As noted in several threads, there are many ways to wrap a tail loop. Being frustrated with the one or two that I knew of, I came up with this jig. I'm sure the jig can be improved upon, but it's both simple and inexpensive and seems to work. The jig is somewhat based on an available wire eye making tool.
Here's an overview shot:
Two wooden blocks containing the separate portions of the jig are clamped to a 1x3 on the workbench front edge.
The second picture shows the metal parts of the left hand portion of the jig. A ~3" long 1/4" eye bolt has 1/4 of its eye hack-sawed off and the end rounded. A small, flanged bearing with 1/4" i.d. is held in place by two nuts. The wooden block has a 5/8" hole drilled a little less than 1/2" into it to fit the inner nut and the smaller diameter portion of the bearing. The hole is centered from left to right and 1" up from the base of the block. The hole is continued as 1/4" through the other side.
The bolt is then inserted in the 1/4" hole side, a nut put on, then the bearing and finally the lock nut. At this point, the eye bolt can rotate freely but is prevented from going through by the bearing flange.
The right hand portion of the jig consists of a 6-8" eye bolt that has been heated and bent to form a rotating handle. The nut should be put on and tightened to the end of the thread before bending. The wooden block has a 1/4" hole drilled in the center from left to right and 1" up from the base of the block. A slot is cut from the top of the block to the hole, the eye bolt inserted and a filler piece put in to close the slot.
A piece of hard rubber tubing on the end of the thread makes it easier to turn. A fender washer keeps the nut on the eye bolt from grinding away at the wooden block.
This shows that this eye bolt also has 1/4 of the eye hack-sawed off and the end rounded.
Threaded Mode