Wire ropes are now used to such an extent, and in such a variety of ways, that a knowledge of the best methods of handling them cannot fail to be useful to the many thousands who are brought in daily contact with them. An endeavour will here be made to give such clear and simple instructions as will enable readers, with practice, to execute any job in connection with the splicing of wire ropes. The uses that wire ropes are now put to, and the ways and occupations they are employed in, are so various, that it is almost a necessity for a man to be engaged in their manufacture to have a thorough knowledge of the different methods of handling them. For instance, it would be just as consistent to expect a sailor, used only to eye-splicing, to go to a colliery and put a long splice into a rope, to withstand the enormous stress there applied, as it would be to expect a colliery man to go aboard ship to splice the mainbrace, or any other brace.

Now Fig. 177 is a sketch-plan of an endless band rope, such as may be seen at many collieries in Great Britain. A is the driving sheave on the engine at bank, round which the rope passes three or four times, and leads off to the overhead pulley B. Then it goes down the shaft, perhaps a very considerable distance, under the pulley C, and so on to D, whence it passes round the tightening sheave E, which is movable and contrived with weights to keep the rope always tight, and so prevent surging round the pulleys and sheaves and consequent loss of power. The rope then passes round D′ to the sheave F, the driving of which is the object aimed at, since that sheave in turn may work either one or two hauling ropes, as at G and H, working into the interior of the pit, in addition, perhaps, to a pump. The load on this rope may amount to several tons, and such a rope will therefore require a splice from 60 ft. to 100 ft. long.

Further, no matter what kind of a splice it may be, it must be made well. If it is a ship’s hawser, at times the safety of the vessel and all it contains may depend on a splice. Again, an awful disaster might be the result if the splice in a crane rope were to draw.

There are three kinds of wire rope splices, the short splice, eye splice, and long splice.

A short splice is a bulky splice, and is used only for block straps, slings, etc. It is not suitable for driving ropes or for running tackle, and should never be put into a crane or hoist rope. It is made by unlaying the two ends of the rope to a sufficient length, from 1 ft. to 2 ft., according to size, and interlaying them together as in Fig. 178. Draw them close, and tuck the strands of one under the strands of the other several times. It is only a case of “over and under” as in splicing a hemp rope. After the ends have been tucked a sufficient number of times, about twice, each strand will stand in most cases. Hammer all down snug, and either cut off the ends with a hammer and chisel or twist the wires off one or two at a time, which makes a much neater job.

An eye splice may be made in two different ways—namely, left-handed, or “over and under,” and right-handed.

Left-handed splicing is undoubtedly stronger, tuck for tuck, than the right-handed method, for the “bite” on the strands is greater and the frictional adhesion is more acute. The strands and ends are practically plaited, and consequently locked together, and, no matter how the rope unlays itself, the splice is immovable. A splice like this should be put into every crane rope, for frequently the load when lifted from the ground spins round and unlays the rope to a certain extent.

In right-handed splicing, the ends to be tucked are simply laid several times round one strand each, and offer no resistance to any such unlaying process. However, a right-handed splice is easier and neater to make, and these splices are becoming general, some splicers making it a rule to put a “lock” in by tucking the ends once left-handed. A right-handed splice is strong enough for most ordinary purposes, but if a left-handed splice is tucked three times and put on a testing machine, it would break the rope before it would draw out; whereas, if a right-handed splice were tucked three times and put to the same test, it would pull out. However, if the right-handed splice, instead of being tucked three times were tucked eight times, it would stand any stress that could be put on it; in fact, six times through is quite sufficient for ordinary purposes.

The following is the method of right-handed splicing. First fasten up the rope-end from the vice to any convenient column or hook, and mark off from the end, as at A (Fig. 179), the length for the splice, which will be from 1½ ft. to 6 ft., according to the size of rope; say 2 ft. of end for 2 in. cir. rope. Measure with a string round the groove of the thimble, and transfer the length to the rope, marking it as at A B. To put a seizing on the “neck” of the splice, as in Fig. 180, add 6 in. or 8 in. to the length of rope to be served. Now take a narrow strip of parcelling—that is, thin bagging—and bind it neatly round the rope from A to B (Fig. 179). The rule is: Worm and parcel with the lay, but serve the rope the other way. Next take a serving-mallet D (Fig. 179), with a bobbin full of spun yarn upon it, and, beginning at B, serve over the parcelling to A. Cut off and make fast the end of spun yarn, when the work will be ready for turning in the thimble. A chalk mark midway between A and B will serve as a guide in getting in the thimble straight. Next bring the end of the rope round on the double to form a loop, with A and B exactly level. Open the vice sufficiently to take in that loop, insert the thimble, taking care to have it exactly straight, and screw up the vice as tightly as possible. Securely fasten the rope and thimble together at the “neck” A (Fig. 181), when the rope should appear as there illustrated. Fasten it in the vice with the thimble hanging downwards, and the part to be spliced held up by a line suspended from some convenient joist or girder. Take the whipping off the rope-end, and open out the strands singly, to be ready for tucking. Looking at the rope from the direction of the arrow A (Fig. 182), drive a marlinespike through the two strands on the extreme left, taking care, of course, always to miss the core of the rope. Twist the spike up the rope about half a turn, so as to make an easier bend for the strand, then take the strand nearest the opening, tuck it through, and haul tight. Then, most important, force down the strand with the marlinespike till it occupies the position indicated in the dotted lines of Fig. 182.

