Securing rope to horizontal bar

General Discussion
21
Hi Bill,

Just to chip in one more time - are you sure your photo is the right way round? Your line is left laid, according to the photo (look at the twist in your line, it twists from lower right to upper left) and that doesn’t happen too often! The photo is fuzzy but the fibers at the end appear to be stiff as opposed to soft and feathery, like what I’ve seen for cotton. Where did you get the line?

SquareRigger


You’re right SquareRigger! The thread of my rope runs in the opposite direction to that of all the pictures of ropes I’ve seen on the internet! Funny that.

I’m not sure if I’d call it totally stiff but it does have a quality that’s in between what you’re suggesting.

A friend gave me the rope and lots of it. I’m referring to the photo I took of my rope here:
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=5/12920143370.jpg&s=f5

What are the implications of left laid rope?

22

Hi Bill,

No biggie as far as strength or useability goes - it is just different, and I would suspect that might even make it hemp instead of cotton. Hemp is more frequently laid left-hand twist (more frequent than manila or cotton, IMHO) and feels softer than manila and sisal but harder than cotton - it is very hard to tell (and I ain’t no dunny Jimbo!) from this photo, because it is so out of focus. The twist may change what you do as far as the way you tie some knots…

SquareRigger

23

I’ve been trying to take more photos of it, but it always appears out of focus :frowning:

24

This is the best I can do:
http://putfile.com/pic.php?pic=5/13101373456.jpg&s=f5

25

The dirty bit of the rope at the top left corner actually appears the most in focus.

26

Cotton is softer. Naturals don’t melt, but rather char with lighter/ butane backsplice. Some high end Kevlar/ Technora chars, but lots hotter. Naturals can double in weight with water.

i’d think soft, white natural; would be cotton.

27
What are the implications of left laid rope?
Can only be used safely in the southern hemisphere. --will quickly ravel in the northern one, if ends aren't strongly whipped!

Well, maybe not, but that advice seems fitting with this thread, which has grown
pretty strange: the OP is looking for rope to tie to a bar to support his body weight,
and which “bar” turns out to be some kind of rather small-looking device seemingly
already built to facilitate the chin-ups & dips intended for the rope, but then comes
mention of more gymnastic type maneuvres (!)–on THAT device?, and some
“for example” calculation become specification for two ton rope strength!!
Holy smokes, how heavy is this dippy guy supposed to be?? --maybe there’s some
need for exercise, but not THAT much need.

I find 1/2" cotton rope given a 156# working load, and for some of the activity
suggested, that seems adequate; 3/4" is 3,100#, from same vendor.
(Jimbo, the vendor you linked to has some dubious information:
PP rope “excellent” vs. UV degradation(?!!),
nylon “poor” re rot (?), and good resistance to acids(!?),
AND a rope selection guide that omits several of the marketed ropes!)

Rather than the splicing of eyes, one could just tie off two ends of a bight of
rope (call it one BIG eye) to the bar; or bend them together (Twin Bowlines,
leaving about, oh, a foot of doubled lines between the knots, for hands!?) and
tie off the two slings with a girth or Prusik hitch to the bar. You did say you have
LOTS of rope, so doubling it in this way helps put more of it to use.

–dl*

28
Holy smokes, how heavy is this dippy guy supposed to be?? --maybe there's some need for exercise, but not THAT much need.
Oh so you're a Doc and a strength coach now? Well, thanks for the advice, tubby, but I can't always make it to the gym. ;)
Rather than the splicing of eyes, one could just tie off two ends of a bight of rope (call it one BIG eye) to the bar; or bend them together (Twin Bowlines, leaving about, oh, a foot of doubled lines between the knots, for hands!?) and tie off the two slings with a girth or Prusik hitch to the bar. You did say you have LOTS of rope, so doubling it in this way helps put more of it to use.

–dl*
====


A doubled line defeats the purpose of using “instability” which is attained from a single line.

29
I'm brand new to knot tying and all these terms, concepts are less than a week old to me, so my ideas and questions might seem brash.
That's what (most of us) are here for. And what some of us [b][i]were[/i][/b] here for, but have left.
Thanks for the idea of using a thimble in the eye-splice.
Nay! I took that from [url=http://www.peraltasquadron.org/images/CD_3_line_Splice.jpg][u]your picture[/u][/url] of your Eye Splice! Look again... I'll wait... ([i]click the colored text above[/i])

Back? Good! Assuming my monitor & eyeballs aren’t conspiring against me, I notice a little shiny line around the inside of the eye. If it’s there, it’s called a “thimble”. They are sized the same as the rope, and don’t leave much “hand room”. It’s to reduce chafing where the rope meets the rode… (pardon the pun?)

