It is more than a bit of a dichotomy to fully understand why you taper a buried tail and then forgo the use of a thimble which provides exactly the same function.
Synthetic winch line without any thimble at all
- Thread starter srimes
- Start date
I'll accept that label lol.
The only cost/downside to tapering the tail is 3 minutes of time and a couple inches of rope.
The downside of a thimble is the risk of that chunk of metal flying through the air. It's on me now to only hook the loop up to appropriate points, and I'll check for damage after each use. If I see any I'll let yall know.
I know how and why to taper the tail. I was agreeing with your assessment of why they should not have done it that way. The cost is irrelevant since not doing the taper means you should not be splicing high performance lines.
Also mostly irrelevant since we rarely have full control over what we have to attach to on recoveries we should not be doing and do anyway. If you have someone about to go over and get severe damage if they do and the only thing you can attach to is a tow hook, that is also a chunk of metal that can fly through the air.
Good luck with that. I've had to open the hood on a small import and wrap an axle strap around the core support to get someone unstuck before. Didn't like it but there was nothing else to hook to.
The only way a safety thimble is going to fly back at you is if what ever it is attached to fails. So the same caution is given to both methods.
The reason we use the long bury splice is because tight radius knots cause a fairly dramatic decrease in working load limits. So “IF” you every use your loop incorrectly you can dramatically reduce its capabilities.
As far as the video of the guys with the special fairlead, nobody’s hand should be that close the fairlead.
The reason we use the long bury splice is because tight radius knots cause a fairly dramatic decrease in working load limits. So “IF” you every use your loop incorrectly you can dramatically reduce its capabilities.
As far as the video of the guys with the special fairlead, nobody’s hand should be that close the fairlead.
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Update. I was messing around trying to come up with a way to winch backwards and the spliced loop came open.
It stayed secure through a couple years of normal use. If it slipped at it it wasn't much as the loop would get bigger and at some point noticeably so against the chafe sleave. As I was feeding it to the back of the jeep it must've pulled just right to loosen with no noticeable resistance as I just pulled it clear and found myself with the tapered end completely free.
I inspected the rope and it looked great. Not brand new but no noticeable wear.
It's worth it to do a locked brummel splice to prevent it from accidently coming apart. It's been a while since I did one but a quick search on my PHONE showed me how. https://www.animatedknots.com/brummel-eye-splice-knot
I moved and couldn't find my fid so I found a piece of wire and used that. Just fold and pinch it tight with pliers and you're good to go. Wire is probably better anyways if you have an already-tapered end.
Took a minute to feed the wire through. Did a longer bury than needed (forgot it was 3/8 and not 1/2). Better than too short.
Fed the tail back through just fine with a little massaging.
Good to go now.
Left the chafe sleave off as it was in the way of this method of making the locked brummel, and it was showing some wear. I'll probably wrap the loop with tape for easily-replaceable chafe protection.
So far I've been very happy with using the soft loop and see no need to change. For storing I secure the end either on a tow hook or soft shackle to the stinger long before it gets tight so there's no worry about it getting sucked into the winch.
It stayed secure through a couple years of normal use. If it slipped at it it wasn't much as the loop would get bigger and at some point noticeably so against the chafe sleave. As I was feeding it to the back of the jeep it must've pulled just right to loosen with no noticeable resistance as I just pulled it clear and found myself with the tapered end completely free.
I inspected the rope and it looked great. Not brand new but no noticeable wear.
It's worth it to do a locked brummel splice to prevent it from accidently coming apart. It's been a while since I did one but a quick search on my PHONE showed me how. https://www.animatedknots.com/brummel-eye-splice-knot
I moved and couldn't find my fid so I found a piece of wire and used that. Just fold and pinch it tight with pliers and you're good to go. Wire is probably better anyways if you have an already-tapered end.
Took a minute to feed the wire through. Did a longer bury than needed (forgot it was 3/8 and not 1/2). Better than too short.
Fed the tail back through just fine with a little massaging.
Good to go now.
Left the chafe sleave off as it was in the way of this method of making the locked brummel, and it was showing some wear. I'll probably wrap the loop with tape for easily-replaceable chafe protection.
So far I've been very happy with using the soft loop and see no need to change. For storing I secure the end either on a tow hook or soft shackle to the stinger long before it gets tight so there's no worry about it getting sucked into the winch.
I would have just done a standard buried tail eye splice and a lock stitch. I do however, find it very odd that it slipped. There must be something about that Warn line to cause that because any other line I've messed with would not do that. I've always had to get a screwdriver to pry and work the tail out of a bury when I've had to replace a thimble. They are really locked in and are not going to come loose at all.
This line is an amazon special. Have you ever messed with whoopie slings? They're adjustable-length with a bury that comes back out, and remarkably easy to adjust after loading once you get a feel for it. All you have to do is scrunch the outer part together and the bury is free to slide. If you hold just past where the bury enters with one hand and pull just before the bury it compresses the outer and loosens right up.