Re-falled my Morgan

[Solent MKIII]

Whew! Finally finished attaching a new fall to my Morgan whip. This was only the
second time I'd done this. The first was on an older whip I've had for nearly 20
years - wasn't too worried about messing that one up, but I sure wasn't going to
screw up that Morgan! After cutting the fall loop, it took me the better part of a half
hour to carefully pull and twist the remainder out of the hitches. I also pulled several
of the hitch loops back slightly in order to loosen up their hold on the fall - that thing
was TIGHT. A tribute to the braiding skills of David and his workers. Getting the new
fall in was considerably easier, just had to make sure to grease it, get it in straight,
and pull it as tight as it was before.

Quick question: are falls ( if properly installed ) generally a little bit on the tough side
to remove? I suspect that if they came out too easily, there would be a problem with
the braiding/hitches at this point ( too loose? )

That's all for now! It's late and I've gotta get some sleep ( it's after 1am ) I'll take the
Morgan out sometime after work tommorrow for a few test cracks. I am very glad I
was able to do this repair on my own. I didn't want to have to ship my whip back to
David's shop every time I needed a new fall installed ( unless he put a free companion
in with my whip on the return trip! ) :junior:

[Canuck Digger]

Good on you for not letting fear hold you back (it's an expression Bernie uses, but it says it all, so I shamelessly steal it hehehe).

Fall replacement is to whips what putting air in the tires is to cars. You don't need to do it everyday, but there's no reason to send it into the shop just for that, when you can do it yourself in two minutes.

The way fall are put on is by tying on the fall hitches around the NARROW part of the fall, so that when the fall is pulled in through the hitches, it wedges itself tightly because of the taper on the fall. It's like press-fitting a bushing into the hole in a steel part that is two-thousandth of an inch smaller than the outside diameter of the bushing; there's an interferance, but because it's within the material's tollerances for give-'n-take, it fits tightly in.

So it's normal that replacing a fall, especially the original one, is going to be a bit tight at first. What I do when the fall is too tight or (heaven forbid) dry, is I will not only cut out the tip of the eye of the fall, but I will actually cut out the entire end of the fall (withing safe reason of course, you don't want to cut the actual strands there!). This means there's a bit less material that needs to pass through the hole of the hitch and is can slip out more easily. If you ever do this, you MUST BE VERY CAREFUL though! Like I said, you don't want to cut any strands there!

Obviously if you put on a smaller fall than what was there before, it will sit a bit loose and if the hitches are not re-tightened, they may come appart over time because of the play. So it's a good idea to replace the fall with another of similar size.

Hope this helps.

Franco

[McFly]

I remember changing my first fall - I had to call Paul Stenhouse and have him guide me through it! That thing was tough to get back in!

Good job on changing it! I think making a minor repair like that to a whip, especially a high quality one like a Morgan, can be pretty intimidating at first. Congrats!

Shane

[Solent MKIII]

Thanks, guys - much appreciated. Yeah, I cut most of the fall off below the hitches
as well and left about 3/4 of an inch so I could give the pliers enough length to bite
into. I could have probobly saved myself some time and pulled the remainder out
from the top where it was installed, instead of from the bottom of the hitch - DUH!
I wouldn't have been fighting the taper of the fall, then. Oh well, lesson learned and
no harm done. My old whip was another story, though. Whoever braided that thing
ended up braiding right around the end of the fall and tied off the strands, locking it
in place! The only way to change it was to unbraid the end and re-tie the strands
around the new fall with proper hitchs ( the original fall was attached inside to the
core of the whip! ) VERY frustrating and time-consuming. I have nothing but respect
for those of you who braid these whips - not an easy task, but something I'd like to
give a try down the road. :junior:

[Indiana Williams]

Congrats on ur first fall change, I too was daunted by it but once you do you realize there designed to be easily changed.

[Canuck Digger]

Sorry, I didn't mean to cut the fall itself, just the loop part around the eye of the fall. At that point and for that one inch of the fall hitch, there isn't much taper to speak of, so pulling it out backwards won't make much of a difference and may (in the absolute worst case scenario), let some of the last strands that make the hitch (those furthest away from the handle...) collapse on themselves, thus making the passing of the new fall more of a pain in the ###. I honestly don't think this would ever happen, but by pulling in this manner there is a slight possibility, because you are pulling on those strands without having something bigger to push them outwards. It's a one in a million chance, and it probably will never happen, but mechanically, there is a chance of it happening. All I was saying was that when the old fall seems a bit stuck (for want of a better word), cutting off the rounded part of the eye altogether will allow for an easier pulling out of the fall, and by leaving the entire length of whatever is left of your original fall there, it gives you some purchase to wrap it around your hand and pull on it. The other thing you might want to try if you ever come up on a hard to pull old fall, is to apply some leather conditioner to the area beforehand and let it soak in a bit. It will lubricate the fall and strands a bit and make it a bit easier to pull out the old one.

Hope this one made more sense...

[Solent MKIII]

Very much so - thanks again for the info :junior: