Hi all,
I wanted to do some soft shackles after reading several posts here on the topic and I needed to replace the lines to the davit arm that lowers my outboard to the dinghy. The local marine supply store had some short Dyneema 12 strand lines in their reduced bin so I couldn't resist. I picked up some 3/16 and 1/4 inch for the project. Now here's where my thinking got me into trouble. I wanted to make some splices and the Animated knots guide showed using hollow fids. Hmmmmm, OK I'll get one.
Sorry I had to get a tissue because I'm crying already. My simple thinking was buy a fid that the lines would fit into. OK 1/4 inch was too small, same for the 3/16. There wasn't a 3/8 on the shelf, probably the most popular, so I bought a 7/16. The 1/4 inch line fit into the hollow if you squeezed it in tightly. No matter I brought it home.
Following the instruction guide I began an eye splice for line in the davit blocks. Sliding the tail through the middle of the line worked well so I was pleased. However when it came to burying the tail, well of course the 7/16 wouldn't fit. :cussing: Back to the store the next day and I see the 3/8 fid on the shelf. They must have restocked because there were two and my thinking was they are the most popular. Yeah, I bought it. :dance:
Back home and burying the tail was a chore even with the smaller fid. This can't be right because the 1/4 inch line wouldn't squeeze into the hollow of the 3/8 fid. :cussing: Well now the BP is rising and I needed a solution. I did a search here and found a thread with the homemade coat-hanger-wire fid. I'll make one.
An hour later I tried my homemade tool. I lost the tail several times even with electrical tape holding the end. Now I'm hot enough for my wife to go visit the neighbors. There must be some wisdom on line so I sat there and watched many videos of riggers using the wire tool. There it was, tapper the end slightly and pull it through. I followed from the end 6 strands and pulled a pair of threads out and again at 10 strands doing the same.
I crimped the end of the wire tool tight then placed the tapered end inside. The tail slid through without any tape holding the tail. :dance: So now I'm thinking the hollow fids would work if I tapered the tails slightly before stuffing them in the hollow. Yep, no problems. So armed with three new tools I was able to make several eye splices and the soft shackle Brummel Knots. The Lanyard knot on the soft shackles were a problem but I retied them till I got them right.
All U Get
I wanted to do some soft shackles after reading several posts here on the topic and I needed to replace the lines to the davit arm that lowers my outboard to the dinghy. The local marine supply store had some short Dyneema 12 strand lines in their reduced bin so I couldn't resist. I picked up some 3/16 and 1/4 inch for the project. Now here's where my thinking got me into trouble. I wanted to make some splices and the Animated knots guide showed using hollow fids. Hmmmmm, OK I'll get one.
Sorry I had to get a tissue because I'm crying already. My simple thinking was buy a fid that the lines would fit into. OK 1/4 inch was too small, same for the 3/16. There wasn't a 3/8 on the shelf, probably the most popular, so I bought a 7/16. The 1/4 inch line fit into the hollow if you squeezed it in tightly. No matter I brought it home.
Following the instruction guide I began an eye splice for line in the davit blocks. Sliding the tail through the middle of the line worked well so I was pleased. However when it came to burying the tail, well of course the 7/16 wouldn't fit. :cussing: Back to the store the next day and I see the 3/8 fid on the shelf. They must have restocked because there were two and my thinking was they are the most popular. Yeah, I bought it. :dance:
Back home and burying the tail was a chore even with the smaller fid. This can't be right because the 1/4 inch line wouldn't squeeze into the hollow of the 3/8 fid. :cussing: Well now the BP is rising and I needed a solution. I did a search here and found a thread with the homemade coat-hanger-wire fid. I'll make one.
An hour later I tried my homemade tool. I lost the tail several times even with electrical tape holding the end. Now I'm hot enough for my wife to go visit the neighbors. There must be some wisdom on line so I sat there and watched many videos of riggers using the wire tool. There it was, tapper the end slightly and pull it through. I followed from the end 6 strands and pulled a pair of threads out and again at 10 strands doing the same.
I crimped the end of the wire tool tight then placed the tapered end inside. The tail slid through without any tape holding the tail. :dance: So now I'm thinking the hollow fids would work if I tapered the tails slightly before stuffing them in the hollow. Yep, no problems. So armed with three new tools I was able to make several eye splices and the soft shackle Brummel Knots. The Lanyard knot on the soft shackles were a problem but I retied them till I got them right.
All U Get
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