Materials -
1. 1/4" sisal rope.
2. 18 gauge galvanized wire.
What I've tried -
1. Sisal and Jute twine. I found the rope to have less tangles and knots and easier to cut and comb out. The twine seemed to use fibers of a lower quality in general. The Jute twine was not stiff enough and difficult to comb out.
2. 22 and 20 gauge green floral wire. 18 gauge aluminum craft wire. Found them to lack the strength and/or stiffness to twist tight enough to properly spread the sisal fibers before breaking. If you were doing smaller/tiny trees or using less sisal for a sparser tree these might work ok.
The photos will give you an idea of how I loaded the fiber onto the wire. I have a couple of things I'd like improve -
1. I think I can make cardboard jigs to preload the fibers into before threading the wire through. Hoping to work on that this week. Keeping the fibers from scattering around is a time killer.
2. If the jibs for the fibers work, I believe the wire can cut, looped and dropped onto hooks instead of eye bolts. I think a wood plank with pegs to wrap the wire around after it's threaded around the fibers will accomplish this.
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