This is a do-it-yourself rope winder using ancient techniques!

UPDATE 2017/0/19: The Hook.stl and Hook_Mechanism.stl files have been changed due to a slight cough mistake cough. My apologies if you've already printed them - the collar around the hook must go otherwise it interferes with the bearing. File it off or reprint the new hook.
My bad!

Prusa

Prusa Mk2

No

No

0.2 for gears, 0.25 for the rest

25%

The parts have been designed with very little tolerance - you might find that some filing will be required if your printer has any slop - especially with the 608 bearing holes.

You'll need the following parts printed:
1x Annulus
1x Front
3x Hook mechanism
1x Knob
1x Shuttle

You'll also need the following hardware items:
5x 608Z or 608ZZ bearing (A standard 22mm OD, 8mm ID, 7mm high) http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/ball-bearings/4089883
2x M8 machine bolt (with hex head for a size 13 metric spanner)
2x M8 nut (size 13 spanner) - I used 1x Nyloc nut but I don't believe it's necessary.
2x M8 washers

Insert the bearings into the 5 holes as appropriate (ensure you're inserting from the wider side!)
If the bearings are a little tough to insert (possibly due to printer tolerances etc.), then a method would be to "Pull" them through into the holes by using another bearing on the side you're pulling towards, then tightening a nut & bolt so that the action of tightening them pulls the bearing into place. Alternatively a wooden block and light taps with a hammer.

Insert the stem of the hooks through the bearings in the 3 Front part holes and into a Gear part. Ensure that the gear part is orientated so that lip of the gear points towards the hook and the hook stem clicks into place firmly inside the gear. Push an anchor wedge piece into the gap that is now at the back of the gear. This wedge should jam the gear on to the end of the hook to prevent it from pulling out.

Drop an M8 nut into the hollow of the knob so that it aligns with the hole on the underneath.
Insert an M8 bolt into the Annulus bearing on the outer edge so that the bolt enters from the gear side and passes out of the flat side. Screw this into the knob handle so that the bolt enters the embedded nut. Tighten up so that the handle moves freely.

Insert an M8 bolt from the center of the smooth side of the Annulus part so that the head fits into the hex shaped hole designed for it. Place 2 washers on the side of the bolt that exits on the gear side (will be between the front and back).
The gears which are attached to the front part should mesh within the outer annulus gear ring. Attempt to orientate all the hooks in the upwards direction when the handle is at the bottom - this just makes it easier to use later. Put the front (with gears) and the annulus part together and secure with M8 nut on the central M8 bolt.

If you have correctly printed the parts and put them together, you should be able to freely move the handle and the annulus should spin causing the hooks to spin even faster. If you want you can now g-clamp this on to a bench or bolt it down using the anchor holes in order to make it sturdy and easy to use. (It is still possible to use it without anchoring though).

The trick of winding ropes is to do the following:
Cut at least 3 pieces of string of the same length - the final rope will normally be about a third of the length of the string strands.
Pass each piece of string around a hook so that the ends all meet together in line with the center front of the rope winder.
Tie a thumb knot on the end of the strings to control them.
Insert the shuttle so that each of the 3 slots contain the string for the associated hook and keep them from getting tangled and take the shuttle to the knot at the end.
This part will need 2 people. One person is in charge of the shuttle and the end of the rope and the other is in charge of the rope winder.
The rope winder is cranked while the shuttle is held steady to keep the strings straight.
The strings twist on themselves and build up tension.
As the tension reach the shuttle it will cause the knot to start to twist.
At this point the shuttle operator helps the knot to twist in the direction it is trying to turn and the shuttle is moved slightly forward towards the winder keeping the strings straight.
Rope should form on the other side of the shuttle!
When the shuttle reaches the winder it can be removed and the string looped over the hooks is removed and another thumb knot tied.

This is fairly tricky to get right but so rewarding! Try pair pieces of colored wool with the strings to get a cool effect or bright ropes for whatever projects you want!

A video to cover some concepts (Not my video!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toyOKOi0DsM and here is a video of it in action! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jD_0a4PvXs