Theme 2

The Story of Rope Making

Investigating the process of rope making and the materials used

KS2 Science and Technology Rope Making - Teaching Notes

This theme looks at the process of rope making Activity 4: How are ropes made? and how it has changed. It covers mainly science The two information sheets explain the four and technology through materials, forces and stages of rope making. These could be used as motion. a useful recap following a visit to the gallery.

Objectives Types of rope and equipment • Compare the properties of materials used These two resource sheets could be used during for rope making and their uses. or following a visit to the heritage display, • Find out about how rope was made enabling pupils to examine the ropes and • Investigate methods of transferring objects first hand. power. Making your own rope Outcomes Making a simple rope in the classroom should These activities could be used with Theme 5 to make the stages much clearer and enable create an exhibition about rope making in pupils to write their own instructions explaining Barton. what they did. A blank sheet with illustrations for the different stages in the rope making Activity 1: What are ropes? process could be used as the framework for Introduction to rope making with a true/false pupil’s explanations. quiz. Use the teachers’ notes sheet as part of class discussion when feeding back answers. Activity 5: How were machines powered? This activity investigates how theories of forces Activity 2: The History of rope making and motion can be applied to the transfer of This sheet could be cut up and the cards placed power in the rope factory. Pupils set up their on a class timeline. Identify links to periods own belt driven model and investigate the pupils have already studied in history. effects of using different sized wheels to help How has rope making changed over time? solve a problem. Cotton reels, rubber bands or simple mechanics sets can be used for this Activity 3: What is rope made from? experiment. This could be extended by Use the first worksheet to introduce pupils to comparing and designing simple rope making fibres and the ways they can be processed to devices like the ones here: form different materials. Use real examples of objects and materials to demonstrate each one. http://www.ropeworks.biz/text04/r.html They could go further to investigate the properties of the different materials and their Activity 6: What were the ropes used for? uses. The first ropes made at the factory in Barton Use the structure of rope resource sheet to help were used mostly by the shipping industry. focus pupils’ examination of collected samples of Sailing ships required miles of rope for rigging rope and string. as well as rope for anchors. The worksheet The second worksheet can be used to create a includes information about the length of rope table to compare the relative properties of the required and a picture to complete to natural and synthetic fibres. The natural fibres demonstrate the uses of rope on sailing ships. were grown all over the world. Pupils could use Ropes for rigging need to be strong and those an atlas to help them mark the countries where for anchors need to be waterproof. Most ships the fibres came from onto a world map. Which are no longer powered by wind so rigging for came the furthest? How might they have been sails is not needed. transported? Why were they grown so far away?

32 What are ropes?

Read the following statements and decide whether you think they are true or false. Have a guess if you are not sure.

Statement True False

1. Nylon can be used to make ropes.

2. Nylon comes from the stems of plants.

3. Ropes are made by twisting fibres (threads) together.

4. Ropes are made by plaiting or braiding fibres together.

5. Ropes are held together by glue.

6. The Tudors were the first people to make rope.

7. Animal skin can be used to make ropes.

8. Silk is the most common material for making rope.

9. Ropes can be made from metal.

10. Putting knots in a rope strengthens it.

11. Two ropes can be joined by weaving the ends together.

12. Ropes are rigid (they don’t change shape).

13. Ropes can be used for pushing.

14. Ropes can be used for pulling.

Teacher’s Notes

Statement T F 1. Nylon can be used to make ropes. 9 Nylon is a one of the most common materials for making rope today. 2. Nylon comes from the stems of plants. 9 Nylon is a synthetic fibre – it comes from refined oil. Natural and synthetic fibres are both used for making rope. 3. Ropes are made by twisting fibres (threads) together. 9 This is the traditional way to make ropes. Twists in opposite directions hold the rope together. It is possible to see this by pulling a rope apart. 4. Ropes are made by plaiting or braiding fibres together. 9 Plaited or braided ropes are made by machine and are often used for climbing ropes. 5. Ropes are held together by glue. 9 Ropes are held together by two opposing twisting forces. The yarns and strands are twisted in opposite directions so they will not unravel – try untwisting a rope from the middle to test this. 6. The Tudors were the first people to make rope. 9 Ropes have been made since prehistoric times. The Egyptians developed tools for rope making and used ropes to move stones when building pyramids. 7. Animal skin can be used to make ropes. 9 Animal skin has been used to make ropes by explorers. 8. Silk is the most common material for making rope. 9 Too expensive! Hemp was the most common material until synthetic fibres were developed. Now synthetic materials like Nylon are the most common. 9. Ropes can be made from metal. 9 Wire ropes are made by twisting metal fibres. They are used in lifts and on cranes. 10. Putting knots in a rope strengthens it. 9 A knot in a rope weakens it, making it more likely to break. This is because some fibres are stretched more than others. 11. Two ropes can be joined by weaving the ends together. 9 This is called splicing. It is stronger than tying them together. 12. Ropes are rigid (they don’t change shape). 9 Ropes are bendy and flexible so they can be coiled up and used for tying things. 13. Ropes can be used for pushing. 9 They are flexible so can’t be used for pushing. (They have no compression strength.) 14. Ropes can be used for pulling. 9 Ropes are hard to break when pulled. (They have tensile strength.)

