3 different ways to make a Flemish Eye in wire rope

To The Top Crane | In this video I talk about a few different types of wire rope. As well as show three ways to make a Flemish Eye in wire rope.

[@Digginok]

Thanks, I always wondered if I was doing it right! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZfVaoV4qM91lbM

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Digginok, I don't know that there's necessarily a wrong way to do it. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@Digginok]

You would probably not like the crane I own, it has some minor issues! I did get some new cables made a few years ago.

[@Digginok]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZfVaoV4qM91lbM

[@ToTheTopCrane]

@@Digginok, minor issues? Lol. Don't get yourself or someone hurt with it. But, I am curious of the minor issues. 🤔.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

@@Digginok that is an old piece of iron! It's really neat! Thanks for sharing the video! 👍 Edit your original comment with the link to your video, and I'll pin it for ya. 🙂

[@empebee]

I have a desk job. I don't own a car or a house. I don't really know why I watch these kinds of videos, but it's fascinating and at least now I know how to make a flemish eye. 😀

[@shawbros]

Have you ever watched any James Bond Movies? If so, then why? You are not a secret intelligence service agent. Or have you ever watched any X-Men movies? If so, then why? You are not a X-Men. Etc.

[@gokblok]

Good for you for expanding your breadth of knowledge whether you plan to use the skill or not.

[@hesstonfarmer5014]

Really enjoyed the video. I remember my dad teaching me the first method. It’s cool to learn a few different ways. Thanks!

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Brandon Allen, it's definitely one of those skills that's good to know. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@joshwelner1951]

Been a long time since I've had to do the thanks for the refresher course 👍👍

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Josh Welner, it's been a few years for me too. That was probably evident in the beginning. Lol. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@offroadrc110]

Wonderful surprise at the beginning!

[@theamericans2219]

We are.: THE AMERICANS Felt and sounded like we were aboard the TITANIC EXCELLENT tutorial by " To The Top Crane " Now I know more cable braid techniques... than I could have imagined... THANKS again

[@lt8945]

I've always used the 3rd version of this eye with excellent results for my ATV winch. The line angle to my plow is short and almost vertical which causes the line to fail about a foot from the eye. This is fast and easy to make in below freezing temps. Thanks for showing the other 2 methods, I'll try them when I need to repair the cable in warm weather.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Bill Whalen, the third version did seem easier to wrap. I don't know that I'd want to do it in freezing temps though. Lol. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@lt8945]

You don't have much choice when plowing snow in 20 degree F. temps and that's in my garage. Your Welcome

[@andrewklahold2880]

They always tell us never saddle a dead horse

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Thanks for sharing! I was looking for way to weave an eye in a wire rope, your technique is better and less complicated. Nice and neat. Small SS cable it to keep a dust cap for getting lost.

[@LBstrikesagain]

Cool demonstration. I'm looking into snatch blocks and wire rope to remove some tree stumps and all I've ever known were those saddle clamps, and I don't know if I trust them on their own. You've educated me in a simple solution and i thank you

[@carenbarnet378]

Thanks Jimmy for showing how simple to do this.You have inspired me to go get some wire cable to start. I've only ever attempted wire splicing once (too many holes in my fingers from the steel strands). However, I did continue with Sisal and Nylon 3 strand from 3/8th up to 1/2" . If there is a piece of rope laying around, my fingers start to go to work doing mostly back splice, eye splice and joining splice both thick, and, thin for use through a pulley. When i find the photos I'll somehow send them to you. Thanks again for your video.

[@dalltex]

Thanks for the tutorial! I use 1/4" for my boat lifts and have always used clips and thimbles. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm going to convert to Flemish eyes but when I do run new rope I'll consider doing it the correct way. I would have to think through being able to level it out. Always learning something new here!

