A Machine That Turns Plants Into Rope

Check out my sponsor Brilliant and use this link for 20% off a premium subscription: brilliant.org/nighthawk - In this video I assemble and test a rope machine that is theoretically capable of taking any fibrous material (such as straw or other plant fibers) and turning them into two stranded rope. This machine was purchased on Aliexpress for about $900 ($300 for the machine, $600 for shipping). The seller has since deleted their account. It seems these machines are made and sold by a variety of different factories with subtle differences between designs. After a bit of work improving a few faults in the manufacturing it seems to work well. I'll likely use the rope from this machine for a number of future projects.
Here is one of my earlier videos about making grass rope by hand: • How To Make Grass Rope...
Big thanks to everyone that supports this channel on Patreon! A special thanks to my top patrons: Teague Lasser, Eugene Pakhomov, Evan Hughes, Edward Unthank, and those who have chosen to remain anonymous. Thank you!
/ nighthawkprojects

[@bytesandbikes]

Breaking the stiffness out of the feedstock, and wetting it are good starts. In traditional rope making you tend to do 2 more steps: retting and combing. Retting is leaving the feedstock underwater for a few weeks. Combing is just what it sounds like, but with sharp metal combs.

[@ImMimicute]

Once saw a random video somewhere online of someone combing like that but with a cactus, immediately recognised its usefulness as a process here, would be interesting to see he could put loads of nails or maybe pins through a board and get the same result

[@bytesandbikes]

P.S. @SallyPointer is a researcher in older crafts whose channel is worth a look

[@MirrimBlackfox]

@@bytesandbikes Woot! A wild Sally Pointer reference! She is so great.

[@attleheideann1469]

To kill tiny insects, simmer raw straw material for: 20 min.s, and run through rope machine, while the reed/straw is damp. (Mennonite Traditionalist, here.)

[@IronHorse1722]

Now start growing hemp and you're in business!

[@Kowzorz]

You consistently have the most interesting, unique, well-produced, and informative videos on this platform.

[@MarwinF8]

Don't forget the bird.

[@EctoMorpheus]

He really does! I just realised that I've been subscribed for at least 11 years. It's certainly my longest subscription and I've never been disappointed by any of his videos!

[@lucianoaserrano]

Agree

[@zukoHD]

I remember watching you at the age of like 11 years old and being absolutely stoked about how cool your videos were. I would jump at the opportunity to show my cousins and friends all the cool things you showed me how to build. Here i am 11 years later at the age of 22, almost 23, attempting to double major in chemistry and animal biology with a focus in veterinary medicine and surgery. It was videos like yours that inspired me to really understand how things worked, how things were built nd what made them run, and even why. It went from small cool little science based toys and gadgets, to physics puzzles and experiments, to mechanical engineering. When i got older i got into working on bicycles, skateboards, instruments, and then soon after all of that cars. After cars i got interested in biology, how humans and animals function in general, and that finally led me to chemistry, how literally everything works. Its all a product of chemistry on this planet. I wouldn be where i am now if it wasnt for people like you man, so thanks for leading me the right way.

[@carsonhunt4642]

Sadly Most jobs are menial and will dull out that spark and waste your talents. Hope you find the 1% of jobs where you can put your talent to use! It’s why I love KZbin (well, old KZbin) that allowed creative people to create and inspire, rather than get tossed into the modern workforce; ie day care for adults.

[@CockSmasher-xw4px]

Just dont get recruited by the government to create weapons

[@chrishayes5755]

@@carsonhunt4642 You can always seek self employment, even during after work hours. Chemists can become prolific inventors and make big $$$.

[@maxk5065]

nice testimony of inspiration. BUT "how literally everything works" says the chemist, the physicist disagree and the matematician laugh while jeff bezos is on his way to space

[@deejayskyce5282]

@@maxk5065 Jeff bozos is on his way to being a cumstain in the vacuum of space. Blue origin is to Amazon what metaverse is to Facebook. A sure fire failure.

[@willdigforfood5065]

What you stumbled on with soaking and smushing cat tails a bit is really similar to how a lot of fibres and simple cordage are processed by hand: a period of 'retting', leaving bundles of raw fiber submerged in a pond or pool of water for a solid week or so straight, followed by a vigorous battening to break up the fibers into more pliable strands.

[@MadeleineTakam]

Totally agree. Retting, smashing and combing, then oil or tar for lubrication and longevity.

[@shelleypilcher3812]

What is retting with natural rope fibers?

[@josuelservin]

Cattails reeds are used here in Mexico to weave the seats of traditional dining chairs. I would love to see another video using green reeds once the season arrives, that's how they use it for the chairs!

[@zechariahp8206]

You might have a better chance at making rope by also extracting the bast fiber and removing the outer portion of the plant. That's how hemp rope is made. Also, your rope will be stronger by using thinner strands of the fiber due to the Hall-Petch Relationship.

