Abstract: An improved capstan assembly for a rope making machine in which separate strands of rope are twisted together and drawn through a forming die by the capstan and then directed onto a take-up spool. The capstan assembly includes a single capstan having a smooth cylindrical peripheral wall and a hollow central shaft through which the advancing rope strand is directed. A separating comb is mounted adjacent the peripheral wall of the capstan such that adjacent windings of the advancing rope strand around the single capstan are engaged and kept separate by the comb teeth and thereby are prevented from overlapping and binding.