Quick and Dirty Ropes Made From Tape.
Introduction: Quick and Dirty Ropes Made From Tape.
So most peoples EDC or camping kits include some form of solid tape, as a bit of an all purpose fix. It can patch holes, seal containers against insects, and, of course, tape things together/down. But sometimes you're working with an item that's not amenable to taping: it might be too wet or greasy, or too dusty, for the sticky to stick down. In those cases a rope is a better option for tying things down or tying them together. But if you've run out of rope (or didn't have it originally), but you have tape, what do you do?
You might do what I've done a couple of times, and made a quick dirty rope out of the tape you have on hand. Ropes aren't necessarily as good at preventing things slipping across a surface as tape, but are perfectly fine for strapping something down or tying it up. Tape ropes don't stretch as much as tape does, and are generally more wear resistant. In addition, a tear in a piece of tape can propogate through the tape quickly, tearing the whole piece. Ropes, by design, reinforce strands with minor damage by distributing the load to the other strands in the rope.
This time we're making a 3 strand braided cord, as it's quick and easy and everyone is usually able to make a 3 strand braid without assistance. Braided ropes are also more wear resistant. We're also using fabric tape (or duct tape) as I've found this has the greatest strength and smallest stretch of the tapes I've used. You can use other tape (like electrical tape) and it will give you a stronger hold with less stretch than an equivalent length of that tape. But duct tape is the strongest. Bear in mind that this isn't going to tie off or take weight as well as a professionally made rope, but will get you out of a bind if you need it.
Plus it can be a fun activity to do with the kids if you need to entertain them for an hour or so.
Supplies
In order to make a rope you will need:
-Tape (I'm using duct tape, one black roll and one silver roll). This actually works best if you use all three strands from the same roll of tape, so it has the same thickness and width.
-Scissors, to cut the tape,
-Measuring tool to make sure you're making enough rope for your purpose. 51
I use a measuring tape. Note: when you're braiding up your cord, you're actually going to shorten the rope from the original length of tape measured out. In this demo I used 2 meter (about 6 feet) lengths of tape, and ended up with just over 1.5m of rope. So expect a 25% decrease in length, on average.
I also used a door handle and a green paint pen (depicted) in this tutorial, but they're not essential. I only used the pen to illustrate the difference between the two black cordages when braiding them up.
Step 1: Measure Out Your Strip Length.
In this demo I'm using 2m long strips, and going to use this door handle to hold the other end of the tape strap. So I'm measuring a spot about 2m away from the handle, that I can unroll the tape out to. Then I attached one end of the tape to the handle, and unspooled it out to the 2m mark. I then cut the tape with the scissors.
Step 2: Fold Your Tape Into a Flat Strap
So leaving the far end of the tape attached to the handle, I flipped the tape over so the sticky side was facing me and folded approximately 1/3 of the tape over itself, sticking sticky sides together. I then followed that fold until I'd stuck that 1/3 together the whole length of the tape.
Then go back and fold the remaining sticky 1/3 over to close off all the sticky layer. Do this with the whole strip of tape until you have a flat strap of tape, with no exposed sticky layer. You can stop here and use the cord to tie things up, but I'm continuing on to make a rope. Remember the point of a braided rope is that it has increased durability, and with this material less stretch, than an equivalent length of cordage.
Take your time with this step, if you have it. Going slowly and keeping tension on the tape while you fold it over will help you keep even and flat connections between your layers, which gives you flat and consistent straps. This is important when braiding together, as flat and even straps will braid together to a flatter and consistent rope. It will still work and hold weight if you're a bit rougher with your folding, but if you want it to look nicer then take your time here. 220