[@lewisdoherty7621]

That requires retting also used in linen production (rotting the outside and breaking some of the bonds between the bast fibers and hurds. After reaching the Goldilocks decay target, then they are dried and run through a crumpling machine to separate the bast and hurds. I often wonder what can be done with kudzu. I don't think the Japanese have figured out a way to machine it. It would likely be like the linen and hemp processes.

[@daroniussubdeviant3869]

stinging nettles work very well. yes, ideally you should rett them but i have done it by hand with the fresh plant fibres.

[@tylersingleton7992]

@@lewisdoherty7621 thanks for that insight

[@TruthIsTheNewHate84]

@@daroniussubdeviant3869 dogbane and milkweed also work really well.

[@turun_ambartanen]

Having studies material science I appreciate the appearance of a wild Hall-Petch mention, but that effect has nothing to do with fibers. It is a prediction of the strength of metals in dependence of their grain size. Though one could - in a very very hand wavy way - use it as a comparison for the strength of rope.

[@SomeUncomm]

I had no idea graphite foil existed, or that you could use it that way. That's so cool.

[@tbdwoods]

Yeah that's a new one for me...I wonder if you could use it inside a canister for canister Damascus to keep it from sticking🤔

[@deocks4872]

The way its made is fascinating you should look it up. It involves chemically separating the individual layers and expanding them out from each other

[@RangerOfTheOrder]

I'd be interested in seeing this done with disposable grocery bags. They're made of HDPE, so if you could get it to work, the resulting rope should be pretty strong.

[@tomcoward16]

great idea :)

[@jonoliphant]

Plastic doesn't quite work that way. There's good HDPE and crap HDPE, think of a hula hoop it's made from a nominally good material but the percentage crystallization is crap so you can just grind one between your fingers.

[@zigmogcreator]

Plastic bags have no uv resistant properties and evaporate to quickly

[@barnmaddo]

I think that rope would just disintegrate and turn into microplastics. You save the environment the costs behind buying some hemp rope at the hardware store, but in exchange add a bunch of microplastics. Seems like a bad trade. Probably would make a strong rope though.

[@sethmullins8346]

I’ve done it by hand with them and doubled up it would hold my body weight🤷‍♂️

[@thomasrogers8239]

In my experience factory equipment is the absolute top tier of user friendly. If you think about it they need to get every level of intelligence to do the proper task repeatedly with the smallest amount of training possible, that's best accomplished if the tool or process is simplified

[@SianaGearz]

Various kinds of factory i suppose! Most of us, if we have any factory or engineering experience, are familiar with factories in North America, Europe, and Chinese megacities, which have a high cost of labour, so the tech is going to be as high quality and as automated as one may afford, so that the worker salary and employment costs contribute to the cost of the product as little as possible, and such that there is high worker time utilisation resulting in a large amount of finished product per amount of workload. This sort of machinery might be used in a factory in a region with a low level of industrialisation and low standard of living.

[@Ebani]

That's what technology is all about.

[@MrAlziepen]

Industrial equipment being engineered to be as user friendly as possible should be the goal of any company, however companies which prioritize profit over all other variables will often knowingly or incompetently cut corners. For example Amazon warehouses have twice the worker injury rate as other warehouses, so management and company policy is just as important for safety. You can have the safest, most user friendly piece of equipment in the world, but if the boss forces you to come in when your sick, your risk for injury or death jumps up dramatically. Same thing if your boss says your fired if you go home during a tornado, all the sudden that safe building is a deathtrap.

[@thesmalllebowski6528]

I have worked in 3 factories in the US and they were all absolute dumps that were always moments away from catastrophic failure.

[@putteslaintxtbks5166]

@@SianaGearz or family home or farm.

[@ponyote]

I definitely appreciate that you immediately upgrade a machine to better suit you. This is such an unusual thing and I never really thought of there being a machine that makes rope. Thanks for making this.

[@Voron_Aggrav]

It's probably one of the oldest machines we've made, Ships eat rope by the square kilometer, and that needs to be straight rope so you need a building running the entire length of your Rope, quite an interesting industry shame it's no longer needed as much There's still a museum near London with a fully functional Ropery where you can buy ropes made the same way for hundreds of years

[@ponyote]

@@Voron_Aggrav I had wondered what such a thing would be used for. That's actually quite amazing.

[@Voron_Aggrav]

@@ponyote rope has been something we've used in one shape or another for probably in the direction of 20.000 years, from basic binding for tools and equipment to vast lengths required to rope a 17th century Ship of the Line, and just about anything that needed to be tied down or together

[@GuildOfCalamity]

Just a tip: when measuring rope/cord, measure one loop's worth and then start making loops of the same diameter and then count the total loops an multiply by the first measurement. You can make the loops around your arm like when you draw up an extension cord.

[@handleismyhandle]

I usually measure it quickly by holding it with my arm span, and just shifting it along. Goes fast and pretty accurate.

