The Easy Way to Make Rope

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The rope machine in action on a ranch in Oregon.
The rope machine in action on a ranch in Oregon.
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PHOTO 1: Side view of the Incredible Rope-Making Machine shows how the
PHOTO 1: Side view of the Incredible Rope-Making Machine shows how the "throw" of each crank fits between two boards of machine. PHOTO 2: Here's how you "thread 'er up" before cranking out a rope. Distance between machine and Y-shaped holder can be as great as you want to make it (more than 100 feet, if you desire). PHOTO 3: Another view of rope-maker from the other side and the Y-holder
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PHOTO 4: The first rope was made of old bale twines square knotted together. The strings in second rope were braided together. Third rope was made of new binder twine and fourth rope is two strands of the third rope twisted together.
PHOTO 4: The first rope was made of old bale twines square knotted together. The strings in second rope were braided together. Third rope was made of new binder twine and fourth rope is two strands of the third rope twisted together.
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The finished rope-making machine.
The finished rope-making machine.
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Assembly of the rope-making machine.
Assembly of the rope-making machine.

Click on Image Gallery for referenced figures and sketches.

Travis Brock, who recently joined the MOTHER EARTH NEWS research and editorial staff, certainly knows what to do with the mountains of baler twine that constantly pile up on farms and ranches from sea to shining sea.

“Turn that string into rope,” says Travis. “It’s easy to do–darn near automatic, in fact–once you’ve spent about an hour putting together the very simple, yet extremely effective, rope-making machine I saw working on a ranch near The Dalles, Oregon.”

The Incredible Rope-Making Machine’s Basic Principle

The secret of the Incredible Rope-Making Machine is nothing but a few hooks (we like three, but you can use as many or as few as you like) that can be turned at the same time, at the same speed and all in the same direction. This isn’t nearly as difficult to accomplish as it might sound.

  • Published on Nov 1, 1976
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