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How To Make Your Own Rope
Martin Korson had no interest in paying $300 or more for a rope-making machine so he built his own. With lots of engineering and drafting experience, he also created step-by-step plans with illustrations.
  “I suggest 2 options for making the gears,” says Korson. “The simpler option uses a hole saw and spaded drill bit to make the gears, while the other uses a scroll saw or band saw.”
  Making the gears was the biggest challenge. He uses planetary gears, with the drive gear as an outside gear with 3 smaller gears on the inside.
  “It took a lot of trial and error to get the tooth spacing to mesh,” says Korson. “After that, the challenge was to make one that was strong enough. If I was going to sell plans, I didn’t want the buyer to be disappointed.”
  For quality control purposes, Korson would throw the big gear on the ground. If it broke, he knew it wasn’t strong enough. When the big gear didn’t break, he was satisfied.
  “I’ve had very few questions, and they have been easily cleared up through email or a phone call,” says Korson. “Most of my orders have been from the U.S. However, enough are from Canada, Europe and Australia that I made a version of the plans using metric.”
  Korson offers not only plans, but also advice on rope making on his website. He has recommendations on twine and also a plan for rope walk supports needed for longer ropes.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, MK Drafting & Design, 4776 S. Nicolet Rd., Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. 49783 (ph 906 440-3399; Mkorson@mkdrafting; www.mkdrafting.com).



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2018 - Volume #42, Issue #5