[@rebeccamcvicar5237]

Oh my gosh. My hubby has followed you for years then he showed me this video. I make cordage by hand for basketry but that machine is very fast! You did really well with the cattail. Finer fibres by stripping them down thinner and always make them a little damp. Helps heaps. Thanks for sharing!

[@zncon]

The lack of quality in that equipment when it was just out of the box is almost impressive. I mean why even bother making something that badly?

[@Nighthawkinlight]

It's definitely made with bare minimum levels of operability in mind. I was surprised they bothered to assemble most of the pieces before shipping.

[@rubpy]

@@Nighthawkinlight as a side note, watch out those pieces of graphite foil contacting bare cast iron. In the long run, the iron (even stainless steel, for that matter) may corrode in a moist environment, with graphite acting as a (noble) cathode.

[@Original-Phantom]

@@rubpygraphite can cause stainless steel to corrode ?

[@johnpossum556]

@zncon Not all equipment needs to be done to Swiss standards. You will often see extra slop in machinery that belongs on a farm. It's probably more important that it gets lubricated every time. I'd use heavy weight non detergent oil for something like this. That's what me and a buddy used when spinning a 5 foot high circular saw blade being driven by a leather belt to a PTO on an old gasoline powered tractor.

[@raytibbitts]

To quote Anton Ego, "In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so."

[@KarolOfGutovo]

Another way to maximise straw length would be to use an older kind of cereal - recent cultivars have more fruit by using less energy on growing the straw, so if long straw is what ypu need you're gonna need a different cultivar. There are some specifically for thatching, those might work best.

[@moconnell663]

Cereal rye easily grows 6' tall

[@AntiCookieMonster]

@@moconnell663 2m high rye? What are you growing it on? Uranium enriched soils? 😄

[@moconnell663]

@@AntiCookieMonster in my area it is grown primarily as a cover crop for nutrient scavenging and weed control (particularly if you have glyphosate resistant waterhemp).

[@AntiCookieMonster]

@@moconnell663 That's wild. I would find it hard to believe on word alone, but I found videos of just this, in context you described. Here(central/eastern Europe) rye, traditional staple food crop, usually is grown on less fertile soils and at is like 4-4½' tops. Which makes sense: you want less straw and more grain when it's food crop and the exact reverse when it's green manure.

[@anniegaddis5240]

SUGGESTIONS: Find a Sugar Cane Farmer and ask for a truckload of the fibers left after the extraction of sugar from the canes. Also in TN ask for a truckload of the vines from the removal of Kudzu. Run over stiffer reeds with a vehicle to help break them down for roping.

[@gfixler]

I got into spinning yarn a few years ago, and it's fun seeing how much this matches up. We also have to lubricate the wheels, start things off with some leader yarn, prep the fiber in various ways for the same reasons you noted, and keep feeding in the right amount to keep it from getting too thick or thin (unless you want "thick & thin" yarn for artistica reasons), or breaking and disappearing onto the bobbin. I also became excited about finally having a use for the 2' tall weed grass covering my back yard, spinning twine, but alas, it's all so brittle, it breaks into little pieces at the slightest twisting. I need to replace my yarn with flax, so I can process it into linen yarn. I'll have to try wetting the weeds to see if that works.

[@clockdragon515]

I think nettle would work really well too ! they can be quite long and were notoriously used for their internal fibers.

[@Madking1337]

And a great antihistamine

[@clockdragon515]

@@Madking1337 yes ! and a whole lot of other good qualities ! Wondering why it's not more used

[@ircubic]

@@clockdragon515 Because hemp is easier to grow, and have longer / stronger fibers. Nettle is used a lot by people who recreationally hand-make textiles though, but the process is pretty laborious.

[@clockdragon515]

@@ircubic i was talking more about the nutritional and medicinal values of nettle ! but yes hemp is better to grow.

[@NICEFINENEWROBOT]

How about ivy, and hops?

[@justinbanks2380]

If you want to try to have an adjustable speed to it so you can go slower as you get used to it (the foot pedal seems to just be on/off) you could get one of the router adjustable speed controllers and plug the machine into it. That way you could control the 'top speed' which might help with the start/stop. Harbor freight sells one I've used for two different things for around $20

[@redhairshanks9491]

I'm studying materials science right now and your videos are the exact kind of reason I went into engineering, I love seeing what people can make and mess around with when they have a bit of engineering experience. Your radiative cooling paint is a genius idea, and I hope I can experiment myself with something like that someday. Over all, this is an awesome channel and I hope you keep doing whatever cool experiments you think of. Cheers from Wales

[@bmitchizzle]

I love you. I persistently look you up in case the KZbin algorithm fails me. You're like a modern day LeVar Burton of clever life hacky things

[@stuartbrumett6118]

If you want to make rope from shorter fibers you will need a large hopper with channels running to each intake funnel. That way as the coils form they can spin and gather other fibers as they do. Check out machines that make rope from coconut fiber to see how that works. Also, if you want to make strong rope you should stretch the rope when you're done to tighten the coils and if there are weaknesses in the rope it will break during stretching and not later while you're using it.

