Making Model Rope

by John

The biggest ropes* on USS Constitution were 3″/75mm circumference equals 1″ /24mm diameter (approximately). So 3″ ropes, at 1:93 scale, are 0.8mm diameter. The anchor cables were 7″ / 178mm diameter, and made by twisting smaller ropes together. (*p.s. further information from “The Frigate Constitution” by F A Magoun states that some ropes on Constitution were 4.75″ and 5″ circumference, = 40mm diameter, but most were 3″ or under.)

Standing rigging was black, the result of painting them with tar. And they were left handed. Running rigging was hemp colour, and was right handed.

The ropes supplied in the Mamoli kit were OK, but were only a light brown/fawn colour. And they were all right handed. And the more that I read about ropes, the more interesting they became.

So, I decided to make a rope run. It actually sits on a table, so it is more of a rope sit.

These are the main components. On the left, clamped to the table, is the “looper” . On the right with the bearing wheels, is the rope twister. So it is a two motor machine. Both components have On-off-on switches which are wired to rotate clockwise and anticlockwise. And a voltage variable 240v AC to 3-24 volt DC transformer with LED display. Incidentally, I made the 3m long table about 48 years ago, from Honduras mahogany. On this table the machine will make ropes about 2.6-2.7m long. Each rope takes a few minutes to set up the yarn and another few minutes of operating the motors.
The looper.

The looper is configured to make up to 6 strands. Here it has 4 looping hooks to make 2, 3 or 4 strands, and a central non twisting attachment point if a central strand is added eg. to an anchor cable. As set up, there is a central motor driven 64 tooth spur gear, and 4 surrounding looping gears. The gears were bought inexpensively on AliExpress, and were advertised for model car enthusiasts. The gear shafts are mounted in ball bearings. I might get around to painting it one day, but probably not.

The other component is a trolley on ball bearing wheels, with another motor, which also can be switched clockwise, counter clockwise, and off. Also visible are some of the very early ropes which I made. about to be made is a 3 strand rope, with 2 yarns (threads) per strand. The cardboard disk is to prevent the strands from tangling while the yarns are being twisted with the looper at the other end. When the looping has been completed (judged by measuring the distance the rope has shortened, or by measuring the angle of the twist), the looping motor is turned off, the cardboard disk removed, and the second motor is turned on to twist the strands together. Again, the further shortening of the rope, or the angle of the twist is assessed to decide when the rope is completed. I do not use a “topper” because I think that it is unnecessary with such short ropes.
Various ropes made. 2.5-2.8m lengths. I record the yarn brand and type (Gutermann polyester “Sew All” preferred), the number of yarns per strand, and the number of strands per rope, and the final rope diameter.
The rope diameter is measured by winding it 10 times around a cylinder, and measuring the width. This rope is 9.13/10 = approx 0.9mm diameter.

And here is the first home-made rope applied to my USS Constitution….

Gammoning on the bowsprit with 0.9mm rope.
….and some bowsprit stays attached to the prow.

I have some ideas to improve my rope run, and I have also designed a machine to apply serving/seizing threads to the rope which is permanently fixed, as in the picture above. That serving was applied by hand, and is not as neat as I would like.

There are a few instructive videos on YouTube about model rope making. One of the most impressive is by a Ukranian lady, Ohla Blatchvarov, who is an expert model ship builder. https://youtu.be/qPCD2wQvc8k?si=NRothhRSQiTs0Xke