I got a free "scrap" (25' long!) of mule tape to make tree huggers. Beggars can't be choosers, but is 5/8" wide big enough to protect the trees? This is the only mule tape I've ever actually seen in person and held with my own hands, but it seems pretty heavy duty, so I'm sure it's strong enough.
The big question is, how big are your typical trees? Carry enough strap to wrap twice and the pressure on the bark is the same as a single wrap 1.25" strap.
Ah, I didn't think of that. Most of my camping is in Texas and Arkansas (small trees), so I should be good.
If you're worried about damage to trees then use sticks under the straps, which will distribute load vertically up and down the trunk.
That may in fact be a better method than girdling the tree.
Mike
Learn to survive and thrive in any situation, for you never know what might happen. Love family and friends passionately. Suffer no fool. Know your purpose in life and follow it with all your heart.
I had trouble sleeping last night, so I worked on converting mule tape into tree straps. My sewing machine can't handle it (plus I didn't want to wake anybody up), so it took me about two hours to sew one loop, sufficiently reinforced, by hand. If I go with straps instead of huggers (fewer loops to sew), I'm halfway there. Making whoopie slings, by comparison, was really easy. I had those done in less than an hour after I got the Amsteel in the mail. I'm getting there, and all told, this hammock with complete suspension will cost me less than $30, all new except for the used mule tape! Maybe I'll make a bug sock next.
And, by the way, floral wire makes a great fish tool.
What kind of sewing machine do you have? What kind of problems sewing did you have? The mule tapes that I have seen are a very loose weave and sew very easily.
IIRC, it's a basic Pfaff with about 6-9 stitch options. I'll have to double check the brand/model. You're right about the mule tape having a very loose weave, but after going over the same stitch four times with heavy thread, it gets a LOT harder. I was pushing/pulling the needle through with pliers by the end. I made another pair of tree huggers a couple days ago, which I don't trust (old weathered straps and trouble sewing). I actually used the machine on that pair, but it kept missing stitches and breaking the thread. That was with different thread, though. I was thinking poly thread would be better than nylon for sun and weather resistance, but the only poly thread I had was thin and soft/fuzzy. I used nylon upholstery thread this time.
It's not the machine. The problems are from setup, thread used and user error.
As hard as that is to hear, I can accept it. Perhaps you can point me to some resource for correcting the user error?
ETA: Nevermind, I found this.
Last edited by 4evrplan; 10-01-2014 at 12:28.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks