rope making machines

Can you tell I found this whole process fascinating?!? Close by the 'machine house', where the leaves were shredded, and the wagons loaded with the wet strands headed for the drying racks, we were led to a new palapa-style building. The new building housed a marvelous collection of antique machines used to make ropes of various sizes. The machines were kept alive and running perfectly by an 81 year old man, who spoke only spoke Mayan, and who had grown up working on this hacienda. Sr. Antonio looked much younger than his age, and was obviously delighted to show off his machines. The first photo is a combing machine. Remember the spikes on a post, where I 'whomped' a handful of hennequin to pull through? Well, this machine does the same task, much faster and in much higher volume. That triangula shaped thing in the bottom of the photo moves in a circular motion, packing down the fluffly hanks.



This machine pulls several hanks of combed
hennequin through, twisting at the same time,
to make small cords. The cords are wound onto
spools, just like the spools we buy in the
hardware or garden store.
















Another rope making machine...the hennequin is being fed from the right of the photo, through spinners, and onto spools. See the spools on the floor at the lower left of the photo?









The big rope machine! From the back, the spools of rope are joined and twisted to make large rope. Sr. Antonio, the Machine Maestro!