BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?

Subject: BS: restringing rotary clothesline?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 01:11 PM

The Mudcat can come up with good advice and rancorous disagreements on just about anything. So here is another.

The string on our rotary clothesline has just about had it, so I've bought a replacement length. So would I do better to start at the middle and work out, or start at the outside and work in?

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 01:19 PM

I just tie knots where the old line breaks...

I have considered doing ours but the metalwork has got so rusty that I think when it reaches the stage another knot won't work, it will be time to replace the whole thing.

In the absence of other instructions though, if I was to attempt it, I think I'd try inside out first. The other way seems to me as if it would involve a bit of ducking.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 01:22 PM

Middle and work out makes sense. Then you don't need to be reaching over the outside to string the inside.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: gnu
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 01:23 PM

"rancorous disagreements"???

That is preposterous!

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: Ebbie
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 02:31 PM

I have no rancor. I disagree though.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: gnu
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 02:49 PM

Disagree about what? Are you gonna put up or shut up? C'mon, don't pussyfoot around this issue that is truly important to absolutely nobody. It's just not in the spirit of Mudcat.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: Micca
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 03:37 PM

Kevin, if there are about 8 rotation of strings to the rig I would suggest starting with the centre of the string at row 4 and work inwards with half the new cord, then work outwards with the 2nd half of the cord, this saves you having to pull the full length of the chord through ALL the holes near the centre. This saves wear and tare both on the cord and your patience.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 04:06 PM

That's an interesting suggestion, Micca... Makes sense to me.

Of course we haven't got on to the question of tuning yet.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 04:32 PM

You need to tighten the pegs

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: artbrooks
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 05:51 PM

Outside in - and get an assistant to help hold the arms up, unless you have a couple more than the normal complement.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 06:04 PM

RTFM: Restring a Rotary Clothesline

This help?

John

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 06:14 PM

One suggestion I've come across is to start with a temporary row of cord in the outside holes to hold the arms up in the right place while you thread the rest...

(I suppose this is a threading thread.)

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: gnu
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 06:15 PM

JIK... searching that on the internut is not in the spirit of rancorous disagreements and I am thoroughly pissed that you would do such a thing. It is a totally logical and sane thing to do and, as such, should be deemed unacceptable herein and I hope a clone removes your post with haste.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: Gurney
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 07:13 PM

Middle out. I usually persuade my customers to let me do the inner strings with rope, and the outer ones with wire rope, if they have older, sturdier clotheslines. That was original equipment.
All that hangs in the middle is underwear.
McGrath's suggestion makes sense.

Un-post-haste, Gnu?

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 07:13 PM

gnu: BULLSHIT. I didn't have to search. I just put it in the url box and went straight to the site.

Clotheslines of that kind are almost never seen in my area. I suppose they must be and indication of a DENSER population?

John

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 07:15 PM

What's the other kind of clothesline called? The kind with pulleys...don't they rotate too?

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 07:50 PM

Probably John although in our case, it's just not having a lot of garden space and a straight clothesline getting in the way. The rotary line is kept in the bit of field we rent so ours goes up in part of what is a 90(?) acre field.

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 08:54 PM

The rotaries are quite handy where they fit your space, since you don't have to run between the basket and the next spot on the line to hang, or take down, the clothes (for the ones that turn fairly easily). A few farmsteads with plenty of space for whatever they wanted did use them around my area some years ago, and the disappearance may be more due to gas/electric "clothes dryers" than to decisions about how to hang stuff outdoors.

One real old-timer 40 years ago had a sort of "windmill" attachment that rotated the lines, mostly pretty slowly, while the clothes dried. He claimed it discouraged the birds from sitting on the lines and crapping on the clothes, but I'm not sure it had much real effect; although I'm sure he had fun building it and I know he had fun "braggin' it up."

The "rope and pulley" kind isn't well suited to our climate, since it requires a flexible rope, and even with new "plastic" ropes or plastic sheathed "cable," none will last more than barely a year, if that, in our typical sunbeams. The most common here is a "T-Post" with three or four heavy (to hold the clothespins) solid steel wires. (And maw used to send a kid out with a wire brush, a steel wool pad, and a big soppy wet rag to clean the birdy traces off before she hung stuff out - until the kids got tall enough to keep from draggin the laundry on the ground when they hung it.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: gnu
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 09:52 PM

JiK... that is surely a search and I take umbrage at your denial. As per Mudcat ettikett I shall storm away angrily while vowing never to return until I feel like it.

Yes, I have. So what?

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: Gurney
Date: 30 Jul 11 - 11:11 PM

You've been eating meat again, haven't you, Gnu!

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 31 Jul 11 - 12:13 AM

It looks as if an intervention may be needed, to send gnu back to his 17th cycle of anger management classes.

On the other hand, without his cute little temper tantrums, he'd have practically no personality at all - which is about the shape he's in normal years when the drought doesn't wipe out his stash crop like it did this year. We should probably be sympathetic, since he's acts like he's down to his last few crumbs of toke, and doesn't have the patience left to dig the muck out of the bottom of the pipe and recyle it.

I think I could dig up an old radiator, in case the revenoo'ers got his rig. He could make do with some shine, but from what I've heard the corn probably didn't make it very good this year so he wouldn't likely have anything much to make a decent mash - unless he's stayed so stoned he never had time to cook all of last year's mash.

I suppose we could consider sending him a good bottle of JD to ease him over, but he probably wouldn't know what it was and he'd waste it washin' down the chicken poop coop.

John

Subject: RE: BS: How to restring rotary clothesline?
From: Dead Horse
Date: 31 Jul 11 - 12:08 PM

No one appears to have mentioned the colour issue here.
If it is to be predominantly 'blues' that you are hanging out to dry, then tuning is self evident.
'Country' wear is much looser.
I have tried CAJUN tuning, but failed to find J, U or N on my electric tuner.
If, as I suspect, it is 'Folk' then that is an extremely long process with much written material stored at CSH for your perusal.
'Classical', of course, needs nothing done to it whatsoever.
It is dry enough as it is.