Push the end of the fid between the strands of the rope and
start it down the center of the winch line. You are now going towards the
winch, so to speak. If you bunch of the winch line a bit, it is easier to
get the fid to find its way down the middle of the winch line. Take your
time as you fish the fid through the center of the winch line. You don't
want the fid's point to "pop out" between the strands.....keep it totally within
the center of the winch line.
Work the fid down center of the winch line while you slide the winch line along the newly inserted rope. Having an extra hand or two, while not necessary, can come in handy.
Continue to smooth the outer line over the newly inserted piece until all of
the line has been ran down the center of the winch line. You should be
able to see the #2 mark just buried at the point where it goes into the main
line. Push the fid out of the side of winch line, remove the tape, and
then smooth everything back into place. The end of your line, where it
attaches to the thimble, will be a little "fatter" for 3 fid lengths. This
stuff works like the old "Chinese finger pull". The winch line, when put
under tension, squeezes down onto the inner line and grips it firmly in place.
Since this was a trail fix, we didn't stitch the end of the line together, which Samson requires for the Amsteel Blue rope. Their web site shows how to stitch the line (easy enough to do).
That is about it. After you've done a couple of them, you'll find it pretty straight forward. Samson has good info on their site for end to end line splicing. I've not done one yet but have read through their write-up.
Many thanks to Jon from Winchline.com for giving me a first hand demonstration of how to splice a thimble eye.
Good trails and remember to TREADLightly!