[@microwave221]

That tool looks like a good candidate for a treadle replacement. It would let you modulate the speed more evenly, cut off any potential for accidental mangling, and even give it the portability to be wheeled out to wherever the fiber it's processing is without needing a generator

[@kbee225]

I'm in Michigan and I'd love to meet this dude someday. Work on some projects, learn some stuff from him.

[@HDEFMAN1]

Whoa ! that was a seriously porous casting. Yet you managed to make it work for you by shimming the defects in casting. I would not have thought that possible. Well done ! I definitely go to check out Graphite foil.

[@killmimes]

That's what happens when you don't degas your melt

[@MrAwawe]

Straw and reeds might work if you rett them first. Submerging plants in water for a few days lets microorganisms consume all but the fibres, thus making them stronger and more pliable.

[@RTopes]

Would love to see a comparison of tensile strength between ropes made with different fibers this way. Curious if it has enough strength/durability for practical applications.

[@35manning]

It'd also be cool to see if the finished rope can be cut in half and passed through a second time to create a stronger rope.

[@MrOfw150]

That machine is terrifying. You are a brave man.

[@leewoodrough242]

If you want a super strong rope I would suggest stinging nettle. If you harvest in the fall its turning brown, it should not sting as much. You have to soak and rub it on your thighs to separate the fibers. I’ve heard that two strands can hold up to 500 lbs.

[@gizelle-s]

Really good to see that you are back. You're one of my favourite and definitely underrated KZbin creators. I hope you are keeping well!

[@squishy312]

Whatever your schedule for videos, be it a month, or a year. The quality is always there. Most of us don't mind the wait if the content is great. :)

[@tbdwoods]

The weird random ADHD style of your project choices is delightful, and fits my similar style of curiousity perfectly. never know what crazzy thing your going to do next but it's always super interesting and incredibly informative. Showing the whole process including the mistakes or less then perfect iterations along the way is something missing from a lot of you tube content. I've learned so much from these videos over the years, sometimes stuff I wanted to know, often stuff I didn't even know I didn't know. Keep up the great work!

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Thanks!

[@accuwau]

found this guy through trying to remember how to make rope out of grass and i saw this in my recommended, fast forward a little bit and all ive been doing is binging this entire channel

[@dwaynewladyka577]

If you were in the desert in the southern United States, you could use yucca fibres for making rope. I'm also wondering if you could make rope from plastic 2 litre soda bottles, using that machine? It was pretty awesome to see cattails used that way. On my dad's farm in Alberta, I saw cattails in sloughs, but I had no idea about the usefulness of this plant, until much later on. Cheers! ✌️

[@Nevir202]

Ya, you could definitely use this thing to make 2l bottle rope. You'd want to split it into such fine "fibers" that you'd probably want to make one small cord, then feed that in to double it up if you wanted anything like rope thickness. I'm pretty sure this machine or something just like it is what's actually used to make the synthetic twine that you often see on hay bales.

[@kdawg3484]

The plastic soda bottles idea sounds fun. Over on Advoko Makes, he created a simple device for easily turning them into long thin strips, and those could be fed into this machine.

[@johnpossum556]

cat tails are fully edible. The native americans used to use half acorn flour and half cat tail flour for ash cakes they would carry while traveling/hunting. But the Indians around here often use pounded and soaked spruce tree roots. Cordage/rope is one of the more complicated things one needs to survive off the land.

[@3nertia]

Nearly any fibers can be used for rope if processed correctly!

[@dscrive]

not just western! I've been propagating and growing yucca in my yard in Mississippi for years, and I sourced the stock from nearby woods, so I'm pretty sure it's native.

[@bimmers50e30]

That machine is surprisingly intriguing to me.... I'm sure doesn't meet safety requirements here, but it looks extremely useful. And that rope is a fantastic resource

[@ohoiboi9818]

You make us proud an engineering mind to fix whatever's wrong with what you bought lol. 😢 it's beautiful to see. Love the videos

[@johnpatterson7140]

I made straw ropes with my uncle in Ireland years ago, they were called sugens one feeding straw and the other turning a simple bent piece of wire like an old car starting handle, and these ropes were used on haystacks to hold them down

[@daxdadog]

I love getting a deep dive into thing we never think twice about. It has a grounding effect for me.

[@MrMarshallMan3]

You are honestly the most underrated educational channel on KZbin. I love your videos so much and I can't tell you how happy it makes me when I see your sponsored segments, you really deserve them

[@serbanandrei7532]

This

[@NotAsTraceable]

whoa!!! I've never seen a commercial casting so bad. And by commercial I mean making something and selling it to others.

[@boomfiziks]

I remember when I was in Boy Scouts, I built a rope making machine. It twisted together three strands of bailing twine to make stronger rope for our tower and bridge building activities.