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Dall Tex, for cable adjustment, you may need a turnbuckle or two. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@scruffy6151]

Never saddle a dead horse is how i learned how to put cable clamps on.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Scruffy 61, that is the way I learned it too. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@kengamble8595]

I've done the first two some but have used the third version more through the years ! It's funny how when you started this the first thing that popped in my mind was what I I heard my dad say so many times when I was young, YOU DON'T PUT THE SADDLE ON A DEAD HORSE when referring to the clamps ! 😊 Thanks for sharing and take care. 👍 👍

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Ken Gamble, that is the saying: "Never saddle a dead horse". Lol. Hope you are doing well! Many thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@pabloesparza1990]

I like the 3rd way the best for it's ease-of-use but instead of making that little extra tail you can just use that screwdriver sitting next to you and weave it into the body of the main rope for a seamless tailless eye.

[@scottstelle6015]

Thank you. Good stuff. Enjoy and be comfortable.

[@mikemanfred7106]

Very cool, I will have to try on rope first. Been a long time since I tried to do that.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Mike manfred, I've never tried it with rope. But, I'm going to. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@RambozoClown]

Very cool.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Rambozo Clown, thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@andrewklahold2880]

I am watching cause i need to braid an eye in cable to go on cat 29 double drum. In which use a wedge on the drum. It is on a 1957 d8 14a modle

[@Katya5cat]

When I worked for a concrete producer as a mechanic. We used the last example that you showed. We made all our tow cables with 1" cable. The drivers all carried one on their trucks. They would break those cables on a regular basis. I never got to see that happen fortunately. The cables that broke didn't usually break in the loop unless it was rusted and stretched. We replaced a lot of windshields.🥺

[@robertbradford2734]

Thanks for that video.👍

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Robert Bradford, thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@justindouglas1744]

wow, thanks, that is awesome

[@latemcire8387]

Is it better to use a thimble than without or there a time and place for one?

[@waltermattson5566]

Now that you taught us about the numbers and what they mean...what kind of rope is on your big crane?

[@ToTheTopCrane]

walter mattson, it is 21mm, 35x7 non-rotataing wire rope. So, it has 35 strands, with 7 wires per strand, and they are oriented in a way that prevents the rope from rotating when loaded. Thanks for watching!

[@timothyboone5003]

“Never saddle a dead horse.” In layman’s terms the saddle always goes on the live wire. I have made hundreds if not thousands of Flemish Eyes. And have taught hundreds of new employees how to make a Flemish Eye. It’s a basic seamanship skill that anyone working with wirerope should know. Your third method is the only way I would teach. Your other methods may do more to confuse someone than they do to help.

[@boatshaper]

I've done plenty of splicing in 3-strand rope, but never had to mess with wire. Just as well; I see the technique is totally different. Now you have me wondering how the experts do the rope-to-wire splices for sailboat halyards.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

BoatShaper, I have no idea how they do that. I'm curious now too. I'm sure there's a video out there somewhere. If I find it, I'll let you know. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@causewaykayak]

IN UK ? Easiest to find but not the only book on the subject is the RYA book on ropes, knots and splices pps. 172 - 174. Its a bit late but someone might find this info useful. See also the very useful Tail Splice to Chain in most ropework bibles.

[@TheThirstycoyote]

Nice 👌 thank you

[@MrDaniel3105]

Very interesting and good to know. I am a electrician and we do something like that to make a wire pulling eye in 1/4 inch rope

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Daniel Eyster, I never thought about that. How does it work on rope? Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@kengamble8595]

@@ToTheTopCrane I've done it a lot with nylon and polyester and not had a problem, BUT, I also use a lot more rope, as in bigger than needed for the job !

[@ToTheTopCrane]

@@kengamble8595, now I'm going to have to get some rope and try it. Lol

[@kengamble8595]

@@ToTheTopCrane Polyester seems to work better for this than nylon. 👍

[@MrDaniel3105]

@@ToTheTopCrane kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5a8c56DeLZrjbs

[@burningdinosaurs]

Don't saddle a dead horse! So... you're saying if I use one of these techniques and wrap it around my waste to lift myself 50' in the air to work on some power lines and it breaks... I can's sue you? Well... shucks. But seriously, I've seen the 3rd version before but not the first two. I've got a winch that I'll be putting a new cable on soon and might try one of those out. Thanks for the video!