At the next tuck, with the spike take in the strand to the right, along with the two just gone through, making an opening through three strands, with the point of the spike coming out in the same place as in the first tuck. Insert the next nearest end, strand two, and work in snug as before. Of the three strands the spike has just been through, take the one nearest to the left, and drive the spike in so as to make the point come out at the same opening as before; tuck in No. 3 strand, and that will make, as in Fig. 183, three strand ends entering into the same opening in the rope, but coming out between different strands. After this, simply keep on taking the next strand and the next end, following round to the left, till all the ends are tucked once, when an end will come out between each pair of strands.

The rest is easy. Merely keep on repeating the operation, with strand and end, until the splice is long enough and strong enough. As Fig. 180 shows, after the first set of tucks, it is only a case of each end twisting and re-twisting round its own particular strand, all the way up. It merely thickens the strands. After the ends are tucked three or four times, it will make a neater splice if the ends are split and the splice is tapered at the finish by leaving behind one-half of each end, while the other half is tucked once or twice more. Having finished the tucking, take the splice down from the vice, cut off all strand ends quite close, and hammer all down snugly. At the neck put on the seizing wire, if any, parcel and serve, and the right-handed eye splice is complete.

Seizing wire is really a seven-wire strand, made of soft wire, about No. 18 or No. 19 gauge. It is put on a splice for the double purpose of strengthening the splice and rendering it easier to take a weak or broken thimble out of the eye, to be replaced by a stronger one. It is simply bound tightly round the two ropes at the neck, and the end is brought up and round the middle twice, or thrice and made secure, as at A (Fig. 180).

Left-handed eye-splicing should be comparatively easy if the preceding instructions on right-handed eye-splicing have been carefully followed. Although it is not essential, it makes a neater and a closer splice if a slightly different method of starting is adopted. In splicing a thimble into a crane rope or a trawl-warp, two ropes in which it is very advisable to put left-handed splices, it is unusual to put any seizing on the neck; instead, the rope is spliced right down to the thimble. Serve sufficient rope to go round the thimble only, leaving out sufficient end for the splice. Turn in and screw up very tight in the vice, make fast at the neck, as before described, fasten the rope up with the thimble hanging downwards, and open out the ends.

Different splicers have different ways of starting, but a very good method is as follows: Turn to Fig. 181, and, taking the strand in the rope nearest the point marked C, open it out with the spike. Select the end that is nearest to it, which will be the inside middle one of the bunch, bring it through to the right hand, as in Fig. 184, and force it down well. Still keeping the spike through the same strand, select the middle strand end, on the outside of the bunch, and put it through the same aperture, but in the opposite direction—that is, left-handed. Of the four strands now remaining, first take the two at the right, and put each end through its nearest strands, right-handed, as at B C (Fig. 185), and the other two at the left, and tuck them through their nearest neighbours, left-handed. There is now an end coming out between each strand, and if the rope is now taken down and hammered well at this part, a very neat starting is formed. All that remains now is very simple; just keep working round to the left, tucking each end as it is reached over its neighbour and under the next one. Work “over and under” all the way, until each end is tucked three or four times.

The appearance of the splice will be improved if the ends are halved before taking the final tuck.

If the strands of the rope to be spliced are very hard and stiff, it will perhaps be difficult to pull in the ends quite snug. To get over this difficulty, before tucking give each strand a sharp bend close to the rope, in the direction in which it has to be tucked, when it will spring into its place with comparatively little pulling. When all the ends are tucked, hammer the splice well, as that makes the wires knit more into one another, and consequently increases the “bite.” All that remains now is to cut the ends off, and serve over, finishing at the thimble. It is a good plan to take the splice down now and then during the process of tucking, and hammer it well, as that serves to drive out all the slack at the ends.

