Rope making stick/club

In this video I show you how to make a rope making stick/club and use it to make rope.
This video was inspired by an instructable by Asemery.

Making rope using this basic tool teaches you how rope is built and how it works. It is a great activity both for learning and passing the knowledge on to your kids.

Enjoy the video!

[dfu]

Thank you. That is wonderful to see. I never knew about this method. This is a much more approachable method than many of the others out there. Thanks again!

[kellyroup]

If you split the dowel about 3/4" you can put in a wedge and drive it in. The wedge will spread the dowel inside the hole as it goes in and you don't need the screw. If you put some oil in the hole it will also swell the dowel and hole and last a long time. Great vid! Not trying to tell you how to do it but I seen that done in another vid and tried it. It works great.

[werewolf]

I think this could make an interesting addition to Corporals Corner .... Id love to see a bush craft of this.

[GaryT]

Very interesting. I've seen old photos of waterfront rope making sheds, now I know how it was done and why the buildings where so long. Thank you

[stevepearson]

My scoutmaster had us use one of those rope making paddles to make rope back in the 60s. Thanks for a trip down memory lane

[reginaromsey]

I am impressed by the sharpness of that knife and the expertise of the tool user! Fascinating! Do you have knowledge of when and where this tool and technique were used? It seems such a simple tool yet it produces one of the most universally needed and used items, cord or rope. Possibly one of humanity’s first great inventions!

[jimparsons]

Interesting, and thanks. This is an interesting method. According to some authorities some of our collective ancestors while moving into what is now Europe about70, 000 years ago had string and rope-making capabilities. String making might eventually lead to fabric making. I've seen photos of small female ceramic clay figures wearing primitive bras. Soft fabric underwear leading to other items, socks perhaps? A progression of luxury items then?

[andrewbraithwaite]

I use a similar method but on a much longer base when I’m teaching this to the scouts. Also, with a longer base, I’m able to fold the twine two or three times to make much heavier ropes. Sometimes I’ll even twist three or four ropes into a cable.

[wendywatkins]

Hmm as an avid needle art addict, I've been doing this same thing with yarn without any tools, just two anchor points and a twist. Its virtually identical to what you are doing on a smaller scale. There's also a way of twisting where you keep doing a triple twist and you virtually just keep going until your strand runs out.

[ВалентинаМалых-нн]

Мастер - просто ОГОНЬ ! Столяр 2 - го разряда, не более : инструментарий это ещё не всё ...

[jacobopstad]

I love the simplicity. I couldn't help but note how the square end of the handle is really close to the notches. It would be a good idea, I think, to make the hole a little further away from the notches so you have more room

[ginnyjollykidd]

This is a very simple technique, a lot simpler than other rope-making videos I've seen. 😊

[lucasrenzi]

Thank you for the video. I’d like more information on the three and four strand options and the two attachment points. When you using to attachment points do you just attach them and then use the club to spin and then once the Rope is tied combined the strands and remove the second attachment point and then spin counterclockwise?

[ronaldrvvanhook]

I've made neck cords for jewelry using similar techniques. Use upholstery thread, an anchor point, and a hook point at the end of an electric drill. When you have your strands of line all twisted, hang a heavy weight in the middle of the twisted line, and then bring both ends of the line together and the weight in the middle will drop and the two lines will twist together on their own.

[Psychichazard]

Nice. Have you thought about adding some green wash to the modular rubble bits?

[ItAintMeBabe]

Wow, very interesting! I guess I would be in trouble if I wanted to end up with a 100’ rope !

[vibhupande]

Instead of using masking tape, could just tie off the end with whipping with the same twine.. thanks for the vid, now I understand better

[TomeOfKnowledge]

Neat video. I have a couple of questions:
1. Would this tool be "one size fits all", for different widths of twine?
2. What is your advice on the number of turns clockwise and counterclockwise? Should they be roughly the same?

[faierieknotting]

Very interesting we have that here in Portugal at Vila Franca De Xira city it is used to make cordage for the horse ropes because this rope ia a softh rope

[mono]

En una región de Colombia se le conoce a este instrumento como torno, taraba o tarabita aunque estos últimos ahora se usan para las canastillas de los cables aéreos, tambien conocidas Como garruchas. Esa canastilla colgante lo asocian nombres de herramientas manuales