34 The History of Rope Making

Prehistoric (Before writing) Ancient Egyptian (2000BC)

There is evidence that ropes were made Rope was made from reeds and fibres in prehistoric times from grasses and from papyrus plants. They spun the vines twisted together. No tools were yarns together on a hand held spindle. used, the fibres were twisted by hand. Ropes were used for moving heavy objects like stones and logs.

Medieval (1100AD) Tudor (1500AD)

Rope making was common in Britain Rope making was made in people’s own during Medieval times. Rope was made homes by skilled workers and sold on a long ropewalk so they could locally. The yarns were attached to stretch out the yarns and make longer hooks turned by hand to twist them ropes. together.

Comment [J1]: Wikipedia Victorian (1850AD) Twentieth Century onwards public domain image (1950AD) In the 1700s and 1800s, new inventions meant yarns could be spun by machine. Fibres can be made from new synthetic Rope factories materials like nylon and polyester. These and spinning fibres make rope that is cheaper and mills were stronger than natural materials. It can built. also be easily dyed a variety of colours. Rope is mainly made by machine.

What is rope made from?

Rope is made from long solid threads called fibres.

Natural fibres are found in the stems of plants. Synthetic fibres are made from oil.

This is the stem of a hemp plant. The fibres have been stripped from the stem and separated out.

Fibres can be processed in a number of ways to make different materials. Can you match them up?

Knitting Felt fabric

Weaving Rope Fibres

Matting Woven fabric

Twisting Knitted fabric

What objects can you find that are made from fibres? How have the fibres been processed? What is rope made from?

Natural Fibres come from plants or animals

Hemp Manila Hemp plants grow up to fifteen feet tall and Manila comes from the leaves of the rope is made from fibres in the tall, upright abaca plant, a type of wild banana, stems of the plants. It is very strong but it has grown in countries with a tropical to be dipped in tar to make the ropes climate, particularly the Philippines. It is waterproof. Hemp plants do not need a hot waterproof so the yarns did not need climate. Barton rope makers used hemp from tarring but not as strong as hemp. Lincolnshire, Russia and Italy.

Sisal Coir Sisal comes from the fibrous Coir fibre comes from the shells of leaves of a plant. The plant is coconuts. Palm trees grow in grown in areas with a tropical countries with tropical climates like climate. It is imported from India. The rope is good for making Kenya. It is not as strong as fishing nets as it doesn’t rot in salt hemp or manila but it water but is the weakest of the stretches slightly making it natural fibres. good for mooring ropes. Synthetic fibres are made from

Nylon oil Polypropylene Nylon comes from refined oil. Polypropylene comes from Nylon is quite expensive but it is refined oil. It is very cheap, more than twice as strong as floats on water, and does hemp and much lighter. It not stretch. For these stretches slightly so it is good reasons it makes a good for boat mooring ropes and for water ski tow rope. climbing ropes as it cushions the shock if the climber falls.

Use an atlas to find the places where the natural fibres were imported from. How many different continents did Barton Ropery import raw materials from? The Structure of Rope

Rope is made up of fibres, yarns and strands. Look carefully at the samples of rope and string you have collected. Can you identify the fibres, yarns and strands? Can you explain how these parts are held together?

Rope

Yarns

Strand

Fibres Hatchelling and Spinning

Hatchelling

The fibres were separated from the plant. They had to be cleaned and straightened before spinning.

They were pulled through boards covered in metal spikes called hatchels. Whale oil was added to lubricate the fibres so they were easier to comb.

The hatchelling boards were later replaced by goods machines.

Spinning the Fibres into Yarn

The long straight fibres were spun together into yarn.

Traditionally this was done by hand-spinning. The spinner held the fibres around his waist. As the hooks on the spinning wheel rotated, he walked backwards pulling out the fibres so they spun together.

From 1850, yarns were spun on machines in the spinning mill. The machines wound the spun yarns onto bobbins. It was the job of the machine operator to change the bobbins over when they became full. bobbins rotated fibres yarn Forming Strands and Twisting Rope

Forming strands Six or more yarns were twisted together to form a strand.

The yarns were attached to hooks on the forming machine. The forming machine moved down the walk pulling the yarns off the bobbins. As the hooks rotated, the yarns were twisted together into strands.

Yarns

Forming Strands machine

Twisting the strands into rope Three or four strands were twisted together to make a rope.

The strands were attached to the same hook. The hook was rotated, twisting the strands into a rope. The rope stayed together because the twists went in opposite directions.

A cone with grooves in it, called a top, was placed between the strands as they were twisting to keep the twist tight and even. The final rope was approximately two thirds of the length of the yarns used. forming strands top Rope Making

yarns fibres strands forming machine twist hatchel top rotate Rope Making Equipment

T______or S______It was used to twist the strands together into rope by turning the handle.

F____

Used to splice ropes together without breaking the strands.

H______

It was used to straighten out the fibres.

B______

The yarns were wound on to these in the spinning mill.

