tow ropes

tanker 242 · Post by **tanker 242** » Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:22 pm

a good way to make tow ropes is to use picture wire so u can make them as long or short as u like tanker 242

jonger · Post by **jonger** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 8:29 pm

I find brass picture wire is great for track pulling cables but too thin for tow ropes.
I have found 3mm polypropylene rope to be a better size, if you can get it in black it takes little work to look good, just cut the ends off the moulded HL ropes, drill a 3mm hole in the end and insert and glue the end of the rope in to give a more flexible rope.

Maybach · Post by **Maybach** » Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:12 pm

just to add to this if you don't mind, i picked up some tiling string from lidl the other day that is about right for general rope tie downs. its white but could be dyed or mucked up to look right.

tanker 242 · Post by **tanker 242** » Sun Feb 03, 2013 11:33 pm

hi jonger in answer to the thikness of picture wire iff you twist two strands together it works out the right thikness tanker242

Post by **dgsselkirk** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:11 am

Hope we get more good ideas here. I have tried the 2 picture wires together but when you twist them together it just doesn't quite look even. I am on the hunt for the right size and will let you know what I find. I agree the best thing to do for the ends is cut off and drill out. I hope to have some pics on my build of my final cables in the next 3 weeks or so...

MichaelC · Post by **MichaelC** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 4:53 am

What about electrical wires ? If you get the right gauge it will definitely has the tight twist you need for the tow rope........ I always just end up getting them pre-made since building the end ringlet would be a challenge.

jarndice · Post by **jarndice** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 6:55 am

Michael there are quite a few dealers who sell tow rope loops, starting of course with Steve at WDM, but go through the vendors site and you can make up a list, by the way I like the electrical cable idea after all it is just a small scale of the real thing. shaun

doc larsson · Post by **doc larsson** » Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:00 am

anyone ever tried bass guitar strings ? different size of thickness.

Post by **dgsselkirk** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 3:09 am

Hey Guys,

Here is what I posted under my KT build. Thought it might interest you...

O.K. my $0.63 cent tow ropes!

I have been hunting for a solution to those godawful plastic tow ropes that come with the kits. I HATE the look and feel of them. So I have been trying various things. Picture frame wire, twine, different types of aircraft wire, twist some together, unravel some...
I have been back and forth on the tow rope thread (I will post this there too) and really it was MichaelC (thanks Mike) that sparked me to look at copper electrical cable. Copper made sense. Relatively soft so you can position it well, has some heft to it so it will lay better than some other types. The issue was to get the right thickness and not too many strands in the twist. So I went to my local RONA (Canadian version of Home Depot) and a nice young kid (surprise!) actually took the time to listen to what I was looking for and for what purpose I was going to use it. I had brought along a small piece of the plastic so we could spec it out and I think I found as good a match as you are ever going to find. 12 guage wire with a 7 strand twist. 1 metre $0.63 cents! I was VERY exited by this find finally and rushed home stripped it down and rough fitted it to see how it looked. The kid and I had discussed twisting it a little tighter to closer match the real thing and I will try this next but it looks pretty good to my eye.
So backing up a little, as you can see I carefully cut the supplied tow rope apart. Took the ends and drilled them out. I even kept the little square mounts and drilled them out to use. Of course I will add little fiddlebits to them to simulate the latches, wingnuts, etc... for the smaller tow rope I am going to do the same thing but use a nylon twine for it. I am going to try and paint and weather these up this weekend.