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Couple of years ago when bosun polished and varnished ship's bell at bridge wing, I decided to make bell rope for it.
Made several bell ropes but don't have pictures of all of them. Also don't have picture of the best one which was permanently attached to the bell.
Again, lot of free time and a lot of free material.
Best regards
LMMasterMariner
Lovely work, I wish I could do that.
If you want to try your hand, get a copy of Ashley's Book of Knots by Clifford W. Ashley. In addition to a lot of practical knots, there's a whole section devoted to decorative knotting.Quote:
Originally Posted by olderdan
For simpler knots, step by step videos are available online at...
Animated Knots by Grog | How to Tie Knots | Fishing, Boating, Climbing, Scouting, Search and Rescue, Household, Decorative, Rope Care,
Thanks Olderdan,
You can do that, everyone can do that. So many videos and tutorials on the web.
Regards
LMMasterMariner
I play at it, mostly key fobs. I have made a simple bell rope, but the cord for the fancier one sits still unused. Maybe this winter . . I am on a Yahoo! board with little activity, and sadly just had to put another forum on inactive status, "but" there are many, many great tutorials still there and some good links: Pineapple Knot Site/ .Quote:
Originally Posted by olderdan
Vince's site is great! Knot Tutorials, knotting tutorials
The ABOK can be a big investment when you aren't sure what you will be doing, this title is one of my favorites: Creative Ropecraft Creative Ropecraft by Stuart Grainger
Look up coxcombing on Vince's site, it is a fun way to get started, I've done many flashlights while my partner watches TV and I'm "present." The ends can be covered with a simple turk's head.
Ron
...and a few dozen centuries of traditional artwork.Quote:
Originally Posted by LMMasterMariner
As a kid I dabbled for a while in making braided lanyards for things like key fobs rear view mirror dangles and the like out of flat vinyl threads.
A neighbor made whips out of leather thongs some up to 25 ft long it was always interesting to watch him start out with up to 15 thin narrow strips of leather and work his way out and down to 5 or 6 strands
one of my younger sisters got into macrame using bailing twine but I could never get into it
All's the more reason I can appreciate the work of an artisan's labors.
I second Ashley's Book of Knots by Clifford W. Ashley and with the knots there is a bit of history, been a bedside reader for a few decades. It can be found on-line for those who do not have an interest in joining the International Guild of Knot Tyers,(IGKT),probably THE best book about knots their uses and abuses, occupational use and origins. Thief Knots are fascinating puzzles. Give a kid a piece of cord, teach them a few knots,nothing will fall off the trailer and you will not have to buy batteries.
Nice work.
Time where does one get the time? I will buy the Ashely book but I do not know when I would ever get the time.
Ralph
Attachment 19824Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralphxyz
https://youtu.be/UAxARJyaTEA
That is one of the saddest things I have ever watched. :-(
Ralphxyz asks "Time where does one get the time? I will buy the Ashely book but I do not know when I would ever get the time."
NortonDommi states about the "Enough Time at Last" clip being one of the saddest thing he ever watched :-(
While time is relative, most is up to you to make relevant. Even simple crafts occupy time and mind, bigger endeavors multiply that effect. Make things enjoyable, do what you can, and find ways to undertake what you couldn't before.
That clip is Burgess Meredith; program is 1960's US television "The Twilight Zone"
Didn't have to watch, knew immediately. Watching wouldn't ruin my day, but a percentage of it.
My equivalent to his 'library' is 190k pounds of cast iron. His eyeglasses, my electrical system.
There is a bright side; unwavering enthusiasm, and even more perseverance.
I am mindful how I eat, careful how I drive, attentive to how I work, and welcome the feeling going home tired but satisfied.
My goal is to live forever...so far, so good!
My father will be 98 in January, lives in Los Angeles, CA. He remains in his own home, same his kids grew up in.
We went to his 80th high school reunion, near here in Kansas City, MO. Go WILDCATS!
Historical society filmed him recounting the first Louisburg High School yearbook and his involvement; selling ad space to defray printing costs, hand-drawn artwork for many ads, helping conceive LOMIKA name still in use today. Louisburg (LO) - Miami County (MI) - Kansas (KA)
He sold his motorhome in February, and replaced anew two weeks later, along with a Ford Hybrid.
Up to a point that you may or may not realize, age is a state of mind. You might easily delay the inevitable by keeping busy with interests and goals.
In queue with the film clip, have a spare pair of eyeglasses too.
I always shudder when I hear/read someone say, "I just retired and now I need to find a hobby to fill my time."
