rope maker

[chuck foster]

i mentioned that dad and i would be at cookstown steam show with our rope maker, i was asked if i had any pictures of the rope maker.
well i don't have any pics but i do have this crappy video............i will get better video and pictures at the show.

the rope maker is called a "wonder rope maker" my dad made the wooden frame work that it is on.
we have been making ropes with this setup for the last 25 years and we have made several thousand 6 foot long ropes.

so on with the crappy video of it in action (dad is the guy cranking it) ;D


chuck

 

[Powder keg]

Sweet!!! My dad has one of those. I'll have to see If I can make it work)

Thanks for sharing that, Wesley

 

[CallMeAL]

The cowboys on the ranch I work on as farm mechanic in Nevada back in the '70's had one of these they used to make halter ropes with out of bailing twine. Their fancy ropes they braided out cow hide!

Nice video!

 

[Powder keg]

In the video, On the left hand side there is a hook. Is that hooked to a rope and pully with a weight on the end? I've seen rope made like this but I was only 8 or 9 I think? I'd like to make up a stand like your dad has. It might be fun)

Thanks, Wes

 

[Loose nut]

Chuck, is the Cookstown show worth the drive, it's at least 4 hrs away for me but I would like to get there once if it's worth the trip.

 

[rake60]

My Dad just left here.
I showed him that video and he was all grins.

Great video!
Thanks for posting it Chuck.

Rick

 

[joe d]

Chuck:

Thanks for posting the video. Now that I've watched it, I've got this sudden urge to go out in the shop and splice some line....

Joe

 

[chuck foster]

wes: you are 100% right, there is a hook attached to a weight the hook is on a swivel. the idea of the weight is as the twine is twisted it gets shorter so the weighted hook allows the twine to contract while still keeping the right amount of tension on the rope being made.
we make skipping ropes for the kids, we start out with 8 feet of twine and by the time it is all twisted into rope it is 6 feet long.

loose nut: the cookstown show has about 6 or 8 full size steam engines, any where from 3 to 6 scale model traction engines.
the 1/2 size waterloo engine i posted about earlier will be there.
as far as tractors...............there could be 50 to 100 of them, the full size gas engines could number from 40 to 70.
there should be 20 or 30 model gas and steam engines. they have a saw mill, shingle mill, a flea market, old cars and trucks and a bunch of other stuff that i never get to see because dad and i are too busy making rope

rake: i'm glad you and your dad enjoyed the video. when we start cranking the rope maker it attracts allot of people because the gears are very noisy. we have had crowds of 50 or more standing to watch a rope being made.
dad was going to fix the gears but then thought he better not cause if no one can hear it they won't stop to see whats going on.

thanks to all for the kind comments, it isn't model related but i thought it was something diffrent to show.

chuck

 

[Powder keg]

Thanks Chuck. The rope maker my dad has is chain driven. I'll get a picture of it next time I'm there.

Wes