Pioneering and scouting are connected with lashings of rope something you'll need tons of and not just for pioneering projects. Getting ready for a hike or a camp means packing and tying things together!
Sometime ago I stumbled upon a document on how to make a rope making machine.
Then at the camping skills day I actually used one to make a short strap for my stave!
So I just had to make one for myself and plan it into a preparation session for the cubs, when we need to make rope for the 2012 camping!
Find the instructions here: http://www.flyingpigs.org.uk/crafts/RopeMaking.pdf
Let's Make It!
With the instructions in hand, so we know what to ignore, I found an old plank of wood, not quite the size or thickness specified, some tools, nails, glue and I started GANG-HO banging it together, some time later I had the main structure.
Then I remembered that I do own a jigsaw, so I wasted all my evening trying to cut the chipboard by hand and in angles I never quite managed them right...
Never mind, the box is now glued and drying over night. The next day I have a rigid enough structure but I nailed a few small nails around and it seems to hold just fine.
Meanwhile I went to Blacks and bought a pack of 10 steel tent pegs for £2, all I had to do is bend the 3 rotating hooks.
The instructions advise to score with a hacksaw where the bends are to be... This might be necessary for some pegs but I found that the cut makes the steel wire to snap when I tried to bend it.
I also found that bending it too fast makes the steel wire to snap also. Best to take it slow making sure that all three Z-hooks are exactly the same, with right angles that lay flat without warps or bends as when all three work together one slight misshape will throw the whole motion out of wack!
When it comes to assemble the box the handle and the hooks, the tighter the assemble the better for operating the machine.
Now it's time to think. If you followed the instructions everything will work out fine. But if like me, you didn't have a wide enough piece of wood, you might need to make some adjustments.
Thread the hooks through their holes; I drilled the holes first before the box was assembled with the front facing panel right under the rotating hexagonal disk, drilling both together ensuring the holes correspond.
Keeping it all in place, I found that we only need 2 stoppers per hook wire. Seen in red tape are the ones that hold the rotating crank close to the back bend of the Z-hook, this gives the best motion.
The same goes for the front of the machine, tape each hook to pull it as far out as it goes so that the inside of the crank is a close fit.
I would let this dictate the size of the first bend and the left over tail of the wire Z-hook. I used a red electrical tape, wound up a few times to make it thick, I counted 10 loops each for uniformity.
Note that the most important thing is the size of the middle section of wire, between the 2 bends. This needs to be small enough to allow the 3 Z-hooks to rotate freely together as you turn the crank. I measured so it's less that the distance between the holes as if the sides of a triangle. The size given in the instructions was good enough as well!
Also remember that the mechanism needs to move all around the inside of the box pivoted on to the 3 cranks. In my case as I had a narrower box I had to cut some corners, literally. This is how a triangle ends up like a hexagon!
The machine is now complete!
Two last things you might need are, a small hook on a handle to allow one helper to rotate the other end and a three eyelet tool, the wench, that follows the twine as it coils to a rope.
These were easy to make and I am sure someone would have done a better job with less effort. These gadgets are mostly for the young ones to give them something to do for their part when you run it in teams of 3 but you can operate the device with just fingers!
Next, I plan to give the box a nice coat of paint, smoothing the surfaces and edges to a splinter free and child friendly finish. Maybe a plain varnish or something bright and green as I will mainly use it with the Cubs to make our rope...
And when the time comes for that I will blog all about it!
Sometime ago I stumbled upon a document on how to make a rope making machine.
Then at the camping skills day I actually used one to make a short strap for my stave!
So I just had to make one for myself and plan it into a preparation session for the cubs, when we need to make rope for the 2012 camping!
Find the instructions here: http://www.flyingpigs.org.uk/crafts/RopeMaking.pdf
Let's Make It!
With the instructions in hand, so we know what to ignore, I found an old plank of wood, not quite the size or thickness specified, some tools, nails, glue and I started GANG-HO banging it together, some time later I had the main structure.
 |
| The machine clamped for work |
Never mind, the box is now glued and drying over night. The next day I have a rigid enough structure but I nailed a few small nails around and it seems to hold just fine.
Meanwhile I went to Blacks and bought a pack of 10 steel tent pegs for £2, all I had to do is bend the 3 rotating hooks.
The instructions advise to score with a hacksaw where the bends are to be... This might be necessary for some pegs but I found that the cut makes the steel wire to snap when I tried to bend it.
 |
| Snapped! |
When it comes to assemble the box the handle and the hooks, the tighter the assemble the better for operating the machine.
Now it's time to think. If you followed the instructions everything will work out fine. But if like me, you didn't have a wide enough piece of wood, you might need to make some adjustments.
Thread the hooks through their holes; I drilled the holes first before the box was assembled with the front facing panel right under the rotating hexagonal disk, drilling both together ensuring the holes correspond.
 |
| The moving crank |
The same goes for the front of the machine, tape each hook to pull it as far out as it goes so that the inside of the crank is a close fit.
I would let this dictate the size of the first bend and the left over tail of the wire Z-hook. I used a red electrical tape, wound up a few times to make it thick, I counted 10 loops each for uniformity.
Note that the most important thing is the size of the middle section of wire, between the 2 bends. This needs to be small enough to allow the 3 Z-hooks to rotate freely together as you turn the crank. I measured so it's less that the distance between the holes as if the sides of a triangle. The size given in the instructions was good enough as well!
Also remember that the mechanism needs to move all around the inside of the box pivoted on to the 3 cranks. In my case as I had a narrower box I had to cut some corners, literally. This is how a triangle ends up like a hexagon!
The machine is now complete!
 |
| Gadgets |
These were easy to make and I am sure someone would have done a better job with less effort. These gadgets are mostly for the young ones to give them something to do for their part when you run it in teams of 3 but you can operate the device with just fingers!
Next, I plan to give the box a nice coat of paint, smoothing the surfaces and edges to a splinter free and child friendly finish. Maybe a plain varnish or something bright and green as I will mainly use it with the Cubs to make our rope...
And when the time comes for that I will blog all about it!
Warm Greetings!
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Rope Making Machine