“ In splicing a thimble into a crane rope or a trawl-warp, two ropes in which it is very advisable to put left-handed splices, it is unusual to put any seizing on the neck; instead, the rope is spliced right down to the thimble. Serve sufficient rope to go round the thimble only, leaving out sufficient end for the splice. Turn in and screw up very tight in the vice, make fast at the neck, as before described, fasten the rope up with the thimble hanging downwards, and open out the ends. ”

“ A (Fig. 24) is a single hitch, being merely a loop formed in a rope. This is readily done by holding the rope in the left hand, and giving it a twist with the right; the loop then forms itself, as it were. When a tightly laid piece of cordage is twisted, these loops are apt to rise and form “kinks,” which are very objectionable, as the cord is sure to part at the kink when a strain is put on it. [Pg 31] It is still worse in the case of wire, which breaks readily when kinked. Tight, hard cordage should always be well stretched before it is used, to avoid kinking. ”

“ Seizing implies the fastening together of two ropes, or different parts of the same rope, with several closely placed coils of small rope, spun yarn, etc. The several kinds of seizings take their names from the positions they occupy in a ship’s rigging. End seizing is a round seizing at the end of a rope. Throat seizing is the first seizing clapped on where ropes cross each other. Middle seizing is between a throat and end seizing. Eye seizing is a round seizing next to an eye in the rope. ”

“ Three ropes laid up left-handed form what is known as a cable-laid rope; four-stranded ropes are laid round a heart. Ropes are sometimes laid left-handed, but if the strands are to be laid left-handed the yarns are laid right-handed. If the parts of hemp, etc., be twisted more than is necessary to hold them together, strength is lost. Upon following the course of a yarn in a rope it will be found that, by this alternate laying, it runs nearly straight with the direction of the rope’s length. ”

“ The principle of rope making is very readily shown by holding the ends of a piece of twine or whipcord, about a foot long, in the hands and twisting it so as to increase the lay. If the twine [Pg 13] be now slackened by bringing the hands nearer to one another, a loop will first form in the middle of the twine, and it will continue to twist itself up into a compact cord which will not unlay, as the tension to which the strands have been subjected causes friction between them, which holds them together. ”

“ Fig. 141 is part of a mainstay. An eye is first made in the end, and a mouse the shape of a pear raised on the rope with spun yarn. Each turn of the yarn is hove well taut with a large serving-mallet, and beaten close. The eye and the rope as far as the mouse are wormed, parcelled, and served over; the mouse and the part below it (the tail) are parcelled with worn canvas, well tarred, and pointed over or grafted with small stuff. The mouse is covered with nettles, and their number diminished as they are worked into the smaller parts. ”

“ Of course, in long-splicing, as in many other things, different men have different styles. Suppose, for example, a colliery hauling rope is to be spliced, and that it works endless from a hauling engine to a terminal return pulley, mounted on the tension bogie; suppose also that the rope has been put in position, with the ends left at the most convenient place ready for splicing. If 60 ft. of end is available for the splice, decide on that length, and, measuring about 40 ft. ”

“ Pass one end round and round, in the lay, until all the intervals are filled up and the ring is complete. The two ends are secured as in a long splice, first with an overhand knot, and then by dividing the strands and passing half of them under the standing part, and cutting off the remainder. Grommets are used for stropping blocks, handles for chests, snorters for the heel of sprits, etc. They are very often parcelled and served to make them look neater. It is easier to make them if the rope from which the strands are taken is laid up hard. ”

“ If the strands of the rope to be spliced are very hard and stiff, it will perhaps be difficult to pull in the ends quite snug. To get over this difficulty, before tucking give each strand a sharp bend close to the rope, in the direction in which it has to be tucked, when it will spring into its place with comparatively little pulling. When all the ends are tucked, hammer the splice well, as that makes the wires knit more into one another, and consequently increases the “bite.” All that remains now is to cut the ends off, and serve over, finishing at the thimble. ”

“ In the “double lark’s head” (Fig. 49) a bight is first made, and the ends passed through it; the ends are then put through the ring and through the loop just made and hauled taut. Fig. 50 shows the “treble lark’s head,” which is not so difficult as it looks. First bring the bight of a rope up [Pg 48] through the ring, take one of the ends, and pass it through the bight, and up through the ring, and then down through its own bight; do the same with the other part and the knot is formed. ”

“ When all the rungs are in and the ladder hangs without much twist, the open parts of the strands may be drawn together with a marlinespike and a piece of sennit [Pg 120] or by carefully using a screw cramp above the rungs; then a six-turn seizing of nettle stuff put tightly on above each of the rungs keeps them in place. The top rung should be rather stouter than the rest to allow a deeper score. Splice a thimble into each end, and into each thimble a fathom of eighteen-yarn stuff for lashings. ”

“ There are three kinds of wire rope splices, the short splice, eye splice, and long splice.
A short splice is a bulky splice, and is used only for block straps, slings, etc. It is not suitable for driving ropes or for running tackle, and should never be put into a crane or hoist rope. It is made by unlaying the two ends of the rope to a sufficient length, from 1 ft. to 2 ft., according to size, and interlaying them together as in Fig. 178. Draw them close, and tuck the strands of one under the strands of the other several times. It is only a case of “over and under” as in splicing a hemp rope. ”

“ Some ropes stretch more than others in working, and it is difficult to say accurately how much per cent. a rope will stretch, as much depends on the way the rope has been made. However, the larger [Pg 144] the hempen core inside the rope or the shorter the lay or spiral twist the more the stretch. It is wise, therefore, when splicing a new rope never to give any slack away.
Having got the rope hauled as tight as possible, carefully measure 30 ft. from each end of the rope, and there tie a strong whipping. ”