Long-splicing is undoubtedly the most important form of splicing. By its use two pieces of rope may be joined together, or a rope may be made endless, without increasing its thickness at the splice. In fact, none but a practised eye can discern where a well-made splice is, after it has been made and set running, as all ends are completely hidden. Ability to splice well in this style commands many good jobs at collieries in this country and in South African mines.

Of course, in long-splicing, as in many other things, different men have different styles. Suppose, for example, a colliery hauling rope is to be spliced, and that it works endless from a hauling engine to a terminal return pulley, mounted on the tension bogie; suppose also that the rope has been put in position, with the ends left at the most convenient place ready for splicing. If 60 ft. of end is available for the splice, decide on that length, and, measuring about 40 ft. from each end, make the rope fast to the rails at one side, and at the other side fix a block and tackle, and haul in every bit of slack lying on the hauling road, taking especial care that the tension bogie is pulled right up to the top of the tension “ways.” This is a very important consideration, because if, through the rope stretching, the tension pulley got down to its limit before the rope was worn out, it would necessitate cutting the rope and making a new splice, or opening out the old splice and re-splicing there again after shortening the rope.

Where practicable, have the tension of a sufficient length that by the time it gets to its limit there is sufficient length of rope to make a new splice, in case the old one is found to be giving way. Some ropes stretch more than others in working, and it is difficult to say accurately how much per cent. a rope will stretch, as much depends on the way the rope has been made. However, the larger the hempen core inside the rope or the shorter the lay or spiral twist the more the stretch. It is wise, therefore, when splicing a new rope never to give any slack away.

Having got the rope hauled as tight as possible, carefully measure 30 ft. from each end of the rope, and there tie a strong whipping. It is important that these whippings should be put on each rope at a distance which shall ensure that they will easily come quite up to each other when the two ends are joined together. Next, take the whippings off the extreme ends of rope and open out the strands. Some splicers do this in pairs; others simply halve the rope, opening it out in two bunches of three strands each. A better way, considering laying them in again, is to open out one strand, then miss one and open out the next to that, then miss another and take the next one again.

There are now three single strands opened out to the whipping at 30 ft. from the end, and between each of these strands there is one strand unopened. This work must be done at each end of the rope, of course. Taking these two bunches of three unopened strands, cut them off about 6 in. from the whipping and throw them on one side. Open out the 6 in., obtaining three strands 30 ft. long, and between each pair is a strand 6 in. long, with the same length of core projecting through the centre of the rope. Join the two ends together as in Fig. 178 (p. 135), taking care in every case to have the strands placed so that a long strand will fall in where a short one comes out, and at the same time pull out between the strands the two short pieces of core A B. Place helpers on each side to pull on the long strands, as in a tug of war, and after cutting the two whippings C get the helpers to pull in opposite directions, until the two ropes are jammed close up to each other, with the strands ready to fall naturally into the lay of the rope. If this is not done properly, or if the rope is allowed to slip back, the appearance of the finished splice will be spoiled by an unsightly long place in the lay.

Next clamp or securely tie the three long strands at one side to the rope, and proceed to lay the other three long strands into place. Select a long strand and the short one that touches it, open out the short strand, and lay the long one in its place. Keep on doing that until all but 5 ft. of the long strand has been laid in; then stop and lock these two strands together by crossing them, so that they will not open out. Now measure back 5 ft. on the strand just opened out and cut the rest off, as only 5 ft. will be needed on each end. Open out another short strand, at the same time laying in a long one, to the length of 15 ft. only, and the next long strand must be laid in just 5 ft. Now release the other three strands made fast to the rope, and treat them in the same way, laying in a long strand where a short one is taken out. Make all the ends 5 ft. long, putting a small whipping on each before cutting to prevent opening out, when the splice will be as in Fig. 186.

There are now twelve strand ends, 5 ft. long, which must be worked into the inside of the rope and completely hidden; but before this some lengths of thin bagging must be prepared, about 2 in. wide, or, failing that, get some thin yarn, which must be wrapped securely and evenly round each strand for about 2 ft. or 3 ft. from the end. Strips of bagging are the better, and can be expeditiously put on by getting each helper to wrap an end. This gives the outer strands something to knit or bed into when the hempen core is taken out of the centre of the rope and the steel strand ends are worked in. After considering the difference between the size of the hempen core and of the outer strands, necessitated, of course, by the spiral form of the outer strands, it will be obvious that the “bite” of the outer on the inner strands would be very little indeed if the ends were worked in bare. When all the ends are wrapped and cut to such a length that they just butt against each other when worked inside the rope, the work is ready for tucking. Take hold of the piece of hempen core A (Fig. 186) and pull it out just to past the first joint—that is, the two ends 1 and 1′. In all probability, if the rope is large or rather hard laid, this will be difficult, unless a tapered round spike is driven through the two strands immediately behind it.

