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Splicing Amseel question

Allegheny Tom

Allegheny Tom

Well-Known Member
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Messages
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Location
Western Pennsylvania
I want to splice some daisy chains and I need to choose either 7/64" or 1/8".
7/64 is 8 strand and 1/8 is 12 strand.
Does the difference in number of strands effect how easy it will be to splice daisy chains?
I'm not asking about the strength factor. I'm just asking about doing the actual splicing. Any difference between the 2?
Btw, I have fids.
Thanks in advance.
 
I’ve never counted strands. Just sorta poked it in the middle. That being said… I do have 125’ of 7/64 sitting on the table waiting for me to get home for the new beast sticks.


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The smaller amsteel is more difficult than larger, but amsteel in general is still a fairly easy spice
 
7/64" to 1/8" is pretty negligible, pick your poison. They might make ya want to pull your hair out the 1st one or 2.
 
I made four 7/64 daisy chains and they worked great. I prefer bigger amsteel for ease of use with projects now. But for a daisy chain 7/64 isn’t that difficult to mess with.
 
Jtaylor said:
7/64" to 1/8" is pretty negligible, pick your poison. They might make ya want to pull your hair out the 1st one or 2.
Click to expand...
I have spliced several 1/8" whoopie slings and at times it was a little challenging to not split the strands. That's the reason for my question. Is the 8 strand (7/64") any easier to splice than the 12 strand (1/8") strictly because there are fewer strands?
I fully realize that larger diameter Amsteel like 1/4" is easier to splice than this tiny diameter stuff. I'm just trying to determine if an 8 strand splices any easier than 12 strand.
 
With a daisy chain, you are primarily doing locked brummels, which are really easy to splice (no bury required), regardless of diameter of the amsteel (older eyes excepted. :)).

The only bury may be at the very end and should be pretty short on a daisy chain if it's even needed at all.

I'm gonna be creating a daisy chain out of small diameter amsteel in the next few days so will let you know how it goes.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I have spliced several 1/8" whoopie slings and at times it was a little challenging to not split the strands. That's the reason for my question. Is the 8 strand (7/64") any easier to splice than the 12 strand (1/8") strictly because there are fewer strands?
I fully realize that larger diameter Amsteel like 1/4" is easier to splice than this tiny diameter stuff. I'm just trying to determine if an 8 strand splices any easier than 12 strand.
Click to expand...
They're equally as tedious. I can take a picture of the two when I get home, there really isn't much difference.
 
In more new straps I’m going to tie. As all knot and in that knot loops some elastic cord thru. All of that will get shrink wrapped. That’s the plan anyway


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Jtaylor said:
They're equally as tedious. I can take a picture of the two when I get home, there really isn't much difference.
Click to expand...
Daisy chains are nothing more than a series of locked brummels...easy peasy.
The only tedious thing that I've ever found with splicing small diameter Amsteel is getting the fid cleanly thru the cord without splitting an individual strand.
It seems to me that an 8 strand cord might be easier to cleanly penetrate than a 12 strand cord.
I'm not asking about if daisy chains are difficult.
I'm just wanting to know if an 8 strand is easier the split than the 12.
Maybe there's no difference between the 8 and 12 so I thought I'd ask before I buy a couple hundred feet of the stuff. I've only done 12 strand in 1/8 and 1/4". I guess I will try the 7/64".
 
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Allegheny Tom said:
Maybe there's no difference between the 8 and 12
Click to expand...

Jtaylor said:
I can take a picture of the two when I get home, there really isn't much difference.
Click to expand...
Correct! Not much of a difference. I'm not sure what fids you're using but a fid with a good blunt but rounded (hopefully that makes sense) tip helps to not separate the individual strands, I'm not a huge fan of the modified knitting needles, the Samson fids have a nice rounded smooth tip that don't snag small strands.
 
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Jtaylor said:
Correct! Not much of a difference. I'm not sure what fids you're using but a fid with a good blunt but rounded (hopefully that makes sense) tip helps to not separate the individual strands, I'm not a huge fan of the modified knitting needles, the Samson fids have a nice rounded smooth tip that don't snag small strands.
Click to expand...
I have the Samson fids.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I have the Samson fids.
Click to expand...
These are both actual "Amsteel" and just messing around a bit tonight, the 7/64" actually seemed to come apart better for a splice than the 1/8" using a 1/4" fid and was less apt to snag.
The 1/8" stuff doesn't look like it got completely coated in their proprietary coloring or whatever it is. Results may vary.
20220106_180256.jpg20220106_180831.jpg
 
Jtaylor said:
These are both actual "Amsteel" and just messing around a bit tonight, the 7/64" actually seemed to come apart better for a splice than the 1/8" using a 1/4" fid and was less apt to snag.
The 1/8" stuff doesn't look like it got completely coated in their proprietary coloring or whatever it is. Results may vary.
View attachment 59845View attachment 59846
Click to expand...
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
That was the kind of info that I was looking for.
My gut instinct was telling me that there was probably a difference between the 12 and the 8 strand but it was just a feeling that I had.
I noticed when I made the 1/8" whoopies that the strands stayed kinda packed together when I scrunched it open to start the brummel. I was hoping the 8 stand would open a little looser than the 12. Looks like my hopes are true.
 
I got the 8 strand 7/64" and it splices much easier than the 12 strand 1/8".
Made my 1st daisy chain today. It went pretty well but I do have some questions about some variations. I saw a video where he said to start the loops 36" from the button loop. I understand that part.
But what I wondered about is it a good idea to do a full bury for that 1st 36" and then continue with the individual brummel loops? My thinking is that the full bury would neaten-up that section...instead of having 2 cords of Amsteel, it would essentially be one cord.
I tried to make the full bury with a pull wire but I could not get it started. Maybe I need a loop turner?
Any issues with a full bury construction and abrasion to the outer layer due to rough tree bark?
Is it worth the effort to even do a full bury for the 1st 36"?
 
I have done both 7/64th and 1/8th daisy chains for my climbing sticks. I think I had about the same amount of snagging strands with both. I counted strands for about three brummels then I just eyeballed them from then on. You can pretty much tell when you don't have equal strands on both sides of your fid. As far as having a full bury for the first 36", I started my loops at about 24" without doing a full bury and they seem to work fine. I did do a full bury with 1/4 inch for using on my 1 stick and it was a bear.
 
Allegheny Tom said:
I got the 8 strand 7/64" and it splices much easier than the 12 strand 1/8".
Made my 1st daisy chain today. It went pretty well but I do have some questions about some variations. I saw a video where he said to start the loops 36" from the button loop. I understand that part.
But what I wondered about is it a good idea to do a full bury for that 1st 36" and then continue with the individual brummel loops? My thinking is that the full bury would neaten-up that section...instead of having 2 cords of Amsteel, it would essentially be one cord.
I tried to make the full bury with a pull wire but I could not get it started. Maybe I need a loop turner?
Any issues with a full bury construction and abrasion to the outer layer due to rough tree bark?
Is it worth the effort to even do a full bury for the 1st 36"?
Click to expand...
To me, it is worth the time to do the full bury on that first length just to have less rope to get snagged on anything. Also, if you have even an inkling of thought that you may want to use the daisy chain on another project down the road, I would do all daisy on the whole rope and not skip that first long segment - based on personal experience!
 
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