Splice went a bit wrong?

[Fredward]

Hi there, first post but I've been lurking here for a while.

 

I'm reasonably new to splicing but I've got a few under my belt now (brummels, 16 strand class 1's).

 

Yesterday I was splicing some AP polyester, this is the second e2e I have made of this and the first one went very well. On this particular e2e my first splice went good, the second one was a bit odd. I guess I might have been trying to go faster as I was getting familiar with the process. When it came to the final bury all seemed well but suddenly I noticed the eye was geting very small, and my cross over wasn't buried. I managed to bury the cross over without the eye closing up, but not by much. I also couldn't see my mark where the eye was supposed to finish like I normally can. It's possible it rubbed off or possible that I just marked the eye too small (I find this hard to believe as I've done a few splices now). Also the cord ended up 50mm shorter than anticipated. I did the first splice then held the cord up against my last e2e I made and marked it so it was meant to be the same length.

 

I'm wondering if I did something fundamentally wrong or just cocked up measurements? The cord came out looking nice (just short and a very tight eye) but will the strength be compromised? I have used the yale whip/lockstitch but considering throwing it away now.

 

Can post photos but there isn't much to see!

[Pommie]

if in doubt chuck it

[Tommy_B]

By the sounds of it you might not have zeroed out the core and cover once you started the second eye and the cover has to go somewhere, making the final eye smaller.

[Fredward]

Wow Tommy that's exactly what i did/didn't do! Now you mention it I remember seeing the cover bunched up when I marked it, that's what you get when you splice in a hurry! It was really annoying me that I couldn't think what I had done wrong.. Should I bin it?

[Tommy_B]

If in doubt mate...

[Fredward]

Yeah, good call, my life is worth more than a few quids worth of cord!

 

On a side note, I have some 10mm OP to splice, can anyone explain how to work out the strands to pull for taper? On the AP I just did 5,5,5,5.. But if the cord is over 20 strand it should be 5,4,5,4? How do I calculate how many strands in the cover?