Fid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A fid is a conical tool made of wood or bone. It is used to work with rope and canvas in marlinespike seamanship. A fid differs from a marlinspike in material and purpose. A marlinespike is used in working with wire rope, may be used to open shackles, and is made of metal. A fid is used to hold open knots and holes in canvas. A fid is used to open the "lays", or strands of rope, synthetic or natural, for splicing said line.
A "fid" is also a unit of measurement equaling approximately 21 or 22 times the rope's diameter. The fid is further divided into a "short" fid and a "long" fid. A short fid is 1/3 the length of the full fid and a long fid is 2/3 the length of the full fid.
This chart shows examples of short, long, and full fid lengths for ropes of almost all diameters.
| Rope Diameter (in.) |
Rope Circ. (in.) |
Short Fid (in.) |
Long Fid (in.) |
Full Fid (in.) |
| 3/32" | 9/32" | 2/3" | 1-1/3" | 2 |
| 1/8" | 3/8" | 7/8" | 1-3/4" | 2-5/8" |
| 5/32" | 15/32" | 1 | 2-1/5" | 3-2/7" |
| 3/16" | 9/16" | 1-1/3" | 2-5/8" | 4" |
| 7/32" | 21/32" | 1-1/2" | 3" | 4-3/5" |
| 1/4" | 3/4" | 1-3/4" | 3-1/2" | 5-1/4" |
| 9/32" | 27/32" | 2" | 4" | 6" |
| 5/16" | 1" | 2-1/5" | 4-3/8" | 6-4/7" |
| 3/8" | 1-1/8" | 2-5/8" | 5-1/4" | 7-7/8" |
| 7/16" | 1-1/4" | 3" | 6-1/8" | 9-1/5" |
| 1/2" | 1-1/2" | 3-1/2" | 7" | 10-1/2" |
| 9-16" | 1-3/4" | 4" | 7-7/8" | 11-4/5" |
| 5/8" | 2" | 4-3/8" | 8-3/4" | 13-1/8" |
| 11/16" | 2-1/4" | 4-4/5" | 9-5/8" | 14-4/9" |
| 3/4" | 2-1/4" | 5-1/4" | 10-1/2" | 15-3/4" |
| 7/8" | 2-3/4" | 6-1/8" | 12-1/4" | 18-3/8" |
| 1" | 3" | 7" | 14" | 21" |
| 1-1/8" | 3-1/2" | 7-7/8" | 15-3/4" | 23-5/8" |
| 1-1/4" | 3-3/4" | 8-3/4" | 17-1/2" | 23-1/4" |
| 1-5/16" | 4" | 9-1/5" | 18-3/8" | 27-4/7" |
| 1-1/2" | 4-1/2" | 10-1/2" | 21" | 31-1/2" |
| 1-5/8" | 5" | 11-3/8" | 22-3/4" | 34-1/8" |
| 1-3/4" | 5-1/2" | 12-1/4" | 24-1/2" | 36-3/4" |
| 2" | 6" | 14" | 28" | 42" |
| 2-1/8" | 6-1/4" | 14-7/8" | 29-3/4" | 44-5/8" |
| 2-1/4" | 7" | 15-3/4" | 31-1/2" | 47-1/4" |
| 2-1/2" | 7-1/2" | 17-1/2" | 35" | 52-1/2" |
| 2-5/8" | 8" | 18-3/8" | 36-3/4" | 55-1/8" |
| 2-3/4" | 8-1/2" | 19-1/4" | 38-1/2" | 57-3/4" |
| 3" | 9" | 21" | 42" | 63" |
| 3-1/4" | 10" | 22-3/4" | 45-1/2" | 68-1/4" |
[edit] External links
- Examples of fids.
- http://www.machovec.com/rope/splicing/splicing.htm for a chart of fid lengths
- Animated splice & image of fid in use
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