[SML] Splicing a Flemish Eye into wire rope

[Gregory Maine]

Dear friends of the stagecraft mailing list,
It has been a long time since I have posted to, or kept up with the mailing
list, however some independent exploration into splicing wire rope has
brought me back:

I will start my inquisition by stating that I am doing this for my own
exploration, as well as my educational growth, and currently have no plans
to put any splice I create into practical use until I, or those above me
feel confident in my understanding of the procedures involved.

That said here is how this all started: I am currently working on my MFA in
technical direction at the University of Connecticut, and one the classes
that I am taking this fall is in advanced rigging techniques. In class
recently, we discussed some of the different techniques for terminating
wire rope, i.e. Nicopress, wire rope clips, fist grips, eye splices, etc.,
along with the each method's strengths and weaknesses, and the de-rating of
safety factors for each. The Flemish eye interested me, mostly due to my
lack of familiarity with it, and in addition, it is my understanding that
this style of eye splice is commonly used to terminate the ends of
commercially made wire rope slings used in entertainment rigging, something
that also added to my interest.

In discussion with my professor about the process of creating such a
splice, his feeling is that one cannot create a functional Flemish eye
without the requisite hydraulic press and sleeves, which I agree with. I
did however find descriptions of hand-spliced eyes of a similar design in
the *Handbook of Rigging* by MacDonald, Rossnagel, and Higgins.

Despite not having the requisite tools for finishing the splice I decided
to give it a go as an attempt to learn and understand the wrapping process
that creates the eye itself. I used a guide created by the Crosby Group
distributed online that outlined the wrapping procedure, as well as
consulted Youtube for any helpful videos. In all cases, the wire rope used
in demonstration was of 1/2" diameter or larger. For my first attempts, I
used 1/8" 7x19 IWRC aircraft cable, something that we have copious amounts
of. I followed the directions given by the Crosby guide which involved
calculating and marking the amount of pull and the distance to the throat.
Using their calculations left me with what I felt was too short of a length
for the pull amount. My understanding of the process, and on this I may be
incorrect, was that the pull was supposed to wrap the outside of the cable
below the throat, thereby strengthening the throat, that otherwise in my
experimentation seemed a bit weak. I tried varying the pull length to see
if I could get it to wrap back around itself successfully, but to no avail.
I just cannot get the ends to wrap around the cable. An attempt to splice
1/4" 7x19 aircraft cable was met with similar challenges.

My conclusion has been thus far that I am using type of wire rope. I did
consult Harry Donovan's book *Entertainment Rigging* on the types of wire
rope used in wire rope slings, which is listed as 7x19 or 6x19 IWRC cable
of 1/4" diameter and larger.

My questions are as follows:
- Is the wire rope at my disposal for experimentation inappropriate for
this type of termination?
- Is my understanding correct in that the pull has to wrap the outside of
the cable once the wrapping passes the throat?
-Am I completely insane?

Any advice, or insight would be appreciated, as well as suggestions of
other techniques for eye splicing wire rope that you feel would be fun or
beneficial to learn.
Thanks,
Gregory W. Maine
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