"RLM" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 28 Sep 2006 20:01:51 +0000, JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

"RLM" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 28 Sep 2006 16:22:36 +0000, JoeSpareBedroom wrote:

Good rope is not cheap, so you want to find a way to keep the ends from
unravelling. While you can melt them with a lighter, that's sloppy, but
a
reasonable temporary solution. Boat supply stores usually sell a sort
of
epoxy dip for sealing the ends. Burn the ends, dip, allow to dry for 24
hours, then use a very sharp knife to make a nice clean cut and remove
the
sloppy burnt ends. Then, dip again. Unless you do something nasty to
it,
the
rope will last longer than you.

You only need some string and a minute to whip to end of a line. Wrap
the
string tight and put it through the loop. Pull the dead end until the
ends
are inside the wraps, then trim both ends. Lasts a lifetime and only
takes
a short time to learn. One of those things like riding a bike, you never
forget how to after doing it a couple of times.

http://www.inquiry.net/images/whip.jpg

Not "some string", but waxed string made for that purpose. I like this
method better, too, but even boat supply places don't always have the
right
string available.

I've always used what I had available and never had a problem. I've never
looked for any special string. I just pick a piece of string based
on the diameter of the line that needs whipped. Most packing twine or cord
works for me.


Tradition, I guess. I've been using the waxed twine for almost 50 years. In
wet environments, it's less prone to rotting, although nowadays, it's
Dacron, so who cares? :-)
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...allpartial/0/0