Making a hammock

[Cstolworthy]

So having never hammocked(is that a word?) before, I figured it would be prudent to give it a try before taking the plunge.

After failing to find any place that I could try and rent a hammock, I figured I could give making one a try. I found some directions at:

http://home.chattanooga.net/~cdp/hammock/hammock.htm

It seems that I can probably get away fairly cheaply making a hammock to try first. Has anyone had experience making a hammock? Any pitfalls I should be aware of? Any reason you would recommend that I not do this? The more info I have, the better!

[krugd]

I made two homemade hammocks before seeing a manufactured hammock. Lots of information here on making hammocks. Basically take a piece of material about 10 feet long by the width of the fabric, hem the edges, fold up the material on the ends and whip.

For simple instructions, start with JustJeff's introduction (he is a member here.)

There is lots of info here about how to do the folds, the whipping and suspend the hammock. Get yourself some cheap material, follow the instructions in the link above and you will have a hammock.

Then you can do lots of reading about how to tweak the hammock to make it better. If you do a search in the DIY section you will find lots of homemade hammocks.


Enjoy!

[Just Jeff]

Has anyone had experience making a hammock?

Hehe...that's cute.

Folks here have made all kinds of hammocks, and all the accessories that go with them. Many of the hammock vendors are regular members here!

If you search the archives, you can find tutorials on making DIY clones of Hennessy and Warbonnet hammocks, and all the mods folks have done to them. There's also a video (by Knotty, I think) of a simple gathered-end (GE) hammock. GE hammocks will be much easier to make than the one in the link you posted.

Here are the step-by-step directions for the one krugd posted.
http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeHammock.html

Re: the pitfalls...the hardest part of making a hammock is convincing yourself that you can. After you start stitching, it's pretty easy...just a rectangle of fabric hemmed around the edges. Other than that, make sure you use RATED cord or webbing, with a safe working load of at least ~700lbs, for the suspension. I've broken 550 cord a couple times, some cheap rope, and some non-rated webbing by hanging from it. Now I use Ed Speer's webbing, Spectra cord, Amsteel, etc.

And definitely come back to ask questions whenever you run into a snag! It would be nice if you could post pics of your completed project, as well!

[Ramblinrev]

From a quick look at the directions I would not choose that particular design. The multiple strings used are much like the Byer hammocks and I have heard many complain about them getting tangled and snarled during storage. Further the positioning of the pad would appear to indicate an "in-line" lie when you are in the hammock. It is much more comfortable to have a diagonal lie where you can lie flatter and in more positions. I routinely sleep on my side in my hammock. I don't think I could do that in the model you linked to. Further I think there are easier and probably cheaper designs on the forums which would serve you better. YMMV

You can also check my We Don't Sew... We make gear vid where I talk about hanging in less than one hour as long as you have the suspension ready to go. There is a very strong active DIY community here.

[hiker_DC]

Try the $9 Test Hammock. It was the first camping hammock I ever tried and have been hooked (and making hammocks) ever since. The nice thing is that you can try a couple of different styles of whipping (with or without a ridgeline) to get an idea of what you would like before "taking the plunge".

Doc

[jeffjenn]

Cstolworthy, I don't think you can go wrong following Knotty's video here:

http://www.hammockforums.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=15205

Beyond this ask any questions you come across. Someone here will know the answer.

[Cstolworthy]

Everything I am reading, people are using ripstop nylon. Is this a coated ripstop nylon? I see ones that are coated with polyurethane, uv treatment, etc, etc. Should I be concerned about how much weight the nylon will hold? I am currently about 250lbs.

I was looking at something like this
http://www.rockywoods.com/Fabrics-Ha...eener-Pastures

[beep]

Everything I am reading, people are using ripstop nylon. Is this a coated ripstop nylon? I see ones that are coated with polyurethane, uv treatment, etc, etc. Should I be concerned about how much weight the nylon will hold? I am currently about 250lbs.

I was looking at something like this
http://www.rockywoods.com/Fabrics-Ha...eener-Pastures

While I will defer to the more experienced DIY'rs, having UNCOATED and therefore breathable fabric makes more sense than a coated fabric. Many fabrics have a DWR treatment that makes them water resistant though not waterproof. What I read says that virtually all of the nylon fabrics are "strong enough" but that the lighter weight fabrics will stretch more under the same load. One approach to deal with this is to double the lighter weight fabrics so you have two layers. You might check out Warbonnet's website to get a sense of single vs double layer and 1.1 vs 1.7 weight nylon fabric as he addresses maximum load and maximum "flatness" (i.e. minimal stretching).

[Knotty]

You should avoid coated waterproof fabrics because if it doesn't breath, sweat and condensation will be a problem.

[hiker_DC]

Should I be concerned about how much weight the nylon will hold? I am currently about 250lbs.[/URL]

This is from speerhammocks.com (were I buy almost all of my nylon)

· If you are less than 250 pounds: use 1.9 oz/yd2 ripstop or 70 denier 2.2 oz/yd2 taffeta and 1"-wide polypropylene or polyester webbing straps
· If you are between 250 and 350 pounds: use Supplex in 2.5 to 3.5 oz/yd2 weights and 1"-wide polypropylene or polyester webbing straps

Hope this helps

Doc