[@mslindqu]

Cool video. If you do any updates I would be interested to hear how this natural rope 'ages' as it dries out. Typically the non-fiber parts of the plant are removed before making rope from the fiber parts because as it dries those parts become brittle and will crack. I've been looking at designing something like that expressely for utilizing used shopping bags, or 'plarn' as they call it.

[@skipjames8437]

Very cool idea.

[@jonanderson5137]

Now I've got to see how the bags are prepared for that. Ahh, there's still waste to plarn, the bottom of the bag gets cut off and so does the handle section.

[@stephenwilliams163]

@@jonanderson5137 Much less waste though. Also most of those bags are HDPE which is fairly easy to melt and reuse at home. If someone wanted to they could save up the handles and bag bottoms to melt into other blanks. I've had success hand making cordage with plastic bags, but anytime I've tried with a machine process it built up too much tension and the material snapped.

[@polerin]

I have been toying with that bag idea as well but all of the ways I have seen them made on here require cutting them into strips, which feels... Inefficient

[@CoalCoalJames]

From what I remember, you need to soak the material completely in water and leave it for a long time and then break it down to even smaller strips 5-10mm. I've seen many people add things to the water in primitive rope making too to strengthen the fibers so that might be a good place to start looking.

[@leifhietala8074]

I was watching and thought: cattails. My wife got into a wild craft kick for a while and was weaving all manner of stuff from cattails leaves. Very versatile stuff. Throw a speed controller on that motor and you could achieve a far more consistent product.

[@Jacob-yg7lz]

I've seen videos of people using similar machines for flax. From what I can tell, soaking the fiber for a long period and then flexing it makes it into a more flexible fiber that's more suitable for spinning.

[@sweetdirt007]

Would love to see a strength test of the rope. Maybe compare it to other natural fibers to see what's the best choice of material to use.

[@qwertyyouiop8959]

Dog bane, Indian hemp or stinging nettle can be turned into high-end rope . The plant needs to have the outer layer removed from it. Then the stem is crushed to free up the fibers.

[@davidsen1805]

This is awesome! Are you able to feed that rope back through the machine to double it up and improve the strength? It would be cool to see some testing about how strong it can become. Also your bird is adorable!

[@doreenwatson-read]

What a brilliant machine, I love that Mose is going to benefit from your labours, bird toys can be extremely expensive from what I have gleaned from watching lots of bird videos. I can see lots of people wanting you to make that rope to make door mats, baskets etc. also it would be fun to wind yarns on it to create new colours and thicknesses. I loved this video. I am new to your videos and I haven't watched one I didn't like.

[@Rainyjax]

When I was younger, my friends and I started a small project to see how well we could imitate neolithic living using only materials we gathered ourselves. I had the role of making cordage by hand. I found I had the most success using long flat grasses that I had freshly cut one day beforehand. Fully fresh were too smooth and stiff to work with easily, but leaving them out for a day made them both soft and rough, without destroying the fibers like breaking them by hand would. Round grasses gave much worse results, usually breaking much easier, assuming I could even twist them into a cord in the first place - the smooth and stiff stems were way too slippery, and snapped rather than bending. Leaving them out also had little (positive) effect. I reckon that Cattails were about as good a choice as it gets, aside from using wood fibers. They seem to be very similar to flat grasses, aside from the foam core. I heard that nettles are a good choice, but I never had any success with those. Maybe the variety in my area just wasn't a good choice, but most probably I just couldn't figure out the right technique to work with them.

[@ZoonCrypticon]

Great video ! May I give two ideas ? 1. You could introduce grass or moss seeds (or even funghi spores) sticking to the cattails (via perhaps a nutrient gel or glycerin and alkali-nitrate etc.) and then make a rope out of it and let the grass/moss/fughi grow over it to make a "living" rope. 2. Using KEVLAR fibre and steel-wire to make heavy duty ropes.

[@Dreadtheday]

Whaaaaa I just realized you are in Michigan... I grew up there and lived there for 30 years before moving to NC for medical help. Excellent video, michigander.

[@JasonMitchellofcompsci]

Me: Is water wet? Night Hawk: Only a little.

[@rriicckkyy_98]

I love the fact that you always enjoy doing what you do. Plus, your projects are always super interesting. You're amazing!

[@FRN2013]

Yes, the spontaneous laughs make me smile

[@jimbayler4277]

@Nighthawkinlight: P.S.: Include a Retting (rotting) step. Soaking the donor material for "X" amount of time to start the process of breaking down the pith (filler material between the desired fibers). There is plenty of information on the retting process, out there. Eliminating the pith will greatly strengthen your finished product.

[@FlyingAxblade_D20]

tickled me pink when you were using the short straw because I asked my dog if thought Nighthawk had cattails. Then you did! Cherish is the new love, Be Well

[@GurcharanDhillon]

We use these kind of ropes in our farms to tie the knots of driffert type of crops after harvest. In my Panjaabi language, these plant based ropes are called "Khabbarr". Thank you for your video.

