nice tutorial
I never measure my amsteel. I just eyeball it and cut. (except for whoopie slings) seems to work great for me!
I'm a Mormon. I know it, I live it, and I love it.
I have been making some NC ridge lines this weekend using a locked brummel to a Dutch stinger and burying the other end. I made them 18' long because I sometimes get into a situation where I don't have enough cordage to go from the d ring around the tree and back to the stinger. This seems like a good application of a zing it doggone as an extender. Instead of the extra 6' of line, I will make a 3' dogbone, larks headed to the d ring with the other end clipped in the stinger. I would think you could do the same to extend your straps by larks heading the dogbone to the strap loop and put a Dutch hook at the other end with a locked brummel.
John aka Suede
I've too never measured my dog bones, just go with a "good" length for what I plan on using it for. I've always have managed to be able to feed a finished eyelet through the amsteel in order to create the opposite fixed eyelet.
I ran into the same problem mentioned by the SilvrSurfr - that the dog bones, especially if you are going to do a technically correct bury - end up longer than a continuous loop. That puts the ring I use at the ends further away from the hammock itself. That means trees have to be further apart and I have to pay more attention to make sure both rings are covered by the tarp. I really like the neatness of the single strand of a dog bone coming off the hammock and I figure I can make a few half hitches behind the gather to take up extra length.
Since I started making my own AmSteel loops and slings, I have always pulled the eye of one finished end though the hole on the other end to make a locked brummel. But somewhere on the calendar (rainy day project) I'll learn that "access to only one end for line" trick.
I got my tool kit at Joanns fabric store and a music shop. At Joanns I bought some knitting (non-sewing) needles. I think size #5 for 7/64th Amsteel and set of smaller ones for 2.2mm and 1.75mm. I also bought an Awl for widening the hole and some kind of "puller". At the music store I picked up some free scrap guitar wire. I have two wire sizes, one for 7/64ths and one for the smaller stuff. I bend the wire in a tight loop and use it as a puller too. I use the needle to make the initial hole because it pushes the strands apart; then I widen with the awl. If I just use the awl, its point is so sharp that it goes between the fibers of the strands instead of just parting the strands.
SilvrSurfr and Designer are correct. I finally got around to making one of these for a new rig. These end up longer than a simple continuous loop. With the eyes needed to make these useful, I ended up with a 14" dogbone, vs. 12" continuous loop.
You need at lest another inch in the middle to properly complete the bury, so 13" end to end between the eyes. I also ignored the size of the eyes. A one inch eye is just a bit too small, 1.5" is about the smallest you would really want at 3"(x2). This requires 7" more total, so 35" is more realistic.
1/8 Amsteel goes for about $0.30 a foot today, so we're talking about less than $0.15 difference between the two. Cost is not the driving factor.
Pick your trade off:
Dogbone: Longer hang, less Amsteel.
Loop: More Amsteel, shorter hang.
If length is a big issue but you would otherwise prefer the dogbone for whatever reason, couldn't you loop it through your channel a second ( or even third) time before clinching off through the second loop?
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