My first double braided eye splice - what am I doing wrong?

[rxc]

Interestingly enough, I have a similar problem with Marlow 8mm line. It is brand new, and I think it may be impossible to work an eye into it. I have done eyes before, in StaSet, in 5/16", which I think is about the same size, but this Marlow 8mm is difficult. I would say that it has a "hard" lay, almost like the climbing lines I have seen in REI.

I am in Europe, where the line seems to be much more tightly put together than in the US (where I am from), and was wondering if there are any tricks associated with dealing with this sort of line. I don't think there is enough space in the cover to stuff the core back into it.

Thanks in advance for any help

[SV Papillon]

Some of the new high tech double braids take a completely different splice than the old. I'm sure some one will be around to confirm


Jake

[Brion Toss]

Hi there,
Just got the sample of 1/4" Sta-Set. It is, as advertised, new and in fine condition. And there is no way I can splice it with a small Wand. It was even hard to bury the core using the Micro size,and I am not looking forward to running it home. Will keep you posted. Meanwhile I will be in touch with New England, to see if they are intentionally sending out unspliceable line, or if the machines are just wandering a bit.
As for the Marlow, my offer of checking it stands; send in a short piece. Or at least send a photo -- I can tell from the tracers what the rope is, and thus what the splice should be. As noted above, you might have an HM line, which takes a very different splice.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[axelessbaum]

Thanks for the confirmation, Brion.

As it turns out, I am in Europe like rxc. I was in the US a month ago and picked up the splicing materials to start experimenting. All I got for double braid was the 1/4" I sent you and some similarly-sized Sta-Set X. I'd love to hear any guidance about the other splices I might use for these ropes with the too-tight covers.

Glad I also grabbed some 3-strand, which so far is splicing fine ;-)

[knuterikt]

Originally Posted by SV Papillon

Marlow is high tech and does take a different splice the guy at fisheries showed me how but it was a while ago.

Jake

Jake I think you are jumping to a conclution..
Your link is to a product called "Marlow: MGP Nomex Cover Only", this is a cover to be used on single braid dyneema - wouldn't splice that.

Marlow ropes is a rope manufacturer in UK with a large selection of products.
http://www.marlowropes.com/

[Brion Toss]

Hi again,
I just tried splicing some 1/4" Sta-Set from a spool here in the shop, using a small Wand. Piece of cake. Clearly, the sample I'd gotten for this thread was wound way tight. Haven't been in touch with New England yet, but it's on my list of to-do's.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[Dave Cole]

Imagine my surprise when I found the same thing with my new 600 ft roll of 1/4" Sta-Set.

The story is very similar; I could not fit a fid with a core into the jacket with the other core present, when making the official New England Double Braid eye splice, no matter how much I tried to expand the cover. I don't have a Micro or Small wand, just some fids. I really like the design of the wands - a very clever design, but none here.

I ended up using a length of thin iron wire commonly known as mechanics wire. It is probably about 16/18 gauge wire. I cut a length of wire about 2 1/2 feet long and folded it in half back onto itself. I used pliers to make the bend fairly sharp. I used this wire loop as a threader. (Think - threading a needle) I pushed the folded end of the wire loop into the cover at the core exit point and pushed it out of the cover at the splice crossover point. I fanned the end of the core and slid it into the "eye" of the wire loop with about 1/2 of the fan sticking out the side of the loop. The wire loop was pinched tight enough at the end to allow the core to be grabbed by the wire loop as tension was applied. Then I could quickly pull the core into the cover and out the exit point with little effort. This worked much better than I expected, and did not require any tape to secure the core to the wire pulling loop. The wire loop worked so well pulling the core into the cover, I used the same wire loop to pull the cover into the core (again without tape). I've done several splices now on this small 1/4" Sta-Set rope using this technique with great success. Thanks for the inspiration!

[SV Papillon]

Originally Posted by knuterikt

Jake I think you are jumping to a conclution..
Your link is to a product called "Marlow: MGP Nomex Cover Only", this is a cover to be used on single braid dyneema - wouldn't splice that.

Marlow ropes is a rope manufacturer in UK with a large selection of products.
http://www.marlowropes.com/

My bad I posted the wrong link, it was a product that they had that was recommended for halyards I considered using and it had different process for the cover.

Jake

[Brion Toss]

Hi again,
I'll just add that, with the extremely tight rope that was mentioned above, I was unable to splice it with any tool, including a wire fid. Tried not burying the core at all, but even then I couldn't run it home. Sometimes it really is a matter of bad rope.
Many splicers use wire fids for regular splicing. I like to think this is because they either can't afford a Wand, or never learned how to use one properly. Every once in a while, as above, I try to use a wire fid, just to see if I am missing something, and I still come away thinking, nope, not as good, mostly because it isn't stiff enough either to clamp over a bench, or to insert easily when splicing freehand. Clearly I have a vested interest here, though...
Fair leads,
Brion Toss