[@geoffdparsons]

would love a load test. would be interesting to analyze weak points and how they occur. probably could get a very consistent rope and lash tents or things like that

[@Gary-uy9mr]

Recommendation, throw a potentiometer between the motor and the wall socket. Use that to dial in the foot pedal speed. You can use it as a limiter so you can set a top speed if you depress the pedal all the way.

[@dryued6874]

Manufacturer: *makes the machine* Nighthawk: "Let me show you how it's actually done"

[@pittayakun]

Now I need more rope making stuff, well done, Mr

[@mitms]

Nice project for processing those natural fibers. Deviating from the spirit of this video, I was wondering, this might also work great with synthetic `fibers`, like those string from PET-bottles type of synthetic fibers. It'll probably be plenty strong and definitely easier on the hands than actual single strips of freshly cut PET-string. Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the fresh stream of super enthusiastic followers and equally stoked reactions & suggestions each of your projects tend to attract.

[@AnimeShinigami13]

in spinning yarn you also need that initial rope, its called a leader yarn. I reccomend finding dogbane or milkweed, as well as cattail reeds and nettles. i've worked with all of these before but nettle and attempted to make things out of different plants, including grasses and reeds. Anywhere you have a segmented stem in a piece of fiber, it forms a break point, but the leaves of that invasive reed may be useful. Also my cat goes insane over the tufted heads, which he treats like a bird. Cattails are supposedly edible, the entire plant. Even the seed heads. When you're harvesting like that, make sure you scatter a few seed heads a distance away from where you found them so that you "pay" the patch back for their material. One suggested to me was bast fiber from fallen linden tree branches that have rotted. A useful field of study for ropemaking is experimental archeology, in which people try to reconstruct the ways people in the past made what they used every day. This machine bears such an interesting resemblance to both spinning wheels and rope making machines from ages past. aaaaah, its for a parrot. that eliminates dogbane and milkweed then. neither are pet safe. willow should be though, if you ever find a willow tree that's fallen its a plethora of fibers and basket weaving materials. willows will also grow readily from cuttings and help increase root growth in some vegetables.

[@catherine_404]

It's my first time seeing your videos. The apparatus looked worth while, especially with how it's nice and comfortable to use with cattails. But then I saw the parrot and I was like THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER!!! I'd love to gift one like it to my relatives who line on the country. They too have an access to loads of cattail material.

[@Km4rt]

That noise it makes is extremely satisfying

[@cormacsmall9442]

I would love to see this used with either hemp or stinging nettles! There's obviously more preparation having to break up the fibers, but I imagine you could get some very good quality rope out of it. Also, I'm now trying to figure out if I can 3D print a scaled down version of this. I would love to be able to make some natural fiber string/twine.

[@mikem6549]

It may be that starting with a single thin rope and then building up with multiple passes may help create a stronger rope. A measure of strength over time may be interesting. Particularly if weathered. Always interested in how much work it takes to build a rope bridge.

[@smellysoysauce]

I'd love to see more videos featuring this rope spinner thing!

[@AlpacaMade]

Loved this demo. You've plenty of rope makers below my comment so the only thing I'll point out is from a spinner's point of view. You seemed to get the hang of feeding new fiber in by laying it on top of the old fiber. That leads to consistent strength all along your finished hank however, I would've left your big, flat cones on just for ease of feeding. Three cheers for Michigan Makers!

[@spinafire]

Incredible. I love that I have previously contemplated something as random as a rope machine, but you've figured out how to actually do it! Always impressed by your wide array of understanding!

[@ThistlesGarden]

Glad to see another video. Cool to see you improving the machine with tighter bearings & graphite foil. Always been a fan of these small manufacturing machines and their use in cottage industries.

[@austinhoward7413]

Bro same comment almost I've been watching your videos since I was like 12 or 13 I'm 26 now and have made quite a few designs and soon who knows you might just hear about my next major project once it hits the market. But your videos showed me the first major steps I needed to know about designing. And for that sir I thank you whole-heartedly.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Best of luck on your project!

[@butterybiscuit346]

Watched someone use a more primitive version of that machine. They had to shred the grasses into a more fibrous hair like stage. There was a board with small metal spikes/teeth and then a top board to press the grass down and they just pulled the grass through repeating the process several times. You might want to research that part. I believe that combing/shredding process makes it so the overall rope is uniform and it doesnt fall apart when you add the subsequent batches.

[@randomeddie185]

You should check to see if anyone in your area is growing one of the grasses developed for biofuels. They're really tall and straight. Some varieties may work well for you, but others are stiff enough to cause paper cuts. The guys who grow it tend to be the type of guys who would give you a sample and help you figure out if it's worth your while to start growing it. Some varieties are perennial and once established just need to be cut down every so often.

