Splicing problem

[Sailinsolo]

Splicing, particularly double braid, is a thing of beauty once you've mastered a method. I learned on a 24 strand from Samson, Velocity. After years of struggle, I attended a workshop with a production splicer. By the time I left I could splice an eye in under ten minutes without breaking sweat. Some of my take home points were consistent marks and measurements, stay relaxed, if your pulling to hard or struggling in general-something's not right. It should be a smooth process. Customize your splicing kit, piano wire and Mig welding wire work well. A ratchet strap and something solid to pull on, like an eye in concrete or a bug lag through a post. A website, treebuzz.com has an outstanding splicing thread (sorry if I shouldn't post that!). That's my 2 cents, I am inspired now-I'm sure there's some three strand here somewhere.

[BubbleheadMd]

dhays-

Can you post a picture of what you're doing with the coat hanger? I'd like to try that. I agree that pulling is probably easier than pushing sometimes.

My large fid has a hollow end for the pusher, but my smaller fids have a hook on the end, presumably to hook the core to pull it through, but it doesn't hold it well enough and the core always slips out of the hook, so I can't complete the splice.

Edit- Ok, so I've learned that I have New England Ropes "Uni fid II" kit. These fids use the hook to pull the core through, like your coat hanger, instead of a pusher. Okay, fine. How do I properly hook the core to this hook so that it doesn't slip out when I pull it through??

[Sailinsolo]

Coat hangers heat up and break, and they don't last as long, metal fatigue. Piano wire, or other slim, rugged and semi stiff wires work, some offshore fishing leads. My best is Mig welding wire. Pulling always works better, you can feel mistakes or challenges. A good permanent marker is a must. You can try talking to a production or veteran spliced to get their standard measurements. Another good tool is a set of small picks and awls. sharp scissors and masking tape.After pushing the wire loop through the core to ready to pull back, hook the other end up to a small ratchet strap to extract the tail. I had an eye in the floor specifically for pulling dbl braid eyes together. Sorry for rambling/bouncing around, new here and figuring out navigation.

[BubbleheadMd]

Originally Posted by Sailinsolo

Coat hangers heat up and break, and they don't last as long, metal fatigue. Piano wire, or other slim, rugged and semi stiff wires work, some offshore fishing leads. My best is Mig welding wire. Pulling always works better, you can feel mistakes or challenges. A good permanent marker is a must. You can try talking to a production or veteran spliced to get their standard measurements. Another good tool is a set of small picks and awls. sharp scissors and masking tape.After pushing the wire loop through the core to ready to pull back, hook the other end up to a small ratchet strap to extract the tail. I had an eye in the floor specifically for pulling dbl braid eyes together. Sorry for rambling/bouncing around, new here and figuring out navigation.

I have all the stuff you're listing except the piano wire or mig wire. I still don't understand how you're attaching the core to it, to pull it through. Got a sketch or photo?

[zz4gta]

You just bend a loop in the end of the wire. A very narrow loop, and the core gets wedged in there. I almost always tape the core/cover to the fid, as I don't have the kit w/ the hook in it.

The hook kit, should be able to just stuff the core into the fid, and pull back. That should set the hook into the core......... in theory.

[BubbleheadMd]

I've been taping too, without success. I have a better visual about what you're doing though. I'll give it a try.

[SloopJonB]

Originally Posted by Zanshin

Some ropes are tougher to splice than others, and a doublebraided line that has already been used or put under load can be almost impossible to splice. I found that my big rubber mallet helps a lot, I "tenderize" my line for a bit and then get another millimeter before repeating the process. I have a very thin steel fid to pull the line through, it is thinner than Brion Toss' magic wand and I also thin the core down before pulling it.
Do you know which brand line you are splicing?

I've found that washing the lines in a washing machine will sometimes soften them enough but basically, as Zanshin says, old double braid is not a good bet.