# How to stiffen vines made of poly rope?



## hkocurek (Feb 13, 2013)

I'm making vines out of poly rope of different sizes. They are coming from a styrofoam tree I'm doing. My problem is that they droop, they don't hang like I want them to. How do I "stiffen" them? I've already tried using drylok, but that's a no go. Ideas?


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

Could you run some wire through the rope?


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## froggy1 (Jan 10, 2012)

Dane said:


> Could you run some wire through the rope?


great idea! that would be nice. that way you can lay them out how ever you want. kinda like the exo terra vines.


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## hkocurek (Feb 13, 2013)

I tried that, wasn't easy and I was only able to wire short sections. It was labor intensive without much result...


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

You could just wrap the rope with a length of wire in a helical fashion. I can't imagine it would take more than a few seconds?


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## hkocurek (Feb 13, 2013)

Yep that worked. Thank you!


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## petitpaume (Apr 10, 2013)

I had the opposite problem. Made mine using waterproof PVA glue (Wicke's own brand) and coco coir. They're really stiff and haven't loosened up at all, they're fixed in the position they dried it. So that may also be an option for you.

B


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## frog dude (Nov 11, 2011)

Make sure the wire is clean and that is isn't copper. Dirty wire=bad. Copper wire= dead herp. Copper is poisonous to all herps.


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

Yeah, I hoped that was a given. I typically use the plastic coated heavy gauge stuff from Home Depot for frog projects.



frog dude said:


> Make sure the wire is clean and that is isn't copper. Dirty wire=bad. Copper wire= dead herp. Copper is poisonous to all herps.


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## frog dude (Nov 11, 2011)

Dane said:


> Yeah, I hoped that was a given. I typically use the plastic coated heavy gauge stuff from Home Depot for frog projects.


Just thought I'd make sure. Copper wire is pretty common around a household or in a hardware store, and since people sometimes use penny's to compare dart sizes (which I strongly recommend against using any coin to compare herp sizes for that matter), it might be an easy and honest mistake.


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## hkocurek (Feb 13, 2013)

Nope, wasn't dirty or copper. I did coat it with hot glue afterwards and am going to put drylok over it though.


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## ndame88 (Sep 24, 2010)

I used something like these in a 24 inch and 36 inch length, the trick is to use Gorilla glue, not silicone, then apply coco fiber, let dry. Mine are bendable and flexible enough to wrap around driftwood/branches without having to permenately attaching them.


http://http://dx.com/p/32-gear-tie-reusable-rubber-twist-tie-wire-cord-organizer-light-green-pair-82346


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

never heard of PVA glue...and just Googled it...can you suggest a more widely known brand of glue that would work??? Did you just dip it into a small bucket of the glue and "arrange" it like a vine...then coat with the coir?? I've tried the wire method, and indeed it IS tedious...didn't know whether GG or another glue would stick to the wire if it were wound around the poly rope...


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## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

Polyurethane glue like Gorilla sticks to just about everything. I'm sure it would adhere fine to the entire structure if used as a coating agent.



Judy S said:


> never heard of PVA glue...and just Googled it...can you suggest a more widely known brand of glue that would work??? Did you just dip it into a small bucket of the glue and "arrange" it like a vine...then coat with the coir?? I've tried the wire method, and indeed it IS tedious...didn't know whether GG or another glue would stick to the wire if it were wound around the poly rope...


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## petitpaume (Apr 10, 2013)

Judy S said:


> never heard of PVA glue...and just Googled it...can you suggest a more widely known brand of glue that would work??? Did you just dip it into a small bucket of the glue and "arrange" it like a vine...then coat with the coir?? I've tried the wire method, and indeed it IS tedious...didn't know whether GG or another glue would stick to the wire if it were wound around the poly rope...


Sorry, wasn't very clear. Wood glues are a PVA glue, Titebond 3 would work brilliantly in this case for example. Thought I was on dendroworld for a min when I posted last so cited a UK brand - but any type of acrylic-based (i.e. most of them) waterproof wood glue will work.

I just cut a plastic bottle, poured a bunch into the half bottle and pushed the ropes into it, pressed them in, moved them around, made sure they were nicely coated etc. Then I took them out and coated in coco coir.

The tricky bit is estimating the shape you want as you have to let them dry on something (theyll sag until they're dry unless you use wire). So I just measuyred out the shape, and let them dry flat, then propped them up in the right place when they were ready.


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

I was wondering whether the glue--of any sort--would stick to wire...


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## skanderson (Aug 25, 2011)

for vine stiffeners i used aluminum welding wire. it is cheap and comes in 2 or 3 foot lengths i think.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Assuming all listed above(PVA, gorilla glue, etc.) are shown to be safe?

I'm surprised at how liberal people are with various chemicals on here-but my knowledge on that stuff is quite low.


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## petitpaume (Apr 10, 2013)

Actually, you'll find people here are quite careful about which chemicals they use.

Acrylic glue, gorilla glue, silicone are safe when fully cured and when they DO NOT contain additional chemicals (ie. mould inhibitors).
Great stuff is safe when fully cured, that just takes a lot longer than usually thought.

Thats specifically focusing on acute toxicity, unfortunately next to nothing is known on long-term sublethal effects, bioaccumulation and synergistic interaction between different chemicals. Of particular concern recently has been potential hormone disruptors which are still relatively unknown. Long chain carbons, benzenes and phenols are particularly risky. So avoid bituminous substances, polystyrene and really anything finishing in -ene if you want to be extra careful.

Keeping in mind these have been used for several decades in vivs. It's just good practice to seal them with inert material and be aware of toxicity. If you're curious about potential toxicity, simply look up the chemical's MSDS sheet.

So yeah, that was a long wounded way of saying a) they are safe, we wouldnt be recommending them otherwise, b) people (at least on this forum) tend to be careful.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

The long term effects are what concern me. It is surprising how this effects even animals in nature(PCB's and fish, for example). 

It is a cost benefit analysis of something that benefit the keeper solely and probably does not harm the frogs.


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## Pacblu202 (May 8, 2012)

What I did to make my rope more branch like is I used a metal plant wire and wrapped it around the rope and ties it every 6 inches or so. I siliconed it on ery well and made sure no sharp ends etc. works very well and is flexible


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## Erikb3113 (Oct 1, 2008)

OP, be careful of what "styrofoam" you use... much of it leeches chemicals over time. Endocrine disriptors. I had to tear a foam water feature out of a tank and coat it with marine epoxy, just to be sure. So I could sleep better
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk 2


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