[@scottcantdance804]

I was experimenting with turning yucca into rope recently. It's really easy to do by hand, and I had wondered about making a simple machine to do it. Very cool video!

[@johngillon6969]

Pot is legal in oregon and washington. I wonder how hard it is to contact pot growers who have tons of hemp fiber i reckin. yucca could be fantastic i would guess. P,S, Tough Guys DON'T Dance.

[@johngillon6969]

Hey Scott. Tough Guys Don't Dance. Don't say Cant, say don't dance. can't dance is like a red flag to chicks. I Don't Dance! , makes em wet.

[@scottcantdance804]

@@johngillon6969 I'm in Colorado. It's not that hard. Small independent growers are more likely to give you their stalks than the more corporate growing types are. Whether that's because of regulations, or because they end up using their stalks for various things or already have contracts with other people and companies to provide them with their leftovers for fiber use. I've also considered getting some hemp seeds and growing them in the backyard to use for their fibers. I make paper as a hobby too, and it would come in useful for that as well.

[@Vikingwerk]

The yucca, is it the green spines that have the useful fibers?

[@snuffying]

@@Vikingwerk its the leaves. you must take the leaves, crush them against a backing or a plank with a stone, to remove the chlorophyll and reveal the long white-ish fibers. its quite easy to do, all you need is a flattish stone or a non-sharp knife to scrub the chlorophyll out

[@Tser]

I immediately thought "Ooo, parrot rope!" I doubt I'd have the know-how to fix up the shoddily built machine, unfortunately, because it looks so fun to use. This rope is so much safer than cotton or even sisal ropes since the fiber is less likely to tangle around toes or cause an impaction if eaten. And you've noted and dealt with the mold risk that came to my mind! I hope your caique had fun destroying that rope!

[@christophererickson2606]

For some odd reason this flew past my subscriptions feed. Glad I looked up your channel to check in.

[@SamuQu]

As always, a pleasure to watch your videos, no matter what the project you're showcasing. Thanks!

[@garethbaus5471]

In my area yucca is probably the toughest plant fiber you can find, it has long stands that are individually quite strong. It does take a lot of processing to remove the individual fibres from the leaves and clean off the excess material.

[@magicsasafras3414]

It's also delicious

[@Kopie0830]

@@magicsasafras3414 What!? Yucca can be eaten? I didn't know that.

[@magicsasafras3414]

@@Kopie0830 oh I looked it up. I think we are talking about different yucca 😆

[@garethbaus5471]

@@magicsasafras3414 the type of yucca I am talking about has edible parts, but kinda tastes like soap.

[@magicsasafras3414]

@@garethbaus5471 oh I am talking about the Dominican kind

[@TheWadetube]

Here in the south we have natural vines that are already good for rope, but would work well in your machine. Kudzu is an imported vine, has an oil content and is very tough and very long. If you can split it into fourths and roll them through a press I believe it would work well in your machine. Similar to Kudzu is Wysteria vines, also very long and tough. The runners on the ground are what you want in any selection and lastly Honeysuckle have smaller but tough vines. If dehydrated a little and pressed to a ribbon like the others it should make a very good rope in four to seven strands.

[@jeanettereno4045]

I have been exploring thread and rope making. What I have come to understand is some things which make thread, or fibers to make threads no matter what size, tend to need to be processed. The raw material can made into rope or thread. But to make it a pure strong product it needs to be processed. Just as you stomped on the cattails to break up the fibers. Some plants need to be stripped of the green fibers and the fibers that are leftover can be woven into clothing. The miracle of the tool you brought back to life is that time of hand spinning part of the work is greatly reduced. This can provide strong thread after all. If you dive into the history of all of these things, it becomes pretty interesting. I like you've fixed the tool and are curious as well. We need to keep these skills alive & teach each other. I love the knowledge and all of us who have curiosity should learn teach and show what we have found. Is not the purest way but it is the sure way to keep these informations alive.

[@AttilaBlade]

Dear Ben, I really liked this mechanical design. I never seen similar, but it was interesting to see how easy to make something useful from grass, or other long organic materials. Thanks to share it! BLADE

[@justinbanks2380]

Very cool! Always happy to see a new video from you! If you want to try to have an adjustable speed to it so you can go slower as you get used to it (the foot pedal seems to just be on/off) you could get one of the router adjustable speed controllers and plug the machine into it. That way you could control the 'top speed' which might help with the start/stop. Harbor freight sells one I've used for two different things for around $20

[@RobertMilesAI]

I like that they delivered you essentially a rough first draft of a machine

[@danielb.587]

Sometimes I don’t even watch the video. I just click open. Get him a view and like the video. Keep up amazing work.

