small rope splicing

[Geoff]

Good Morning,

Is small diameter rope more difficult to splice than large? I'm using Brian's video to learn standard double braid eye splice. I got one "right" on the second try with the 3/8" line that came with the video/splicing wand kit. I got one right on the third try with old 1/2" halyard line that had been washed in fabric softener. (Though it worked up quite a sweat pulling it home for 45 minutes.) I'm having a devil of a time with 1/4" rope. I'm using a Samson 1/4" fid for this one and in 6 tries have got the fid through the first step only once. All other times the core pulled loose before the fid would come. I've tried the fid without the core and it's just as difficult. I can not move the fid without the aid of a pliers. (Nylon faced.) I've massaged the rope until I'm worried about chafe. I assume massaging when in transit through the cored section of the cover also massages and weakens the masking tape?

Are there any helps or tricks I need to know? Would a silicon lubricant help? Should 1/4" rope be tied instead of spliced? etc.?

Thanks

Geoff

[Brion Toss]

Hi,
Wrestling sessions like the one you describe were much of the reason I abandoned Samson fids. Especially with well-made (i.e. firmly-laid) rope, the proper size fid isn't a good fit. One dodge is to use the next smaller fid, though with the same tail lengths, and you might try that. You should not need to massage the rope with the tool inside, and you definitely must never lubricate the rope, as it is difficult to find a one-way lubricant.
45 minutes to run home even a splice in used rope is, um a bit on the long side. Think of it as dues-paying. But re-check all your dimensions, including how you tapered. And consider a slightly longer gap between the first and second marks on the core, to give you more slack of getting home.
Fair leads,
Brion Toss

[Geoff]

Thanks for the tips. I'll keep working on it. I've got until May to get it right.

Geoff