Ploughing engine rope
 

Looking for a rope for Toms K7. 5/8” diameter.


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Worth getting a price from Latch and Batchelor in Birmingham as a starting point . They still make the genuine article .

Thanks. Have had a couple of quotes for new so far and both have come back at well over £3.5k plus vat! Hence looking for some s/h rope


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try asking a lift company for s/h wire rope.

I have been recommended here for winch cable recently by someone who wanted the proper hand spliced ends.

https://www.randgmarine.co.uk/

I have yet to action it as winching isn't on my list of things I'm that fussed about with our lorry currently!

Winch rope and plough rope are quite different beasts . Plough rope is made with a different lay to the strands , has coarser wires and steel better able to resist abrasive wear on the land . Because of this it is also much stiffer , and so unsuitable for winch use .

There have been a number of engines fitted with second hand lift rope and also crane rope, it’s not the greatest but it works and to be perfectly frank for the amount of times an engine gets its rope out its perfectly adequate. Diameter of the rope is critical mind, coiling gear takes an instant dislike to the wrong size rope.

Original plough rope is, as you say, constructed with fewer wires of larger diameter. There aren’t many engines left with it, it’s very noticeable when you do come across it, and it’s not the same as the new stuff made by Latch & Batchelor. Which is good rope of a design usually used in excavator applications, more flexible than original stuff.

I’d fit anything you can find that’s the right diameter and not badly worn, if only to prove the coiling gear and get you going.

Quite so . I must admit that it is a long time since I had the tour around Latch and Batchelor , and I don't know what they may now sell for ploughing engines .

The reason why I sometimes spell out what is common knowledge to many of us is that , from reading posts on here , I realise that there are may things which we may take for granted , but which are not known or realised by many younger or newer enthusiasts . It is a case of I guess that you know , but what about Tom , Dick , and Harry ?

So I am sorry if I sometimes may seem to be teaching Grandma to suck eggs , but it does encourage discussion , and so helps to keep the ball rolling around here .

Many thanks for all your comments. Is there a way to work out whsy size rope the engine should have? I assume it's measure the rollers on the monkey head, but what if they are worn?

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No , it is depends on the width of the drum and the gearing of the coiling gear . The easiest way to find out would be to contact the Secretary of the Steam Plough Club , who will point you in the right direction . Unfortunately the SPC has lost too many senior members recently , but he will point you in the right direction , to someone who knows the job .
The wrong size of rope would mean that the coiling gear would attempt to lap on too many or too few turns of rope . If you look at the muff , the bottom of the rope space , where the first lap goes on , you will see that it has a shallow spiral groove turned on it for the first lap to lay on . This will show you how many laps should be there . Divide the height of the rope space by this figure and you should get a rough idea . Correctly timing the coiling gear is another job which you will need to learn , but it will only work with the correct size of rope ; it is not adjustable , save for timing .
You do need to talk to someone who knows , and who has done the job , which is why you need to talk to the SPC . Details on their web site . Good luck , it is a nice job when you get it done .

Measure the drum depth (top to bottom) and divide it by the number of grooves in the drum, this will give you the rope diameter give or take. There may well be a little wear here and there to consider. The Fowler instructions for cable tackle is available from the Steam Plough club, very useful for the initial setting up of the coiling gear.

Quite right , Proff . I was thinking also of the instructions about what NOT to do !

Now I can't speak from experience, but I'm fairly sure that somewhere I've read that rope is measured by circumference, but of course that may well be a wrong assumption.

Thanks all. Looked at the drum and the grooves are definitely 5/8 wide so we'll go for that.
Will look into the SPC instructions

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https://www.tractiontalkforum.com/pi...ictureid=67781

https://www.tractiontalkforum.com/pi...ictureid=67780

Very interesting - thanks very much for posting.

Thank you very much for sharing this. Most interesting


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https://www.tractiontalkforum.com/pi...ictureid=67784

The last page from the spare parts book.

Fowler referred to ropes by their construction rather than diameter: 24,30 or 36 wires, which broadly correspond to 5/8” diameter (K class engines), 3/4” diameter (BB engines) and 7/8” diameter (AA and Z classes). The Superbas and Z7 engines on very heavy work had a 15/16” rope with 36 wires.

The drum should have space for X number of coils plus a bit less than half a rope’s width, so the coils of the next layer sit in the angle between the coils already on. It spreads the load so the rope isn’t being crushed along a single point of contact, and assists good coiling as the rope naturally wants to drop into that space. The gap at the top is just less than half a rope’s width so it holds that coil out a little bit, which assists the next coil to ‘snap’ down into the right place. It’s reassuring to hear the sharp snap noise regularly as the engine is pulling, it tells you that the rope is probably coiling properly, bearing in mind you can’t see it while driving.

Mike Goodman wrote a good series of articles in the SPC journal about ropes. I’ll try to find them.

Thanks again (in absence of thanks button). All this information about setting up is very interesting to me.

Your model, Doug, is one of the few that would have used the 20 wire rope mentioned on that page. It’s the lightweight 3/8” tail rope fitted to the bottom drum.

I have a feeling the DD engines had a fairly light rope fitted too.

We're a little way off needing rope for our AA but this has made very interesting reading, thankyou!

Very interesting discussion, takes me back to the 2012 Whittington UK ploughing champions when Fowler Ploughing Engine 4223, "Aethelflaed" uncoiled and I helped get it back onto the drum.

Thanks for the memory...
Cheers, Andy