Sewing line loops...

[foilonfoil]

Any tricks on how to using a sewing machine to sew up the ends of lines. I using a solid core spectra line that cannot be spliced and just want to sew the loops. Is there a special foot for a sewing machine someone can point me to?

Edit - I just for this but if anyone has other methods, let me know.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Sew-a-l ... on-a-line/

[BillyGoatGruff]

Hand sew it with a strong nylon thread. Takes a few minutes and you will get much better tension on the thread, just not as neat.

[edt]

I wouldn't sew them. I would get some sleeving and make a figure 8. When you tie the knot be careful not to keep it neat and tidy that's what keeps the strength up. Sewing the lines is a bitch. If you sew them too tight, that can weaken the line because the line kinks around the sewing thread, and if you sew it too loose, the line won't hold.

Anyway let us know how it goes.

[foilholio]

Zigzag like in your link, you want to make it a decent length so you can use less dense stitching and so don't damage the line as much and distribute the load more.

[OzBungy]

You need to develop some sewing skills. At first it seems hard to sew line. With practice it is very easy. Most things you sew work best if you sew with a little speed. Slow, hesitant sewing generally results in tangles.

There's a number of ways to sew line.

- Possibly the simplest is the guideplate method on your instructables link.

- I used to run the loop end between the vee in the sewing machine foot, then down into the slot under the needle. Put a piece of line through the loop end so it pulls it tight. The vee and the tension on the line holds the two parts together while you sew.

- I did make a line sewing foot by filing grooves into the bottom of on old sewing machine foot. That works ok. You can also use a corduroy or zipper foot for a similar effect.

- The best method of all is to simply splice the line then just sew some locking stitches. You should be able to hold it straight enough to do a sewing run down the splice. Sometimes reversing at the ends can be a bit finicky. You can get around it by stopping with the needle down and turning the line before sewing back the other way.

Sleeving is entirely unnecessary. That came from old stunt kites using cheap dacron for lines. We all use dyneema now and it's easiest to simply splice it and use thicker pigtails on the connections.

[BillyGoatGruff]

I disagree, sleeving is essential for kitesuring lines. Where the knot connects to the kite you get salt and sand in the knot and movement. My lines have just been changed and the sleeving had worn through to the while dyneema, without that sleeving the lines would have snapped long ago. The reason ALL the manufacturers use sleeving is to prevent salt water wear.

[evan]

Knots in the common used polyester sleeves reducing the strength of the line by 30-50%. Polyester is too soft, the Dyneema cuts through it on high loads and you end up with just a knot in naked line.
Ok, a knot without sleeves is even worse. But a sleeved knot does not come close to a spliced loop with a pigtail that can hold 95-100% of the original line load. Bonus is that you can easily change the pigtails if they are worn out or if you want to connect your bar with a different kite.

[OzBungy]

I disagree, sleeving is essential for kitesuring lines. Where the knot connects to the kite you get salt and sand in the knot and movement. My lines have just been changed and the sleeving had worn through to the while dyneema, without that sleeving the lines would have snapped long ago. The reason ALL the manufacturers use sleeving is to prevent salt water wear.

That's odd. Do you leave your lines connected to the kite? I disconnect mine and wash the bar and lines in fresh water after every use. The only lines that have ever worn or broke are the old sheathed ones.

Some manufacturers use sleeving. Ozone sleeves at the kite end but not at the bar end. A lot of manufacturers use 3mm dyneema pig tails. They serve the same purpose as sleeving but are more compatible with splicing, which is much better. Pig tails make your lines adjustable (if you make them right) which is highly desirable. It's almost impossible to make lines and get them all exactly the same length. The amount of variation and stretch you get over 20-25m length is not negligible. It's easy to tune line lengths by moving knots in a pig tail.

It's easy enough to sheath lines, but you have to sew the sleeving into place. Sleeving can be done with splicing but it's a pain. The sleeving has to be anchored

There was a fashion to double splice lines for a while. You would insert a second piece of dyneema inside the loop and the bury then splice it into place. It's easy enough to do, but all it really achieves is increasing the diameter of the line. The main piece of line is still exposed to all the wear and tear.

I just did an experimental reverse double splice sheath where I inserted the main line inside a second length, leaving a couple of short tails on the sheath part that get buried back down inside the main line. It's then a relatively simple matter to splice the line and put a big chunk of the double splice inside the bury. That solves the problem of having to sew the sleeving. It does end up with a very thick bury. You would have to do a fair bit of work on tapering the double bury to avoid a weak edge. If you could do all that we wouldn't be having this discussion.

[OzBungy]

PS There's another thread on doing Brummel splices. I ranted a fair bit about the lack of accuracy of Brummel splices. That's still true, but you can compensate for the lack of accuracy by using pig tails. You don't have to sew Brummel splices at all.

[rtz]

Before I had a machine; I had someone local sew some up for me. Here are pictures of the jig he used:




Since then I have got a machine and played with making lines.

Tips:

Make the slot in the jig tight! As in narrow. You don't want the line moving around.

Use card stock rather then corrugated cardboard. Like the stuff they put behind a picture in a picture frame.

You can glue it up to get the total thickness increased.

If your machine can; drop the lower feed dogs. The machines won't nicely be able to grip or pull on the cardboard.

Go slow! You only have to go a couple inches anyways.

Get your zigzag and width settings dialed and also your jig before you attempt on your real lines.