T_____

It was used by the rope makers to hold the strands apart when twisting. Make Your Own Rope

You will need: • 12 equal lengths of yarn, each approximately 2 metres long (knitting yarn, string or twine) • a piece of wood in a cross shape to use in place of the top. (2 rulers bound together)

1. Twist four lengths of yarn together in a clockwise direction, twisting from both ends, to make a strand.

2. Make two more strands, holding them tight so they don’t unravel.

3. Place the strands alongside each other and hold them together at each end. Keep the strands stretched out tight and running parallel.

4. Hold the ‘top’ between the strands at A to separate them. This keeps the twist tight.

5. Twist the ends at A in an anti clockwise direction. Move the ‘top’ slowly from A to B as the strands twist together.

Strands

Rope A B

‘Top’ held between strands

6. Finish the ends by tying another piece of yarn tightly round them.

This rope is called a hawser rope because it is made of three strands.

The yarns are twisted in the opposite direction from the strands. These two opposing twisting forces act against each other. If the forces are equal, the rope will hold together and not unravel. When the rope is dropped on the ground it should lie in a straight line. Friction between the fibres stops them from sliding apart when the rope is pulled.

Try using different coloured yarns or experiment by using different materials, for example strips of material. Different Types of Rope

Look carefully at the ropes on the left. Extend the ropes to join them to their descriptions on the right.

Hawser laid rope

Three strands twisted into rope.

Shroud laid rope

Four strands twisted round a thinner rope running through the centre.

Cable laid rope

Nine strand rope made from three hawser ropes twisted together.

Spliced rope

The strand ends are woven back in to the rope using a fid to make a loop at the end.

Braided rope

Rope is made on a cross laying machine. The strands are woven together like plaiting.

How were the machines powered?

Can you find the following things in the picture of the rope mill:

• things that turn • belts • wheels • machinery

Power to machines in the mills

By 1850 the rope factory was powered by steam. Spinning machines were built to replace hand spinning. The steam engine turned a rod, called a drive shaft, in the roof of the mill. The drive shaft had wheels attached to it called drive wheels. The wheels were linked to wheels on the machinery by belts. As the drive shaft turned, the power was transferred to the machinery by the moving belts. Later, when electric power was generated on the site, this was used to turn the drive shaft to replace the steam power.

Belt driven machinery

The wheels on the drive shaft are called drive wheels and those on the machinery are called followers. The drive shaft turned at a constant speed and was used to power all the machines in the mill. But the wheels on individual machines had to turn at different speeds, some much faster than the drive shaft. Sometimes the wheels on the machines had to turn in the opposite direction from the drive shaft.

Problem:

Find a way of changing the speed of the follower wheel keeping the drive wheel speed the same. As an extra challenge, see if you can find a way of changing the direction in which the follower wheel turns.

How were machines powered?

Set up a pulley system using two wheels the same size and a belt as in the diagram below. What happens when the drive wheel is turned?

The drive wheel is driving the follower wheel. The energy is transferred from one wheel to the other by the belt.

The drive wheel is turned by the drive shaft. The follower wheel is turned by the drive wheel. Label the drive wheel, the follower wheel and the belt. Draw an arrow to show the direction the follower wheel turns in.

Drive shaft

Swap the follower wheel with different sized wheels, what happens?

Use lines to join the sentences together to show what you found out.

When the follower wheel is …the two wheels turn at the larger than the drive wheel… same speed.

When the follower wheel is the …the follower wheel turns same size as the drive wheel… faster than the drive wheel.

When the follower wheel is …the follower wheel turns smaller than the drive wheel… slower than the drive wheel.

Ropes for Sailing Ships

Sailing ships were used before boats were powered by steam or oil. Sailing ships needed huge amounts of rope for rigging and anchors. The rigging was used to support the masts and lift the sails on the ship. The Encyclopaedia of useful Arts (1866) lists the length and weight of rope needed for a first rate ship of war:

Total weight of rope = 78.5 tons (71 000 kilograms)

Total length of rope = 43 miles (69 kilometres)

Many of the ropes made at Barton were used on sailing ships built in Hull. Complete the picture of a sailing ship and label it using the key words. Circle all the uses of rope. What properties will the ropes need?

rigging anchor sails

cabin flags mast Mountaineering Ropes

It is 1953 and Edmund Hillary and his team of climbers are about to attempt to climb Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Do some research into the equipment needed for climbing Everest. Draw pictures with labels to show how they could use ropes to help them. What properties will these ropes need?

Edmund Hillary and his team were the first climbers to reach the summit of Everest in June 1953. They used Nylon ropes for climbing, hemp ropes for the fixed ropes they left on the mountain and cordage for various uses such as tent guy ropes. The ropes had to withstand the extreme cold temperatures on Mount Everest. They had to be strong but light enough to carry with them. Nylon ropes have some stretch in them, making them good for climbing and abseiling. Nylon ropes were very expensive so cheaper hemp was used for the fixed ropes they left on the mountain. There is some evidence to suggest these hemp ropes were made at Barton Ropery. Machines in the rope mill