Strand 1 has now to be worked inside the rope where the core came out. To do that, take a flat tucking spike and drive it through the strands 1′ and the next one with the point coming out and covering strand 1. Twist the spike round in the lay of the rope, and, of course, towards the original joint B in the splice; but so manipulate the spike, or “tucker,” that strand 1 will fall into the inside of the rope immediately the worker starts to twist, as at C (Fig. 187).

When working a strand from the outside to the inside of a rope it should be done short, sharp, and at once. Good joints must be made short, for then the twists in the strands so unite with one another as to make it appear as though they were blended into one strand.

The “partner” strand to the one just worked in—that is, strand 1′—must next be tucked out of sight, but before that can be done it will be necessary to consider that if the wires in the strand are spun or twisted in the opposite direction to that in which the rope is “laid” or “closed,” then an ordinary rope is formed. But if the wires and the strands are both twisted in the same direction there is formed a make of rope commonly called a “Langs” or “Albert” laid rope.

In Figs. 179 to 185 ordinary ropes are illustrated, but in Figs. 178, 186, and 187 Langs ropes are shown.

In an ordinary rope the strands are tucked into the inside, side by side at the joint, which is known as a “flat joint,” while in the case of a Langs rope the strands are crossed over each other at the joint, and this is known as a round joint.

Fig. 187 also illustrates a good way to place the spikes to work in strand 1′ and make a round joint. Each spike is driven through two strands, and, as shown, A is the leading spike which tucks the strand into its place, while B is used simply to combine with A in making the joint and forcing the strand 1′ into the centre of the rope. This is effected by placing the strand between the points of the two spikes and twisting them up in opposite directions. If the spike A is twisted up towards the worker, and spike B in the opposite direction, the obvious result is that the points of the two spikes come down, and simply crush strand 1′ into the centre of the rope. Then go on twisting spike A along the lay, and spike B can be pulled out as soon as the worker gets away from the joint.

If these joints are closely and neatly made, each in its own way, the two strands forming the joint knit into each other’s lay or twist, and will be scarcely noticeable. The above operation must, of course, be repeated until all the ends are tucked into the inside of the rope. Tuck them in as numbered in Fig. 186, namely 1, 1′, 2, 2′, and so on. Be very particular in seeing that the ends exactly butt each other, or a lump results on the splice; if they do not butt, the outer strands will sink in. When all the ends are properly tucked, the long splice is practically completed, but it will improve matters to round off all joints and uneven places with a half-round top-swage, about the same diameter as the rope.

About all the tools necessary for long-splicing are two flat spikes or tuckers and one round one, each say 18 in. long, a sledge and set for cutting the rope and strands, a hand hammer for driving in the spikes, a strong pair of cutting pliers and the top-swage (Fig. 188). A very useful wire rope clamp is shown in Fig. 189.

In addition to the method of fitting attachments to wire ropes by means of splicing, as already described in this chapter, there is the method of socketing, shoeing, or capping, as it is variously called. There is a great difference between the rough product of the colliery black-smith, in the shape of the common link socket, and the highly finished cast-steel socket or the turned steel socket of the engineer; and in concluding this chapter it is purposed to deal with them all.

Fig. 190 is a view of the ordinary link socket, often used at collieries as a means of temporarily repairing a broken rope. A whipping of soft wire or spun yarn is put on each end of the rope, and a few wires then bent sharply back over the whipping and cut off an inch or two shorter than the socket that fits over them. The rest of the rope-end is cut off as close to the whipping as possible, and the sockets, which, of course, are ready opened, are put on, hammered down close, and firmly clinched with three rivets.

A very common socket in everyday use is shown by Figs. 191 to 193; this is principally used on haulage ropes and ships’ steering-gear. The eye may be of either round or square section, the latter being the strongest and best. As a rule, these sockets are fixed on the rope by means of rivets only, but when attached to winding ropes they are secured with strong steel hoops, which are forged to make a close fit at intermediate distances on the socket, as in Fig. 194.