[@algot34]

I remember watching you at the age of 11 years old and being absolutely stoked about how cool your videos were. I would jump at the opportunity to show my cousins and friends all the cool things you showed me how to build. Here I am 2 years later at the age of 13 almost 14, attempting to finish middle school. It was videos like yours that inspired me to really understand how things worked, how things were built and what made them run, and even why. It went from small cool little science-based toys and gadgets to working on bicycles (now I really understand how they work because I'm older now). I'm pretty smart to be honest, I'm probably in the top 3 in my class, and I think you're a big reason why. Just imagine how smart I'll be when I'm even older, I think in just a few years' time people will start to be jealous of me. Hah. Thanks :)

[@JackSassyPants]

I think you would have a much better time if you had a variable speed controller of some sort for that motor; either a plug box with a dial or a pedal that can vary the speed of the motor. It would allow you to work at a more comfortable pace and be significantly less terrifying

[@handleismyhandle]

I've used a dimmer switch to change the voltage going to a transformer. Might work for this.

[@75blackviking]

Your channel is absolutely top notch. Had no idea I'd find rope making interesting until watching this.

[@benlee4940]

The straw you had wasn't made any shorter by baling, modern wheat has a short straw length to avoid wind damage and use less nutrients growing straw, the baler might have kinked the straw a bit though. A variety used for thatching might work, but you'd need a lot of wheat. I think you might be able to get the straw to work, the straw is glossier and smoother than the reeds or grass and is easier to pull apart and so it breaks. If you sprayed it with something like washing up liquid (dish soap) or isopropyl alcohol to remove some of the smooth outer waxy layer it might make it less likely to break. Worth trying with some of the rest of the bale. I'd suggest growing something else instead. With flax you could make rope from dried flax, or process it into thread, string, linen etc. Miscanthus should work, or a type of ornamental grass. A speed controller for your machine, something like those used on a sewing machine might help, or changing the pulley ratios.

[@glenngriffon8032]

Just before you mentioned it i kinda figured that it might be the wrong time of year for rope making and that hay would be just too short and stiff. As you learned you need to use a material that has some give and flexibility to it. I look forward to seeing what rope you make in late summer after letting the wild grasses grow tall. I'm curious though, should you use them while they're fresh and green and newly cut or should you dry them out a little bit first? Obviously you don't want your grasses to be so dry they're brittle but would they begin to decay if you didn't process them in some way after cutting them but before rope-ifying them?

[@netyr4554]

Processing will depend on the fibre used but in general it would be best to dry the plants fully then rehydrate them, fresh cut plants shrink a lot which makes for loose/weak rope or cordage.

[@zigmogcreator]

Great video. I enjoyed how you showed and fixed the sloppy tolerance.

[@Uthael_Kileanea]

I feel as if the most interesting parts of educational videos like these are the in-between steps. The info I didn't click the video for. In this case, the info about the structure of the plant and how to make it flexible again more easily.

[@theafro]

Loving it! so far, you've yet to pick a subject that isn't right up my alley! It might be worth your time checking out Torbjorn Ahman's youtube channel, He's been playing with flax (and the stuff used to process it) well worth a look, even it it's just to enjoy watching well made videos of a craftsman in his shop.

[@josuelservin]

A great recommendation, Torbjörn series on the 1m2 flax is one of my favorites for sure.

[@wayoutwest-workshopstuff6299]

Thanks, Ben. Very interesting. I'd be interested to try putting brambles through it too. Tim

[@bungalowjuice7225]

I love your videos. They feel so useful. Even the sci-fi like stuff you make feels practical.

[@IanZainea1990]

Ive seen vudeos on linen where they process the harvest to eliminate short fibers. might be applicable to this process too. Very cool!

[@seraaron]

this might sound odd, but I have two suggestions for materials to use to make rope. First: string! just ordinary store bought craft string or whatever you can find for cheap. it'll be interesting to see how strong a rope made from that would be. Second suggestion: plastic bottles! you can make a simple bracket on a pole with a Stanley knife blade attached that can cut 2 litre pop bottles around the radius in a spiral into long thin twine in seconds. it's not very strong on its own. but I bet its better if it could be bound into a rope!

[@TrailBlazer5280]

THis thing is so cool and perfect for a homestead. I would also love to see some wool shoved in there or even existing smaller rope strands.

[@TheOriginalCoolDad]

I love your videos, I always pick up some of the most esoteric information by watching them, and that's a good thing!!

[@eldias5387]

Torbjörn Åhman Has an interesting series going on of growing and processing 1sqm of flax. It might be a fun gardening project next year to try something similar and turn your resulting fibers in to some flax rope!

[@Archaic-Arms]

Love the contraption! You do such a good job with your videos. The simplicity of operation; putting fibre in, rope comes out, is very satisfying. NZ Cabbage palm leaves, green or dry, would be fantastic since they are ridiculously strong and require next to no processing. There are quite common as decorative plants, and no one wants the shed leaves (at least where I live) However I think the most ideal would be retted esparto grass. Pluck it, leave it in water for a while, then make it into rope. That's what the Romans did for ship rigging. Easy to make and work with, strong rope, and looks great. Just a difficult material to find nowadays.