splicing!

[alantani]

i splice hollow core braid all the time.   many have seen my inventory of different colors of jerry brown hollow.  i use a six foot splice, or three feet on either side.  i've never done any testing, but i'll bet that the spliced section is stronger than the main line itself.  when flat fall fishing, the ability to use the jb "decade" to mark off 10 yard sections for the first hundred yards is really helpful.  even without the decade, just switching out colors every 100 yards is very helpful on a long soak.  

white braid is easy to splice, making near seamless repairs a very simple matter.  in contrast, splicing the different colors of jb hollow can be anywhere from a little more tedious to a downright pain!!!!  for most of splicing, i use a 6 foot section of 27 pound stainless steel wire that has been folded in half and pinched.  this works great for all weights of white and for most colors. the first thing i do is run the braid through my index finger and thumbnail to straighten and even out the braid, taking out the bunched up sections and removing the twists.  then i run the wire through.   if the wire starts to stick at all, i back it up and clean off the dye that is almost always stuck to the tip.  i just rub it against my sweatshirt or jeans.  then i go back in and continue forward until it sticks again, then wash, rinse and repeat!  this will work easily in 4 out of 5 times.

1 out of 5 times, the braid is unspliceable with the wire because the braid is too badly clogged with dye.  what i will do then is to use a DaHo N02017 needle (20# mono, 0.017 inch) to open up the braid first, then run the wire through.  this always does the trick!!!!!  i have been able to splice everything using this combination of a skinny 20# mono needle and a 27# stainless steel wire.  this combination of one needle and a coil of wire is good for guys on a budget that still want to be able to use different colors of jb hollow braid.  the full DaHo splicing kit does work better but is expensive as hell.  if you are just using white hollow core, then the wire alone is fine.

bottom line, hollow core splicing of different colors is really helpful for guys chasing big fish on a long soak or a deep drop.  knowing exactly how deep you are on a drop or how far out you are on a soak will definitely help you get bit!

[alantani]

basil pappas just told me to use a wet sponge to get the line wet.  it worked great.  damn........   

[Tiddlerbasher]

Yep- What the Boss said.

I now use hollow core knitting needles to open up hollow core braid. Much cheaper than Daho needles And you can give the thicker ones (that you don't need) to someone who knits
I now use this exclusively for hollow core backing to fly lines (CA splice) no knots or loops.
If you need them to poke thin mono up hollow core just cut an end off - or cut them in half and get get 2 needles

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123833043810 - as an example.

Multi- strand or single strand wire - folded over to poke through and complete the blind splice.

Wetting the braid does help mostly

[oc1]

for most of splicing, i use a 6 foot section of 27 pound stainless steel wire that has been folded in half and pinched.  

OK, this is really important stuff.  Where the wire is folded over, does that make a loop to pull the inner (male) piece of line?  Does that leave two pointy ends held together for the lead that is pushed through the female section of line?  Don't the two pointy ends stick.

Or, is it the opposite and the folded end leads?

Sorry (dense) and thank you.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Have a quick look at this clip:



He is using a loop end needle but a wire loop works just as well. You push the folded end of the wire through the hollow core as far as necessary the the tip exits the braid. Insert a short piece of the other braid into the wire loop. Now pull the tag ends of the wire (with the other braid) back through the hollow core. Repeat the oposite way round to compleat the blind spice. It is far easier to demo than to explain in words

I think it would be very easy to make a loop end needle. Cut the end off a hollow knitting needle.take some stainless wire fold over to form a loop. Stick the tag ends in the hollow needle. Solder the joint.
Or just buy a loop end needle

[oc1]

Thanks Chris.

[UKChris1]

I've made a few splicing 'needles' from stainless wire like Alan described, using single-strand leader wire of sizes according to the stuff I'm splicing (right up to 300lb dacron).

After folding 4 feet of leader in half and pinching the fold to a point, I run a couple of beads onto the two bare ends before wrapping those ends together and around the beads as well. I seem to do it slightly differently each time, but it doesn't matter.  A wrap of electrical tape covers the final ends to keep them tidy. The beads give you something to pull on and they stop the braid sliding too far on the puller and off the other end.

I wind one up into a circle and stow it in my 'just in case' travel box. That's a small box about the size of a sandwich box with a couple of swivels and snap swivels, a selection of crimps, a set of mackerel feathers (I think you call them sabikis), a small lure or two, a baiting needle and some floss, a hook hone/file etc. plus anything else I suspect might not be on board.

[jurelometer]

Yep- What the Boss said.

I now use hollow core knitting needles to open up hollow core braid. Much cheaper than Daho needles And you can give the thicker ones (that you don't need) to someone who knits
I now use this exclusively for hollow core backing to fly lines (CA splice) no knots or loops.
If you need them to poke thin mono up hollow core just cut an end off - or cut them in half and get get 2 needles

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123833043810 - as an example.

Multi- strand or single strand wire - folded over to poke through and complete the blind splice.

Wetting the braid does help mostly

Brilliant idea on the knitting needles.

I have some issues with commitment, so I have to use loop to loop systems.  I don't think I could handle  a more permanent relationship between my spool/backing and fly line 

I don't understand how you can stuff the fly line up the hollow braid and not use some sort of thread serving so that the end of the braid does not fray or leave a ridge.    And once the end is served and coated, no need to CA glue it.  Plus hardened CA glue has a limited lifespan when exposed to moisture, and of course, CA glue and polyethylene are not very compatible, even less so with the coating on braid.

Don't know if you are familar with Max Garth, the late Aussie fly fishing pioneer and s**t disturber.  When braided gelspun came out, he built a system where he stuffed limp mono inside the first hundred feet of braided backing, turning it into a shooting line, and then spliced the backing onto a shooting head to make a single integrated shooting head system from reel arbor to leader.  The whole thing was tacked together with Loctite.  Exchanged some emails but never got a chance to meet Mr. Garth.  Eccentric inventors are my favorite category of humans.    Probably why I like this place   

-J

[Tiddlerbasher]

  I hear what you are saying.
For my everyday fishing outfits - ie trout - I use loop to loop links, no ca splice, just for the ease of changing fly lines.
I have a couple of experimental outfits with the backing/flyline ca served hollow core backing.
This involves - degrease and slight roughening of the flyline (not sure it's necessary) with 600g paper - 2ft insertion flyline into hollow core backing - stretch backing/flyline under pressure and soft clamp. CA glue JUST the end of the hollow core. Wrap the the CA serve, immediately, with PTFE tape - plumbers tape -The CA I use is a flexible one - Insta-Flex (Smiths Industries I believe). Wait a couple of minuets and remove the PTFE tape - you now have a completely smooth - no knots - no loop joint - that flies through the guides.
On trial for 18 months (fresh water only - don't know if that makes a difference)- ok so far
I'm still playing with this one