Author Topic: First attempt at making cordage  (Read 2649 times)

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Offline Mo_coon-catcher

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First attempt at making cordage
« on: December 13, 2015, 08:36:48 pm »
I finally got around to trying my hand at twisting up some cordage. I attacked the expanding clump of my moms yucca plants to get the raw material. I beat the leaves with a fossilized whale rib to soften the leaf then used a piece of steel with a rounded edge to scrape off the extra green stuff. It took me a couple of tries to get the feel for twisting the fibers. I made a couple of 3-4' pieces until I figured out how to splice in the new clumps of fibers. Once I finally figured out how to twist them together without the splice slipping I made a couple of 8' lengths. The second turned out a little better than the first long piece, being a more uniform thickness. I was aiming for about 1/8" diameter, which most of it is but some spots that I spliced in too much material ended up about 1/4" thick. That yucca is some strong stuff. On the later lengths I twisted up better I can't break it by hand, it doesn't even stretch much. The first few lengths broke at the splice points. I will say that I do enjoy twisting up cordage, and it makes a good use of the yucca that's taking over the yard. It was a much easier process than I expected, though time consuming.

If you can see the pictures well, what do you think?
One pic is of the clump of yucca fibers and the other is of the last length I twisted up. Which will end up getting used to stitch together a quiver.

Thanks for looking,
Kyle

Offline iowabow

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2015, 07:21:55 am »
You did a great job on making that courage for the first time. When you twisted did you use a reverse twist? Looks like you hide the splices real well and that's great.
(:::.) The ABO path is a new frontier to the past!

Offline Mo_coon-catcher

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2015, 07:35:45 am »
Thanks, it is reverse twisted and has a small clump spliced in about every 6".

Kyle

Offline iowabow

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2015, 07:49:57 am »
I think you have made cordage that is going to work very well for your quiver.
(:::.) The ABO path is a new frontier to the past!

riverrat

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #4 on: December 15, 2015, 01:05:04 am »
really good job! wish my first time looked that good. heck wish my 50th time looked that good lol. Tony

Offline Onebowonder

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #5 on: December 15, 2015, 02:48:43 pm »
Nice cordage Kyle!  About how long are the original fibers bundles you harvested out of the Yucca leaves?  I saw that you are splicing a small-ish clump every 6 inches or so, ...does that mean your original fibers were about 12 inches long???

Onebow

Offline lebhuntfish

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #6 on: December 15, 2015, 04:08:53 pm »
Looks good! I've messed with the type of yucca you got there several times. It makes a fine cordage. The first one I done was about bow string size. We tested it at work, it took over 600lbs before it broke. If you wanted to see brain tan you can use the needle on the end of the leaves. When you join your splices during your reverse twist, make sure to offset the splice from the other side. Looks good though!
Patrick
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Missouri, where all the best wood is! Well maybe not the straightest!

Building a bow has been the most rewarding, peaceful, and frustrating things I have ever made with my own two hands!

Offline Pappy

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #7 on: December 16, 2015, 04:18:05 am »
Nice job, good looking cordage for sure. :)
 Pappy
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Offline Mo_coon-catcher

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #8 on: December 16, 2015, 08:33:14 am »
I'd say the fibers were about 15" long or so. These were younger plants and I didn't pick the largest leaves. They had a thick butt end compared to the main length of the fiber so I left that out and woked in a new bundle the last 4" -6" when the fiber diameter starts to drop down. Thanks for all the good words everybody. Thursday night when I have some more free time in gonna try to twist up some more a little smaller diameter. I wasn't theilled with the looks of the thicker stuff on certain parts of the quiveri stitched together with it. It worked awesome for the main body though.

Kyle

Offline Zuma

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #9 on: December 16, 2015, 09:57:40 am »
Looking good 8),
I wish I had the patience.
Zuma
If you are a good detective the past is at your feet. The future belongs to Faith.

Offline Jodocus

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Re: First attempt at making cordage
« Reply #10 on: December 20, 2015, 02:47:54 pm »
twisting fibers to cord sure soothes the nerves.
Don't shoot!