Hobbies are, IMO, essential to extending life beyond retirement. However, you can't just pick one from a list after you retire. You've got to experiment with many candidates until you find one with which your mind resonates then acquire the tools and develop the skills to pursue that hobby at a level that provides lasting enjoyment when you have plenty of retirement time to do so.
A good hobby should be one that you can pursue mentally even when you're not actually engaged in doing whatever the hobby entails doing. Keeping your mind active is an essential key to extending life. A hobby that provides challenging problems that can be solved while waiting in the dentist's office or attending a boring party is perfect.
Remember too that a sport is not a hobby, at least not in the sense I outlined above. There's nothing wrong with sports as a form of exercise but they don't provide the level of mental stimulation needed to keep the mind sharp. In addition, as age advances and takes its toll on our bodies, active participatory sports become less possible.
So, I've pirated Marv's illumination of why maintaining interest(s) benefit us. For me, it delineates the difference between a productive hobby or mere participation.
How often have we heard variations of "perfect jobs are those you can enjoy". I'd go one step further, "...so enjoyable, you'd do it for free." Which, essentially what many here are doing. Also why I think classifying this as a hobby might make it appear insignificant to others, not so involved.Quote:
Originally Posted by mklotz
After a person retires one thing they can do is to sell off their cushy city or suburban home if they have one. find a place out away form the dense populations. If possible with no one living within half a mile or more a small place having just a few acres will be more than enough to occupy more of your time than you know you have. if home farming or green house food stuffs is your bag or you think you might like to try a hand at it do that If the place needs some minor or even major repairs so much the better you will find that as you repair replace one item on the projects list there will be another to take its place. If you are into wood working you will find that you never run out of things to do. If you are skilled in any form of electrical work not just electronics you may find the place will always need a duplex or a switch moved or added to suit your needs. You may even find that you have a few plumbing repairs, you may decide that you like ceramic tile floors and walls as well. Maybe you will want to change out the windows for newer more thermally efficient ones. or maybe the place is in really good shape and you just want to have a place to pursue some local repair projects should anyone in the nearby area have things that need repaired maybe you are a fabricator possibly a mechanic as well or even a machinist out in the country they are not a dime a dozen there may be several welders around but usually they don't know much more than how to build pipe fences
after a few years doing this you may decide that it would have been easier to had just kept on working at you job or you may be thinking about finding a job so you can rest up from your projects because they will never end.
A Hobby? Life is a Hobby
My GF watches a fair amount of TV, I don't. So what I do for some "together time" is be with her and tie some knots. As most of it is recorded, she's good if I ask her to back it up if I realize I missed something it might be worth seeing. If then knotting gets set aside for a while, LOL months, no big deal as it's not on a deadline. I figure it's the same as knitting. When I manage to get myself to church ~ once a year or so, I tie knots there. Can tie a quick monkey's fist and give it away to anyone who has been watching.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralphxyz
Ron
Beautiful stuff LM Master Mariner. Could you remind me of the other two ropes, that my dad told me about (born 1913) on a vessel. I know about lines, sheets,lanyard,hawser, bucket handle, hand rail etc and I think one of them is the foot "rope". Even after doing inshore & coastal in 1981, I simply cant remember.
Very interesting for many of us "land lubbers". I used to be able( a long time ago) to splice & bind etc but your "stuff" is exceptional.
Well acted & very Dickensian. Reminds me of Shakesphere "and all our yesterdays have lighted fools" to "dusty death". My dad, when retired, used to say he never knew how he ever had time to go to work. He fished till his late 80's & grew vegies/fruit (till over 100 for neighbours & family) but I couldn't encourage him from suburbia ( he outlived most of his friends by 30 or 40 years). I took him fishing at around 101 and he slept for days afterwards-it must have been the rocking of the tinnie. AH GO & MAKE SOME SHAVINGS!
Ranald
Hello Ranald,
There are just 2 basic knots in my bell ropes; footrope (crown sennit) and turks head.
Plenty stuff about it on youtube.
Best regards
LMMasterMariner
Darn! I saw the ship's bell photo in the daily email and, straight away, assumed it was going to be an example of metal spinning with some really thick marine brass.
But the rope pull is cool, too, Boats. I mean, shot line would've been more authenticker, of course. But where you gonna get shot line in this day and age?
Underway Replenishment station for four hours at a time, right before the midwatch. Good times. Good times.
The foot rope, which the French didn't use, hangs below a yardarm to stand on when reefing or unfurling square rigged sails. A "footrope" knot makes a nice topper knot to a key fob. For a real one, the line would have to be unraveled and then reraveled as the knots were ties.Quote:
Originally Posted by ranald
Barefoot in the rigging going around the cape. I'd have never survived . . .
Ron
Clearly the monkey fist became too easy and you still had some cordage left.
