quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
Nobody should at this point use natural rope for anything other than decoration.
For the OP the breaking strength of this is not relevant. The trees he is discussing weight at best less than 200lb. Poly is better then nylon for this application as you actually want less stretch. Sure double braided legitimate arbor rope is way better but this is a minor tree project and sounds like a one time project.

What would be the difference in stretch between 5/8" polyester and 5/8" nylon three strand with a 200 pound load? Take about not relevant.

Of course while still not relevant, the $20 5/8” Attwood “Poly” rope will stretch more than 5/8” three strand nylon for two reasons. First, it floats which means it’s polypropylene and polypropylene stretches more than nylon. Second, stretch is a function of breaking strength. As it approaches it’s 3,000 pound breaking strength, the $20 Attwood rope will stretch over 15%. At that same load, the three strand nylon won’t be anywhere near that amount of stretch. Polyester ropes are a different story, but expensive.

OP asked for all-purpose rope, which I'm taking to mean beyond this particular project. The $20 rope will work for this project, but $50 gets him a much better rope for a lifetime of projects. For example, pulling bushes out of the yard, pulling cars out of the mud, pulling the Atomic 4 out of the sailboat, lifting the jetski off the trailer to adjust the bunks, taking down a 60' coconut palm after the hurricane, tying down pallets of mulch to the trailer, pulling the zero turn mower out of the mud, loading and unloading the gun safe from the trailer, etc.

My hands aren't manly enough for natural rope and I don't like wearing gloves.

Thanks for all the great info. A few answers/observations:

1. For this small tree project… I’m looking for some margin of safety to my fencing. Not sure I can tie the rope to the top of a 20 or 25 foot tree. Was planning to tie it about 12 to 15 up the trunk, tension it away from my fencing and try to influence the direction of the fall as much as I can… having two clear escape routes should I be surprised by the direction of the fall.

2. I have many, many smaller trees around the property that are future candidates for this rope. Of course, for the bigger trees I fully intend to “call the man” as I have in the past.

As much as it pains me to pay $1,000+ for a guy to cut down a tree… it’s insurance that my house isn’t damaged or a power line isn’t cut due to my ignorance and hubris. A man’s got to know his limitations. I identified my limits the hard way and more than one lesson was required.

3. Currently, I haven’t a single foot of rope about the place. Seems like something that I should have on hand.

Wise choice knowing when to call the pros. True story: my across the street neighbor took out the power for 5 houses and ripped his own electric meter off the side of his house taking down a tree in his yard.

Great to hear, best wishes

And some good exercise too.
https://youtu.be/S4lvLBe6fsE

I have cut a lot of trees that were leaning the wrong way. I use a piece of 3/8" rebar tied to a heavy string and throw it as high in the tree as I can over a limb. I use the string to pull the rope up and down. The rope has a loop in it on one end so I can sick the other end in and pull the rope back up and tight around the tree. The rope is tied off to winch that is secured to the base of another tree by chain.

In some cases, I use two hand winches that take up 8 to 10 feet each that pulls the tree and stretches the rope. I place a towel over the rope in case it snaps.

I told how I did it in this thread:

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...690087384#7690087384

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
Wise choice knowing when to call the pros. True story: my across the street neighbor took out the power for 5 houses and ripped his own electric meter off the side of his house taking down a tree in his yard.

This is the same scenario my wife feared when I was contemplating taking down a 45 foot dead hickory tree in our front yard.

I told her “Look, this tree is leaning away from the power lines…it’s more than 80 feet from the house… it’ll be easy!”

“If it falls the wrong way you take out power for at least 8 houses on the street. That will make us real popular in the neighborhood.”

I called the man.

Ordered 100 feet of 5/8th inch rope plus some throw line from Atwood.

Thanks to all for the advice!

Congrats. It will serve you well and if you keep it handy you will find several use's for it over your life time. As I said. A good investment to have.

Atwood Rope has a 20% off discount code good through Tuesday. Enter LABOR23 on checkout. Applies to regular priced items.

https://atwoodrope.com/

I placed an order early yesterday morning. Tracking shows delivery tomorrow. Crazy fast service.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Go to your favorite hardware, chainsaw dealer etc. Get a good 1/2" or better yet 5/8" natural rope. Get it longer than you need. At least 50 ft. It will last you a lifetime. And having in your rig could really help someone out or even safe their or your life.
Also get some heat shrink tubing that will fit your rope size. Seal up the ends with it. It will last for years, decades if you do not abuse it. Stuff like this is an investment, not a expense.

When you speak of natural rope, what exactly are you talking about? Sisal? Manila? Jute? Other? I remeber well the two weeks my family spent at a dude ranch in Wyoming in the early sixties. I was ten years old, and I hung out with the wranglers at every opportunity. They would gather around the corral in the early evening to hang out and often practice roping...a barrel against the fence. I wanted to learn, and one of them told me to go to town and get 25 feet of grass manila rope. I did, and he made me a lariat from it, and I learned to throw it. But I seem to recall that their ropes were braided and smoother, and were better quality. I also know both mine and theirs were fairly stiff to aid in holding a loop shape as they were twirled and thrown.Is this the kind of rope you are referring to? Or is it something a little less stiff as most ropes are? It might be fun to get some again and practice my roping skills; I wasn't too bad for a ten-year-old.

For basic needs a twisted Manila hemp rope is fine. But do your research and get what meets your requirements.
Having a good quality 5/8" rope is something to keep in your tool kit and in the vehicle. As I said, at the very least it could come in very handy and in the extreme end of things it could help save your or someone else's life.

Is hemp the same as jute ?

quote:

I need some all-purpose rope. Advice sought.

I'm a frayed knot.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

I need some all-purpose rope. Advice sought.

I'm a frayed knot.

Heh, heh.