Sometimes hoops are used in conjunction with rivets. When a hooped socket leaves the black-smith’s shop, the hoops should be a close fit at equal distances on the socket; and as a guide to replacing them correctly, both socket and hoops should be pop-marked with a centre-punch as shown.

The method of preparing the wire rope for these sockets is the same whether hoops or rivets are used. First put a strong wire whipping on the rope at about the length of the socket from the rope-end. Untwist the wires of the part left over and straighten them out (see Fig. 195); then bend them sharply back, one or two at a time, over the whipping and over the rope. If the rope has a wire core in the centre, the wires forming it should be bent back the same as the outside wires; but if the core is of hemp, it must be cut off close to the whipping. After hammering snug and close, all these wires have to be cut to a different length, so as to form a tapered bulb corresponding to the tapered cavity inside the socket. Cut the longest wires an inch or two shorter than the length of the socket, measuring from A to B (Fig. 193), and gradually make the other wires shorter and shorter all the way towards the end. These wires must now be tightly and closely served with soft copper wire or spun yarn, using the serving-mallet already described in this chapter. For common work spun yarn is used, and for the best class of work soft copper wire.

In bending back the wires, care must be taken to ensure their being bent equally all round the rope and not merely at the top and bottom or on one side only. The object is to form on the end of the rope a bulb which will completely fill the cavity inside the socket. To do this, the operator should work with the closed socket beside him and take the measurement of the inside of the socket at both ends with a pair of inside callipers, and the size of the bulb as it progresses with outside callipers, comparing the two. The socket may have been made rather large inside, in which case it will be necessary to put on two or more layers of serving to bring the bulb to the required size. The rope should then appear as in Fig. 196. The eye of the socket must now be made red-hot. Cool down all but the extreme back of the eye A (Fig. 192) by the application of water, and open the socket out sufficiently to allow of the bulb being pushed into place. Let the end of the bulb come just to the shoulder A (Fig. 193) of the socket; then hammer the socket on the anvil, or screw it up in the vice, until it is as close as it will go. Cool it down and drive in the rivets, clinching them well, with a big strong head on each side, for which purpose the holes must be well countersunk. The rivets should be made of good riveting iron or of mild steel. A properly filled socket should show, when finished, a ⅛-in. opening between the jaws down its full length on both sides (see Figs 193 and 194), which would prove that the socket was properly gripping the bulb.

When fitting a hooped socket, first pop-mark the parts, then remove the hoops and thread them on to the rope, the smallest first and the others in order; they are thus easily returned to their proper places. As soon as the hoops are replaced, the socket should be taken out of the vice and held end down on a block or anvil while the hoops are driven tightly home with a set-hammer (Fig. 197) and sledge.

To give a better finish, and to prevent the hoops from working back or wet from entering, they are sometimes caulked on the tapered side A (Fig. 194) with a caulking set.

For crane ropes or colliery winding ropes, steel sockets are sometimes cast solid, some with closed eyes for the D shackle, as in Figs. 198 and 199, and others with open ends with holes for a slotted pin, as in Figs. 200 to 202, the two latter being side views of alternative shapes. The form shown by Figs. 198 and 199 is the more difficult to fit, as it is obvious that the rope must first be pushed through the socket and brought out at one side of the eye before the bulb can be formed, when it has to be either pulled or hammered back until it is quite tight in the socket. After the bulb of these solid sockets has been pulled or driven into place, it is usual to drive a round tapered copper plug into the core of the bulb, to solidify it and increase its grip with the socket. Sometimes molten white metal is poured in to fill up the interstices between the rope and the socket. The hole at the small end of these sockets is made only a very little larger than the diameter of the rope, so that it is impossible for the bulb to pull through if properly made.

Flat wire ropes, which are not much used now, also have to be socketed, as they cannot be spliced. There are various methods of fixing flat rope sockets, varying with the strain and the conditions under which they work. The most usual method is to bend the wire ends back equally on both sides to make the bulb fit the inside of the socket, and to secure with a liberal supply of rivets (see Fig. 203). For stronger work, the rope-end, after being cut off square, is bent round the shackle pin, and the socket made to grip both the rope and its end, the whole being firmly secured by means of strong iron clamps and bolts (see Figs. 204 and 205). In order to drive the rivets through the compressed rope after the socket is tightened, it is necessary to make the way easy for them by driving in tapered spikes of the shape shown by Figs. 206 and 207. These require a hole in the end to take the end of a stout marlinespike, for the purpose of withdrawing them from the hole. They must be made of mild steel.

The best form of rivet is shown by Fig. 208; it must be made longer than the diameter of the socket, to allow for clinching the other head.