My own Rope Walk Build

Sorry, just another thought. Your weight might be way too heavy. As it is detached from the cross bar, grab the opportunity and try it with lesser weight. You might even try the first run without any additional weight, just with the cross bar itself. Then gradually increase the weight by adding smaller pieces. I just measured the weights down in my cave. One lead ball weights 97 grams. The whole keeper arrangement, incl. swivel and cross bar is about 10 gr. So I can vary the total mass between 107 gr and 398 gr, with 1 .... 4 balls. The usual mass is 1 or 2 balls, seldomly 3, very rarely 4.
I just had a close look at my swivel. It looks it has a fully closed ball bearing. Again, this is very important.
Janos
 
Thank you Janos for your help. I really honestly appreciate it. Ok, my weight total is close to 300 Grams. That swivel is VERY cheap with no bearings. It is just a simple cheap fishing swivel that the ends are encapsulated in that crimped ball and turns on its own.

I will do as you say and attempt another try. I will look at your page again.

Donnie
 
IT WORKED !! I tried it again with one piece of scrap bar of aluminum and just a make shift hook arrangement and the swivel was in between two hooks. The Swivel spun so fast it was incredible as to how fast that swivel turned. I got the Bobbin started for about 2" and it zipped right up to the ceiling in about 10 seconds. WOW.

Donnie
 
For rope sizes: there is no practical upper limit, just the power capability of the razor motor. It can be a challenge making an anchor rope of about 5mm or higher - again, this is not a practical limitation unless we want to build someting at a 1:10 scale. The lower limit is more challenging. With the commercially available thinnest #100 DMC Cordonnet the thinnest line I can make is about 0.3mm in diameter. For smaller sizes one can experiment with polyesther sewing threads. I managed to get some (really expensive) Egyptian cotton thread (sourced from Belgium) in #120 and #140 sizes but allof them brake, can't cope with the stress, created by the rope climb. I tried different versions, different ways, but no result.
As for colours. At the moment I use DMC Ecru for running rigging and the same, coloured with Minwax Jacobian for standing rigging. For the next project I think about changing the running rigging colour, using white DMC and colouring it with Minwax Fruitwood.
I also experimented using the 'real McCoy', Stockholm Tar. I gave it up though not only because of its smell :D but rather because it tends to fill upp the grooves in the rope which then looses definition as a consequence. And, whatever drying time is involved, the tar remains fluid inside and comes out, ruining every effort, when any knot is applied. And collects dust of course.
Janos
 
Just to let you guys to know that Earth is not round every time...
I built my rope climb about 8 years ago (or more) and recently the battery was showing signs of tiredness. So I decided to replace the battery, so I bougth an identical (?) razor from eBay. I wanted to re-use the old motor and setup, everything but battery. So I dismantled the new razor and it was then that I realized that the manufacturer made some optimizations, replaced the battery with one single 1.2V unit instead of the original double arrangement. So the next step was that I had to replace the motor, putting the new one in. After some installation and soldering everything was ready, but the first trial was already a failure - the motor was too weak even for thin lines. So I put the old motor back and because I could not feed it directly from the original power supply, I tried an old one, with the 2.4V rating. Well, it worked, but only for thin lines again. I assume the power supply is incapable of producing the requested amperage. At the moment I am in a black hole with this and I assume I have to buy a Domanoff-type rope climb with the matching power supply. Bummer.
The lesson is that if you manage to put your hands on a razor, which works with a 2.4V battery and motor, it will do the job, but shy away from the newest type 1.2V razors, because they are too weak.
Janos
 
A simple idea i tried as an experiment was to put a hook into my my multi tool (Dremel) type and put 3 hooks into my garden gate run 3 strands of thread from them to the hook and it seemed to work ok, i used black and white thread for the trial
 

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Well done Donnie, that is some nice looking rope, its nice and handy having a ropewalk. You can make whatever you want when you want,
Best regards, John.
 
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