I'm stuggling with your idea of half-knots and "smooooth"
Sorry about that, Chief! When I play with ropes over the ceiling beams, they slip sometimes. "Smooooth" with lots of 'o's is just my way of saying "ordinary 'smooth' may not be enough." In your frame, you'd have a nifty solution: With the rope draped over the little handles at the top of your rig, extend your hand, palm up. Lift the rope off the "handle", pull back a little, and flip your hand over without letting go of the rope. Let the end fall behind the Standing Part (SPart). Now you have just made a "turn", which is the loop-like structure in your hand. Drape that back over the "handle" & you've made a Single Hitch. This will rub rope against rope & let you put more "wiggle" in your routine without worrying about the rope slipping -- as much. Don't forget the other side. (The Single Hitch won't hold much, but it's the start of a good understanding of knottery, too, so...)
I placed some rubber foam padding around the rope of each eye-splice to grip but it's still overly supple and still requires gloves to be worn.
LOL!! You should've seen me trying to clamber up my first Bathing Ladder!! I can imagine! That "crunchy bone" feeling takes some getting used to.
I couldn't find anything that resembles traditional Rings or what seems strong enough to use for handles. Now, I'd like to experiment with a thimble and am wondering what kind of material to use....
The thimble is just a way to reduce wear on the rope. It's hardly big enough to hold that way. What about wood dowels from your local hardware (building supplies) store? A 1" (25.4mm) dowel feels pretty strong, and tying them up would give you a couple of nice new knots...
I start low to the ground and have the safety of my feet if I need to land in case the rope breaks.
Okay, the safety warnings having been loudly proclaimed, it sounds like you're not in any real "danger"... I sometimes like flipping upside-down & doing "curls" from there. Well... I have... (You'll be old some day too! :-[ ) But I'd never do it under cotton cord!!! If you're interested, Nylon "anchor plait" or "solid plait" (a rose by any other name... is a Round Sennit) is nice. It can't be spliced by mere mortals, but it's very comfortable, and fairly strong, in "comfort-sized" diameters. Plus, when I washed a piece in the machine, it came out very very "fluffy"...

Anyway, if you’re looking for knotting info, you’ve come to the Right Place. Some of the best knottyers on the planet “hang out” here.

Enjoy!

Jimbo

30
Oh so you're a Doc and a strength coach now? Well, thanks for the advice, tubby, ...
Hey, it wasn't MY advice to get 2-ton rope!
A doubled line defeats the purpose of using "instability" which is attained from a single line.
I don't follow what you're saying, here? What is this "instability" that you WANT, and why does it come from a single rope but not a sling? (It would be possible to tie a loopknot in the the end of the sling.)

–dl*

31

i think instability of single leg support connection per side exercises you strength and balanced control wise more. A small sling might be about the same, but certainly a larger or in any other way spread sling would be stabler/ less exercise.

Other factors to stability notion are how far away from supports hand grips are and if tensioned lines were straight up and down, compressing in or pulling out on handholds.

32
I don't follow what you're saying, here? What is this "instability" that you WANT, and why does it come from a single rope but not a sling? (It would be possible to tie a loopknot in the the end of the sling.)

–dl*
====


A single line is less stable requiring more coordination/strength to pull oneself up from than 2 or more lines.

33

With the Timber Hitch I’ve tied, the Standing End is used to hold the load (my bodyweight). Could I also use Working End in the same way? So when I’m not using the Standing End, would the Working End be as steadfast?

Otherwise, please recommend a hitch for this purpose.

34

Also, I intend for one of the Ends to be a little longer than the other. So the Working End might be longer than the Standing End or vice-versa.

35

i’d at least consider buffering loading to the bitters of Timber with turn etc.; make sure it is dressed right to firmly clamp down on Bitters ~180 degrees from pull of bodyweight on convex location.

i still think there ae considerations of rope angle, bend in standing tension part, and tightenss of bight around host at each end; especially in weaker lines.

Pix etc. at Wiki