Phase one complete!

**lostinthewuds** · 12-12-2011, 01:16

Hello all. Knowing yalls affinity for pictures I thought I would post these. I just sewed them up. They are the ring buckle straps for both ends of my soon to be DIY gathered end hammock. They are made from 1" poly pro webbing with 1&1/2" steel rings. By far not the lightest but they should be plenty strong. Each strap overlaps itself by about 3" and they are sewn with 100% polyester thread. Now to lay out the rip stop.

Pax,
lost

**MedicineMan** · 12-12-2011, 01:20

one small step for man one GIANTstep for......

**JalapeñoBen** · 12-12-2011, 01:40

They look cool to me! Keep it up!

**MedicineMan** · 12-12-2011, 02:00

see if you can do a cuben hammock/uq combo next!

**Running Feather** · 12-12-2011, 04:47

Glad it's all coming along. Just a note of caution. Check what the rings are rated for. They have a habit of breaking at the welds. HB can tell you first hand

Even worse, I gave him the rings

If you run into trouble send me your address and I'll PIF a set of SMC Descender Rings your way.

**TreeMounT** · 12-12-2011, 07:18

Good work,
make always sure webbing as such do not contain cotton!
Same goes for sewing thread, best brand for outdoor stuff is COATS but yes Polyester, no cotton in it.
Then it's strong and done to last for years...

**lostinthewuds** · 12-12-2011, 12:58

Originally Posted by Running Feather

Glad it's all coming along. Just a note of caution. Check what the rings are rated for. They have a habit of breaking at the welds. HB can tell you first hand

Even worse, I gave him the rings

If you run into trouble send me your address and I'll PIF a set of SMC Descender Rings your way.

Thanks for the heads up. You're correct, the welds are not great but i hope that these rings are only temporary for the prototyping phase. I'd like some of those aluminum rings but they'll have to wait until I have more funds. When I get ready I'll let you know.

Originally Posted by TreeMounT

Good work,
make always sure webbing as such do not contain cotton!
Same goes for sewing thread, best brand for outdoor stuff is makeshifts but yes Polyester, no cotton in it.
Then it's strong and done to last for years...

Thanks. I actually did think of that when looking for webbing and such. The string is 100% poly as well as the webbing. Last thing I want is for my peaceful slumber to be interrupted by rocks bashing me in the head! I stitched the heck out of the straps so hopefully they'll hold. But as I'm sure most of you can relate.. the first time I lay back in this new hammock will be VERY slowly!! ;-)

Thanks again, I'll keep you all posted!
pax,
lost

**lostinthewuds** · 12-13-2011, 02:05

Well half of phase two now complete. Since this rip stop is 1.1 and I'm not exactly a little guy I figure I'll make this a double layer hammock. That will make the winter insulation a little easier also since I don't have the $$ for a UQ. It'll make keeping the sleeping pad insulation in place easier.

Anyway, I have the hems on one piece of the double layer done.

This is the boss sitting under the thread injector keeping an eye on things. Everytime I needed more material I'd have to move him and try not to get the material all tangled in cat claws.

Hopefully tomorrow night I'll be able to finish the second layer and maybe just maybe try it out Wednesday night. Boy working with this thin slick stuff is tough and the learning curve is STEEP!
Thanks again for all the help.
pax,
lost

**bluefields181** · 12-13-2011, 13:21

sweet. My first stab at suspension was taking 2 long sections of webbing anddoubling it back on itself every 4 or so inches making little loops ao i could adjust my hammock accordingly via carabiners. Well long story short, i didn't really understand the exact science of sewing at the time, and boy, i stitched the hell outta those straps! More is better right? Wrong. I ended up on the floor in the middle of the night with a mild concussion and some frayed straps. LOL