Rope Maker

I wanted to make rope like my Grampa Tretter (above), he made a great little machine out of bicycle parts and I wanted to make rope too, so I decided to build my own. The following is a planetary gear, 6 hook setup, made from scrap plywood and a little hardware. You can see it in action here:

I’ve made plastic bag rope of different thickness, by varying hook count, material thickness or building on top of smaller ropes I’ve made. It all works well, but having different color bags on each hook looks the best :)

For as thick as you can make it, I’ve would never use plastic bag rope for any serious load. With 1/2″ rope, you could carefully lift a couple hundred pounds, but I wouldn’t risk any more then that unless your prepared for it to break (and only for testing). But outside of that, it’s fine for utility rope, things like clothes lines, gardening, tarps, etc…

How long will it last?

brick

If you’ve ever picked up an old plastic bag and had it crumble apart in your hand, you might wonder how long the rope will hold up for. To test this, I’ve been hanging a brick by a very thin rope I made in full sun since June of 2014, as of now it’s been 6 months. Whenever I think of it, I go outside and yank on it to see if I can break it. It’s still very strong. My best guess is the majority of the surface area of the material is twisted up inside and protected. But I’ll keep checking it and update this page if things change.

UPDATE, DECEMBER, 2015:

The rope test above failed.  I pulled on it and it broke.  I hoped it would last longer, but now I know :)

Knots for Fun

I’ve been quite interested the old knot work and stylings of the marlinspike seamen. I tie knots for fun on a regular basis. Here are some pictures of a few things I’ve worked on recently.

The following is a fish scale wrap, snake knot handle with a 5 bight, 7 lead, 3 ply turkshead in the middle

The is a wrap made for a lighter. It’s unfinished. But I thought it looked nice at this stage. It’s starts as a sinnet, then to a mathew walker and finally a standing turkshead with an epoxy layer on top.

This was simply practice. I wanted to tie a herringbone pattern and I was curious how tight I could get the wrap around some PVC. I wanted to know if I could twist the grip off by hand. I found out that after heaving on each strand I couldn’t get it to budge.

I made this to compare a monkey’s fist and a globe knot of the same size.

Swiveling Solar Panel

I sized my solar panel to my pond pump. The pump is a brushless motor pump which uses 54 watts max and can pump a head of 33 feet. My solar panel is 100 watts and runs the pump well (even a little on cloudy days) and better yet when the panel is facing the sun.

Initially I wanted to track the sun and I was hoping to make a water/drip powered solar tracker, but I ran into issues at certain angles with my design. Here’s some pictures of that:

I abandoned the above project for something I can just turn by hand. Here it is:

If I can use rope and knots in a project, I probably will. This panel is suspended and adjusted by paracord and friction hitches. Here’s some pics of the build:

Sliding Hitch and Shackle

Since making the video (see below), I’ve switched to rattail cord which is a little thicker and handles better. I’ve decided to offer it as a handmade product, and I’m willing to make some for those who are interested. The lines can shackle objects up to 7ft away.  This picture shows the black rattail line and the carabiner (bamboo pole not included). There are a dozen lines in all. Two of the lines are shackling plants to the left and right of the pole.  Cost is $50.00 USD plus shipping if it’s outrageous. You are welcome to throw money my way here: http://paypal.me/ShaunMoen and email me your address/information to shaun@dittyjamz.com.

IMG_20160417_152010


The video supports HD. Select it if you have it :)

I’m currently growing Florida Everglades tomatoes which I let grow a bit too long without any supports. At first I ran some lines horizontal and tried to prop them up by hand.  It worked, but I ended up breaking a few branches which I didn’t like.  After some thought, I came up the idea shown in the video.

As a bonus, I was able to use some old music of mine for a sound track.

This idea hasn’t stood the test of time yet but here’s my thinking for benefits:

* Flexibility and reach
* Adjustability
* Reusability
* Small foot print
* Quick strapping and release

Sliding hitch and Shackle tied in larger rope
Sliding hitch and Shackle tied in larger rope

Here are some interesting links:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BxxLD1TT4NI