Almost done!!!

[Certain]

I used the $4/yd. sil from Ed Speer, which worked out great - I got 8 yds., and it turned out to be 5.5' wide. Overall size is then 12' long by 11' wide (before hemming), a little bigger than the MacCat Deluxe.

I wrote my own routine for generating cat curves - the one Youngblood has on Yahoo isn't quite accurate. All six edges are cat cut. I calculated the edge lengths so they'd all be the same - that way I only had to make one cat pattern.

I used 1.9 oz. ripstop from Walmart for the corner reinforcements. The triangles turned out to be 12" wide, 6" high, with the tie-outs opposite the 12" side. Tie-outs are 3/4" nylon webbing that I had sitting around from a pack demo job.

I haven't actually weighed it yet, so I'll have to get that on here when I can. I'll see what I can do about a pattern, too. I'm planning on putting directions up when I get time - I've got two GRE exams coming up in the next week.

You mean people with piercings are smart too!

[blackbishop351]

You mean people with piercings are smart too!

I suppose we do have our moments, don't we?

[blackbishop351]

Here's some more pix - These came out a little better, with more light.

The third pic shows the corner tension issues I'm having, and the fourth shows my solution...well....most of my solution anyway. It'll be a few days before I can add this stitching to the rest of the corners, though.

[Coffee]

Pics look good. I came up with something talking to my grandma about sewing. On my hammock I ironed the seams. Before I was taping them and trying to get everything lined up. Ironing them made a crease that did not need taping. I did it on ripstop. It may work the same on sil-nylon. Just don't do it too long or you will melt the fabric or the silicon treatment.

[Just Jeff]

Looks like the angle where your stake is tied out might have solved a lot of the wrinkle issue on the corner. At least according to those two pics.

But if that's the only wrinkle in your tarp, I'd consider it a success. Looks great.

[Touch of Grey]

Just as a thought you might consider next time instead of bisecting the angle with the strap consider sewwing one leg along one leg of the angle and the other leg of strap along the other angle. This way instead of pulling the center of the angle and creating issues it should distrubute the forces more along the edges which are reinforced anyhow or could be with gros-grain ribbon. If you need a picture I am sure I can muddle something together .

Just a thought! While I am not a structural engineer, I did study Architecture back in the 70's and finished a degree in EE a few years ago before I retired last January.

Nice Job otherwise!

TOG

[blackbishop351]

Just as a thought you might consider next time instead of bisecting the angle with the strap consider sewwing one leg along one leg of the angle and the other leg of strap along the other angle. This way instead of pulling the center of the angle and creating issues it should distrubute the forces more along the edges which are reinforced anyhow or could be with gros-grain ribbon. If you need a picture I am sure I can muddle something together .

Just a thought! While I am not a structural engineer, I did study Architecture back in the 70's and finished a degree in EE a few years ago before I retired last January.

Nice Job otherwise!

TOG

I did think about that, actually. The only problem is that the stitches would only go through one layer of webbing. I was afraid this would put too much stress on the tarp fabric.

I suppose a guy could use TWO pieces of webbing on each corner, one on top, one on the bottom, and sew through both layers. That'd probably be a mess at the guyline attachment point, though, as well as heavier than I'd like. I thought about doing the same thing with cord, but I liked the idea of a nice wide box stitch on the webbing instead of a small point of attachment for a piece of cord.

Who knows....there's tons of ways of doing anything, really

The additional stitching across the reinforcements (fourth pic, above) is definitely taking care of the problem, though. So I'll finish that out on the other corners when I can, and let everybody know how it turns out.

[slowhike]

[QUOTE=blackbishop351;1130]I did think about that, actually. The only problem is that the stitches would only go through one layer of webbing. I was afraid this would put too much stress on the tarp fabric.
.
Who knows....there's tons of ways of doing anything, really

.i sewed the corner tie-outs on my ray way type tarp in a criss-cross like that, using gross grain ribbon (even lighter than webbing) & have used it over a year w/ no stress problems that i can see.
i belive "touch of greay" is right... it pulls both edges.
also, on the last tarp i made, i used the corner pocket idea for storing the guy-lines like on the HH hex tarp. i just left most of the side of the triangle facing the center of the tarp unsewed. and i used untreated rip-stop for the corner re-enforcement/pockets so water will drain & dry.
works great... i like it.
BTW...nice looking tarp. i have some of the black nylon that i got from ed too, but haven`t done anything w/ it yet.
it makes a good stelth tarp. ...tim

[Jazilla]

I like the design. I have the SG 9x9 and love it, but I have been looking at the MacCat for a couple of weeks. I like the extra coverage it looks to give instead of the diamond shape of the 9x9. When you get ready to start the sales let me know.

[Brian]

BB - Very nice and taught tarp! I am impressed that you got the 1.9oz fabric that tight. Have you seam sealed it yet? Do yourself a favor and make sure the sealer you buy is relatively new; you don't want to ruin that good looking tarp with an old and ineffective bottle of sealant!

Brian
OES