[@ToTheTopCrane]

burningdinosaurs, if you make one, you assume all liability. Hence the reason I said in the video not to use it for lifting. 😉. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@shawbros]

BurningDinosaurs "wrap it around my waste to lift myself" It's spelled "waist", not "waste".

[@sandy1653]

For what it's worth, I figure if you clamped the tail on that 3rd splice to the live side, that'd probably be the strongest one. Thanks for the video Jimmy.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Sandy, I think so too. I may try to figure out a way to test them. If I do, I'll make a video of it. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@sandy1653]

Hmm... as far as testing them goes, what you could do is make 3 little 'chokers' with each type of Flemish Eye in each end, and then use one of the cranes to try and pick up a known weight. They'd probably never lift them, but if you clipped on to one of the Tadano's wing weights for example and pulled until it popped, the crane's scales would (probably) give you a pretty decent idea of the breaking strength of each type of eye. Wouldn't quite be what you'd call scientific per-se, without using a proper calibrated strain gauge, but it'd be more than good enough for a laugh and a KZbin video.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

@@sandy1653, I thought about that. But, I'm not sure the company I work for would let me test things like that on the clock. So, I thought about making a choker with one type on one end and another type on the other end. Then attach it to a tree and pull it apart with my truck. Then repeat the process with the style that held and the third style. Ultimately, I would end up with the strongest one.

[@sandy1653]

Aww man, your bosses are a bunch a spoilsports! (Just kidding, I get why they wouldn't want you messing around like that with their gear). Your method would work just as well. And have the upside of not getting on the bosses nerves.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

@@sandy1653, I think I'll give it a whirl. We'll see how it goes. Lol. I'm sure there will be a video that follows.

[@liquidpaint2648]

Thanks Jimmy

[@lwilton]

A handy way to remember how to put a saddle clamp on a rope loop: "never saddle a dead horse". The saddle goes on the live end, not the dead end.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

l wilton, absolutely on the "never saddle a dead horse"! Thanks for watching!🙂👍

[@duanesims9685]

On the East coast of Canada that splice is called a Molly Hoagan

[@tlaubner]

Which of those 3 ways is the strongest?

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Tony Laubner, I'm not sure. Given the way they are wrapped and secured. I'm going to speculate that the third version may be the strongest. That's just based on the assumption that the tail would keep the wires from slipping as easily. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@davidrigoni8231]

I learned the 3rd method way back. It's fun once in awhile to practice it on plain old rope. Never knew there were right and left lays in wire rope. Does the lat type effect the use or strength?

[@markmortensen4341]

So I've got some 7/8" cable from the seventies. You wanna give it a try😝‼️ Great job explaining and showing this to people. Did you poke that wire into your fingers ❓ I always hated messing with it cause my fingers would be torn up. Thanks again for sharing.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Mark Mortensen, I'll pass on the 7/8" cable from the seventies. That has to be some tough stuff to work with. I never poked my fingers on this one. I try to be pretty careful about that. Getting poked with cable is self critiquing. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@johnarwingacis6287]

it seems so easy but its hard for me..i need to splice wire rope for my tree climber..

[@73DiamondReo]

The dragline im picking up has a Flemish eye on the pendent lines. Im going to re- cable the whole machine and im sure this will be a little bit harder with a bigger cable. IM Nccco certified for ABC and ABW so ive had some training on rope and inspection but not enough to be comfortable with it. Ive done some Flemish eyes in regular rope just playing around and its amazing how strong they are. This crane will be for personal use and just a toy to help out with my other equipment. Im working on getting it moving well enough to load itself on the lowboy to get it home and have put a few videos up on my channel already. Think the flemish eye is ok on the pendant lines or would a wedge socket on either end be better?

