Making Progress
I have made significant progress on the new clamp build. The basic clamps have been constructed. They still need to be attached to the test machine. I also have been collecting data so I can ensure the new clamp design is providing accurate elongation data. I have been collecting elongation data using simple straight clamps protecting the line with some paper. With straight clamps you can precisely measure elongation without any clamping error. The issue with straight clamps is that the line breaks at the clamp due to the pinching of the line. That is why you need to use special clamps. You can see my shaped bollard clamps that will distribute the load along the wrap before the clamp so you can get a full line strength pull. The disadvantage to the shaped bollard is that it will influence the elongation measurement. My current plan is to clamp a wire in to the bollard fixture and measure the length of the wire so I can get a zero span calibration. Then determine a correction factor to apply so that the bollard clamp measurements will match the straight clamp measurements.
In other news, the special load cell I ordered to do fishing line stiffness testing has arrived in the USA from China. Hopefully it will be delivered to me soon. To my knowledge nobody has ever published fishing line stiffness data before so this will be a “Game Changer”.
Thanks for your patience while I work through these issues. We will be publishing data again soon.
Tom Moorehouse
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