Using thread around cord ends

[cloyd]

I have a cord that needs to be repaired as one of the spade terminations was cut off or broke.that has thread wrapped around the end just before the spade terminal.  Sometimes I see thread wrapped around a cord midway along the cord.  Does this technique have a name?  Is there a tool to do it?  What weight thread and is any glue involved?

Tina Loyd

[Bill]

The general name for this is "whipping". Whenever manila or sisal rope was used, the ends were whipped to prevent unravelling. Today, with plastic rope, whipping is not used. Instead, the ends are simply melted to fuse the fibers.

Bill

[DavePEI]

The general name for this is "whipping". Whenever manila or sisal rope was used, the ends were whipped to prevent unravelling. Today, with plastic rope, whipping is not used. Instead, the ends are simply melted to fuse the fibers.

Bill

I have done basically the same thing to repair cloth cords which are unraveling at the end. I grab some of my wife's matching colour thread, and whip if around the end where is is unraveling neatly, then to finish off, put a few drops of clear Magic Glue on it to keep it from unraveling itself. It will soak in, and keep it all together. Works well, though I wouldn't use it on a cord which was in bad shape along the length. Even if the thread precisely matches the cord colour before the glue is applied, the repair turns out slightly darker after the glue is applied, so you might want to use slightly lighter thread to begin with.

[cloyd]

Gentlemen,
Thank you for the information!  I will give it a try.
Tina Loyd

[Jim Stettler]

I think you may be able to find a bsp reference on technique.  During the war years, Bell labs came out with many ways of extending useful service life of equipment.  You may be able to find info regarding cloth cords from that time-frame.

Just a guess,
Jim S.

[Bill]

Better yet, there should be no need for glue if one end of the whipping twine is laid down as a loop (bight) when whipping is begun, and used to bury the other end under the wrapping when the whipping is complete.

Hard to explain, easier to visualize. I have always used Method 2 shown in this pdf file. It makes a very nice-looking and secure finish.

http://www.ropeworks.biz/reader/whipping.pdf

Believe it or not, they used to teach this method in Boy Scouts, back in the days when rope was manila or sisal or cotton, and plastic rope had yet to be invented.

Bill

[Matilo Telephones]

Thanks for that link, Bill. I found it very educational.

I use similar techniques to repair and adapt cords and to make new ones.

I have studied the cords used here as best as I can to reproduce the same sort of finish.

I use glue too. It is not for preventing fraying at the end of the wire, but to prevent fraying if one of the windings is ever damaged. If I would not do that, it would quickly unwind.

On old cords I often find that the windings are treated with a waxy material. I do not know what it is, and I guess it was put there for the same reason.

But I do not seem to get the windings as tight as they used to. Did they use special tools? What did they use?

[TelePlay]

     Regular Member Post

Better yet, there should be no need for glue if one end of the whipping twine is laid down as a loop (bight) when whipping is begun, and used to bury the other end under the wrapping when the whipping is complete.

Hard to explain, easier to visualize. I have always used Method 2 shown in this pdf file. It makes a very nice-looking and secure finish.

Just re-discovered this site today and with a few newer members working with cloth cords, thought it would be good to refresh this topic so others can see how to whip the end of a cloth cord or bundle of cords. The PDF file is attached to Bill's original post above and here as well.

I use embroidery yarn from Walmart for cheap which comes in different colors to match the cloth cords and look very similar to the original cord used back in the day and easy to work with.

Can also be used to lace wire bundles, in subsets for example, to keep them together the old fashioned way (pdf tutorial attached here).

[FABphones]

Thanks, I hadn't seen this thread. I know this info will come in handy.

Oddly enough I was about to chuck a whole load of this yarn/thread.

...I'll be keeping the 'mono' colours now.