The number of threads in the strand is indicated at the bottom, and the thickness of the rope is indicated on the right. The black line is under load, the red line is cut off. The author is Alexey Vikulaev.

That chart is nice and seems to be accurate to my experience. But when using Gutermann E-121 I stop at 0.5mm and move on to E-151 and use that until I get to 1mm diameter. Then from there up to 2mm it's all E-382. Having to serve any more than a 8-10 thread count per hook is just time consuming.

I wish Gutermann had larger sizes in the Skala range. It stops at Skala 200 and it's only Tex 15, half the size of E-382 (Tex 38).

 

[Bob Cleek]

Gutterman skala is not a twisted thread, just like Gutterman e 121

Aha! Thanks for the explanation. Not sure I understand it, though. Other than monofilament, how do they make a thread that isn't twisted? I'll check it out. Thanks again.

 

[johnv]

The approximate thickness of the three-row rope is obtained from Gutterman skala 240 and Gutterman e121 threads. The number of threads in the strand is indicated at the bottom, and the thickness of the rope is indicated on the right. The black line is under load, the red line is cut off. The author is Alexey Vikulaev.

View attachment 474108

The only question is what will happen after the "roasting" with the rigging in 10-20-30 years.

Good point!

 

[Winter]

Aha! Thanks for the explanation. Not sure I understand it, though. Other than monofilament, how do they make a thread that isn't twisted? I'll check it out. Thanks again.

This is what it looks like. The first photo is Gutterman e121 textured thread, the second photo is Gutterman skala 240 straight fibers.

 

[flying_dutchman2]

I uses the ropewalk from ModelExpo and from that design I made some improvements for another ropewalk.

I use the following:
Gutermann Mara #696 Pine Tar, MARA 120, 100, 70 & 30
Gutermann Mara #854 Hemp, MARA 120, 100, 70 & 30

I do not cook it. Once the rope is created, I put a knot on both ends and wind it on a spool. I created a lot of different rope thicknesses in December of 2023 and none of the rope has unraveled.

Marcus

 

[EspenT]

One last thing to do is go over it with Bees Wax before removing the rope from the walk.

Hi,
I am a complete beginner, but won't the beeswax cause the dust to stick on it? After some years those ropes will be fluffy

 

[Ragnar]

Hello EspenT, I have been using beeswax on my ropes and lines for many years. My models when completed go into display cases. The enclosures keel dust and bugs out. The beeswax (in my opinion) makes the ropes and lines look better, tie better, and hang in a natural way. This Royal Louis has been in a case for over 25 years and beeswax was used on all lines and ropes. All builders do different things and in different ways. Please build your projects the way it makes you enjoy them.

Have fun Ragnar