[@timothyboone5003]

I have spliced 100s if not thousands of Flemish Eyes in wirerope , sizes varying from 5/8 up 2 inch. I have never seen one totally fail. I have seen a few that had slipped a rotation or two. But they were splices that started with less than optimal conditions. The majority of Flemish Eye Splices I have made were with wirerope that had been stressed to the point of failure. The ability to make a Flemish Eye Splice can be a time savior. But it should always be remembered that any splice weakens the rope. .

[@davidjfiedler]

A couple weeks ago I shortened my winch cable and clamped it with a thimble inside. Would this method be better for long term use than clamps and a thimble, or is it more of an emergency fix? Also it doesn’t seem like you could use a thimble on a Flemish eye,

[@davidjfiedler]

Is a thimble all that necessary for a recovery winch?

[@ToTheTopCrane]

David Fiedler, a Flemish eye yields more strength than clamps. Clamps have about an 80% strength rating. Whereas a Flemish eye is 90%. You can use a thimble with a Flemish eye. But, it is difficult to get the thimble in place. With some practice and perseverance, it can be done. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@ToTheTopCrane]

David Fiedler, a thimble helps protect the cable and spreads the load evenly in the eye. If you can use a thimble, I probably would. Just my opinion.

[@davidjfiedler]

To The Top Crane thanks for the response, I think I’ll stick with what I have then. I will definitely keep this in the back of my mind though, and try to come up with some cable to practice on.

[@dougsmith1166]

👍

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Doug Smith, thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@richardsavaglio661]

All of the chokers on my truck have hand tucked eyes. I screwed up when I ordered them and should’ve ordered only hand tucked eyes on one end instead of both ends. I must be careful when rigging stuff that I have zero twisting going on because I can undo my eyes.

[@ToTheTopCrane]

Richard Savaglio, hand tucking alot of rigging would be a pain. I had a question earlier that you may know the answer to. Of the three methods I showed, which is the strongest? Or are they equally strong? I know any of them are 90% of rope strength. But, was thinking the third one would be less likely to unwrap itself. Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@richardsavaglio661]

To The Top Crane I can not speak for the second style because I’m not familiar with it and can’t remember seeing it before. The first is definitely way more common. As far as strength goes I’m saying the 3rd/last one. You have a bit of tail for when the cable/eyes stretch which as you know, they will. I’m also saying 3 because that’s how my rigging looks which I bought from a chain and cable company

[@ToTheTopCrane]

@@richardsavaglio661, that's what I figured too. I wish I had a scale that I could put on them to test them.

[@richardsavaglio661]

Thinking about it now, I know the eyes on my 5/8 and 3/4 chokers took a set on their first heavy loads. I was next to them when it happened and it bothered me enough that I stopped the pick and called the salesman. He said it’s normal because there wasn’t a swedge fitting on it.

[@jamesplatt1352]

I didn't see how far you ran the core in on its self before raping the other wires around it. could you or someone explain?

[@ToTheTopCrane]

James Platt, sorry I didn't get a good camera angle on it, or explain how far the core is tucked in. It's actually not really tucked in before starting. The end of the core is just touching where the strands are unwrapped. Hope that helps, and thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@shawbros]

Raping wires hurts.

[@kylebrown8891]

Man that’s a lot of u joints

[@theloniousm4337]

The ambient noise in this video is some of the worst I have ever heard. Are you working in a bowling alley?

[@ToTheTopCrane]

My apologies. I hadn't built my Dolby rated soundproof studio by the time I had made this video. Lol Sometimes we just have to work with what we have. In this case, it was the bowling alley in my garage. 😂 Thanks for watching! 🙂👍

[@aae7725]

Sisal is pronounced sci as in science, sal as in Sally. Sci-sal

[@davemi00]

Very annoying background noise.

[@g4outdoors]

I feel like I just watched an episode of Martha Stewart’s crocheting. You really haven’t a clue what you are even saying. It just comes out in sentences and you make them believable. Can we lift something in the near future?

[@slimmmerman]

It's pronounced sisal!

[@jeffbiggs7879]

not the best vidio on splicing