How creative can you be and stay realistic?

[izzyscout21]

Oh right, that kind deserves a pm huh?

No, I'm good. I have already placed myself on probation and sent myself a scolding PM in order to get myself back on the straight and narrow.
I fully expect people in black suits showing up at my door now.

[ladyhk13]

That's ok, happens to me all the time.

[Gunfixr]

You would not believe what I used to do with some rope and trees back in my 4 wheeling days.

After all, at 2am, in a mudhole up your knees, in the woods, it's either do or do not. There is no "go to the store and get..."

[Sniper-T]

I don't know what you did... but when I find myself in the same predictaments... I most often utilize a 'spanish windlass'

[ladyhk13]

what is a spanish windlass?

[Echo2]

http://www.animatedknots.com/

Great site...

[eagle326]

what is a spanish windlass?

A lass who can tie knots with the wind blowing thru her hair and still look extremely attractive while doing it.

[Gunfixr]

I didn't see it on the site, or see a search function.
However, it wasn't really a knot I was speaking of.
I did use a bastardized form of the bowline often, and apparently no one else in our group knew how to tie one.
Bastardized because while one knot was on an end, I usually had to tie the other one somewhere in the middle of the line.
We got 1 1/4" tugboat line from down at the docks, they'd use it once or twice and replace it. Nice, braided line, that would stretch and give, but at 80,000lb test, didn't snap often. It would be in lengths from about 80-150ft long, and I just kept a whole length in the truck, spooled out what was needed at the time, and threw another knot in at the back of the truck. Since a bowline comes undone no matter how tight you pull it, mine was the only rope that didn't have 5 knots in it all the time.
It was some rigging setup I came up with to pick a truck up straight into the air so that a wheel could be changed.
Said truck was in a deep hole at the time, deep enough so that less than 36" tires need not apply, and you'd best know what you were doing to get 36" tires through it.

[Sniper-T]

what is a spanish windlass?

It is a method to provide a great amount of torque in pulling an object, with nothing more than a rope and a stick.

Or depending on the object in question, a cable and a bar.

Quite simply, tie the rope around both the object, and a stationary object(like a tree) in a tight continuous loop. Then, in the middle, between the two objects, place the bar between the two ropes, and begin rotating it. The ropes will begin twisting around each other, and as they do so, will tighten up. keep twisting, and you will cause the object to move towards the other one. Once you cannot twist it any further, secure the primary object, untwist the ropes, re-tie tighter, and repeat.
._______________
(O______o______O)

like that^ to start, with the large O's as the two objects, and the small o, the bar between the ropes.

(OXXXoXXXO)

^ after twisting, your set up will look like this, much shorter, and the ropes will be twisted up around each other.

*note: keep a firm hand on the bar at all times, if you let go, it can spin backwards like a propeller smacking you in the hands/head indiscriminately.

The longer the bar used, the more leverage you will have. with a couple people, if you put in two bars from opposite sides, it works really well to pull something quickly.

And no... I don't know where the term "Spanish Windlass" comes from, it's just something that's been around forever (around here)

ETA: shoulda googled first! here's a decent site: http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-...-windlass.aspx

[tompnoid]

water wheel for electricty rip out 3 alternators build wheel and housing using fan belts and 1 piece of 4 foot wood shaved to round use front crank shaft pulley on end of wooden pin and fan belts to alternators wiring out of cars to batteries and you have storage wire up outlets and you have refridgeration