I’m just continuing a conversation I was having with @Lampy from lunch, but am open to the input from others. So I’m looking for a a cordage option that will allow me to spike a shell like the image above without needing to glue while wrapping. Spiking is the wrapping of a shell with hemp twine that has been soaked in glue in order to increase the strength of the shell. A stronger shell is more likely to survive the burst charge of being shot out of a mortar.
At lunch I was falling in love with the idea of using Natural Sinew as an option, because it swells in water and shrinks when dry. But after doing some searching, I’ve found no method of purchasing real sinew in length longer than 20 yards. But, I’ve read that the Hemp cordage that is currently used will shrink when wet and and allowed to dry, so I wonder if we could wrap the shell with wet Hemp and possibly apply glue after the shell is spiked. I just want the process to be cleaner, because glue covered hands just isn’t appealing to me.
I haven’t tried waxed string. I’m mainly concerned with tension, strength, and of course cost. But, do you think that waxed twine has more grip against a surface? I would think it would be the opposite, wouldn’t wax serve as a lubricant?
The fact that the string shrinks when dried from a wet state is a plus, because I can apply it with less tension while wrapping the shell. Wrapping with less tension means less strain on my hands and body. I may be asking too much though, the solution may be you can have strength and tension, but you have to deal with the mess of glue. Or you can get tension and clean application, but you lose the hold and strength of glue. Was hoping someone had possibly solved this issue for themselves in the past and might have some insight. But, the more I research the hemp twine and glue method, the more I’m finding it ticks most of the boxes and you just have to deal with the mess of being glue hands.
I was thinking that if you could find the right waxed string, it might give more of the grip of sinew, something along the line of waxed floss, but a little heftier. The downside, as you mentioned, is that such products are going to take more effort to get them tightly wound. Unfortunately, it will probably stay a messy process, unless you design/build a spiking machine…
Also, have you seen the spiking helper that Precocious makes? I haven’t seen one personally, just wondering about it, and at only $95 it doesn’t seem to bad. I have used there lances, well more like smoke sticks, in the past but hopefully it would be better than those.
Yeah, I saw one at his booth in the Chems Building at PGI. I fiddled with it a bit, but wasn’t all that excited by it, might try making one to see how it would work in practice though. Ned just pulls his twine through a dixie cup full of glue and wraps it around 2 posts in a board.
I look at his setup and seems not messy. But, something tells me, I could still make a mess of it. You can also see his hands shaking with how much force he is pulling on the shell.
You can also see his hands shaking with how much force he is pulling on the shell.