“ Poles are generally about 30 ft. long, and for high buildings it is necessary to lengthen them by lashing on an extra pole. The safest plan is to lash a half pole to the lower part of the first erected; this resting on the ground will form a footing, upon the upper end of which the lengthening pole will stand, being kept in position by three plain lashings (see Fig. 174) . Should the lengthening pole be only light, and a footing not be considered necessary, a chain racking should be put on besides two rope lashings. ”

“ Two half-hitches (Fig. 24) are a useful knot for a variety of purposes, as they are quickly made, and will not slip, no matter what strain is put upon them—indeed, the more they are hauled upon the faster they hold. They are the best means of making a rope fast to a hook. First one hitch is slipped on, and then the other on the top of it, and the rope is fast in less than two seconds. This knot is used by surgeons in reducing a dislocation of the thumb joint. ”

“ Each twist should be pressed tight as it is made. When the mat is deep enough, a selvage is made by straining another piece of cord along the bottom, securing both ends. As each nettle comes down it is half-hitched to this, and the next nettle is laid up at the back of it, and so on alternately.
Mats are frequently thrummed; this is done by raising the nettles lying on the top of the mat with a marlinespike or pricker after the mat is finished, and putting short pieces of the nettle stuff underneath. The thrums are then cut off to the same length, and opened out. ”

“ When a pattern is to be worked on the mat, the design must first be drawn on the material in pencil and the canvas folded accordingly; every fold produces two rows of thrums. White duck thrummed with pieces of cotton rope makes very nice, clean-looking mats for boat use, and as they wash well they can always be kept in good order. These mats, with a stout canvas or sacking foundation, thrummed with pieces of untarred hemp rope, serve very well for door-mats, though, of course, they will not last as long as wrought mats. ”

“ Some persons’ shoes always come untied, the reason being that they are tied with granny instead of true bows.
Fig. 8.—Overhand Rosette Knot or Bow.
Another way of joining the ends of two pieces of cordage is shown in Fig. 8. This is merely an overhand knot, made with two ropes instead of one. Sometimes it is called an openhand knot. It can be made very quickly, and there is no fear of its slipping, but if there is much strain put upon it the rope is very apt to part at the knot, in consequence of the short “nip,” or turn, that it makes just as it enters the knot. ”

“ A fender (Fig. 133) protects the sides of a boat from being chafed and the paint or varnish rubbed off. Occasionally a fender is of wood, which is slung over the boat’s side by a lanyard reeved through a hole in the end of it, but more often it [Pg 105] is of canvas, stuffed with oakum and painted. Fig. 133 shows an easily made soft fender which does not need painting. Take a piece of Manilla rope double the length of the fender; unlay it, open the strands, and comb them down until all the yarns lie straight; double it and clap an eye-seizing on it, marling it down as illustrated. ”

“ There are various methods of fixing flat rope sockets, varying with the strain and the conditions under which they work. The most usual method is to bend the wire ends back equally on both sides to make the bulb fit the inside of the socket, and to secure with a liberal supply of rivets (see Fig. 203) . For stronger work, the rope-end, after being cut off square, is bent round the shackle pin, and the socket made to grip both the rope and its end, the whole being firmly secured by means of strong iron clamps and bolts (see Figs. 204 and 205) . ”

“ When all the ends are wrapped and cut to such a length that they just butt against each other when worked inside the rope, the work is ready for tucking. Take hold of the piece of hempen core A (Fig. 186) and pull it out just to past the first joint—that is, the two ends 1 and 1′. In all probability, if the rope is large or rather hard laid, this will be difficult, unless a tapered round spike is driven through the two strands immediately behind it. ”

“ Middle it and seize a thimble in the bight, making this fast to a post. Then stretch out both parts together, and mark off the positions [Pg 119] for the rungs with chalk, 12 in. apart. At every chalk mark, and round each part of rope separately, put a seven-turn whipping of tarred nettle stuff (this is sold in hanks) . Now begin at the end nearest the bight or lower end, open the strands with a fid and spike above the seizings or whippings, and push in a rung, taking care to avoid twisting the rope by inserting the spike between the two strands best situated. ”

“ Approximately, the safe load on a new hemp rope in hundredweights with direct lift is three times the weight in pounds per fathom. On a sound old rope fall one-half the square of the circumference is sufficient load. A Bessemer steel wire rope will safely carry in hundredweights three times the square of its circumference in inches, and a crucible steel wire rope four times the square of its circumference. For hemp ropes the minimum diameter of sheave should be circumference of rope + 2, and for wire ropes the diameter of sheave in inches should be equal to circumference of rope in sixteenths. ”

“ Fig. 158.—Beginning Mat.
Mats are used on board ship to prevent chafing. In making wrought mats a piece of small cord is stretched tight horizontally at about the height of a man, and fastened at each end. Across this, hanging by their middles, nettles are placed. These are often made of “foxes”—that is, three or more rope-yarns twisted together by hand, and each rubbed down with tarred canvas or a handful of rope-yarn. ”

“ The importance of being able to make the knot best suited for the occasion both rapidly and correctly may come in a new light to some when it is pointed out that both lives and property have over and over again been sacrificed to ill-made knots ”

“ When this knot is quite snug down in its place, take about one-third of the yarns out of the ends with which the knot was made, and tuck the remaining two-thirds under two strands, missing [Pg 95] one (see Fig. 121, where the arrow D shows how to tuck the end A, and arrowhead C shows where end B will come out) . Now halve these ends, and, leaving one-half, tuck the other as before; work them in nice and snug, put the grommet on a good stretch, and trim off the ends. If the work is well done no joint should be noticeable. ”

“ Cordage is used almost daily by everyone in some form or other, but comparatively few can handle it methodically. Men break their nails and teeth gnawing at their own knots endeavouring to untie them, and time and material are wasted. ”