View Full Version : Black Cat Numero Uno
gstepclassical
04-20-2007, 18:00
Here is my first Black Cat. One more to go for my wife. A huge thanks to BlackBishop for his instructions. Can't say I enjoy working with sil, a royal PITA!!!:eek:
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=786&c=4
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=785&c=4
Looking pretty good. Looks a little bit bigger than the BlackCat though.
gstepclassical
04-20-2007, 18:19
It is right off of BB instructions on his web site. Approx 12' long and 11' wide at the widest.
Maybe it is the pitch that makes it look so big.
wow wow wow, i bowed to you and everyone here who do "diy" with style. its fun reading about it. great results.
blackbishop351
04-20-2007, 19:41
Looks great, man! Nice job! How'd you like the corner patches? :D
NCPatrick
04-20-2007, 20:47
Awesome job. Looks great. You'll be very happy hanging with that.
Hey, I got my cams from Ebay for my sewing machine yesterday. I now have 26 different stitch patterns to play with, and a buttonholer. Thanks for the tip!
gstepclassical
04-20-2007, 20:55
Looks great, man! Nice job! How'd you like the corner patches? :D
I think they are a requirement in order to distribute the load at the tie-out points plus they look pretty cool. Surprisingly, they were the easiest part for me to put on. I had a heck of a time with the binding. I will try wide polyester bias tape next time around instead of grosgrain. It is prefolded and just looks like it is easier to deal with. I do think some kind of binding is needed though as is seems to be under some load when this tarp is pitched. Thanks again for putting the info up and also to lvleph for providing the calculations.
I made my pattern out of 3/32 ply that I had out in the shop and it worked great with the soldering gun for cutting. I had both sides marked and cut in about 40 mins. I am convinced that is the way to deal with synthetic materials.
gstepclassical
04-20-2007, 20:56
Awesome job. Looks great. You'll be very happy hanging with that.
Hey, I got my cams from Ebay for my sewing machine yesterday. I now have 26 different stitch patterns to play with, and a buttonholer. Thanks for the tip!
Glad to help. Did I hear you were building a quilt? How is it going and how is the machine?
NCPatrick
04-20-2007, 20:58
The Ray-Way quilt and stuff sack is finished (many thanks to blackbishop for helping me get started on it). I just need to post some pictures. The machine is doing great. I'm very happy with it.
gstepclassical
04-20-2007, 21:01
Great!!! Sounds like you are well on your way.
NCPatrick
04-20-2007, 21:03
Yes, I've definitely caught the bug.
Hey, would you post what kind of soldering gun you used to cut the sil for your tarp?
Thanks.
gstepclassical
04-20-2007, 21:16
The 8200 at the following web site will work nicely. They say to use glass for a backing but it is not needed. I use one of those heavy cardboard measuring/marking foldup boards you find at the local sewing shops. Opens out to five or six feet. As far as the gun goes, they can be had at ACE hardware and maybe Lowes/Home depot. Just hammer the very tip into a disk shape, sharpen it with a file and off you go. It is remarkably easy.
http://www.cooperhandtools.com/brands/weller/index.cfm?model_list=1&att_id=WEL001&att1=Soldering%20and%20Heat%20Guns&att2=Soldering%20Guns
blackbishop351
04-20-2007, 22:31
I think they are a requirement in order to distribute the load at the tie-out points plus they look pretty cool. Surprisingly, they were the easiest part for me to put on. I had a heck of a time with the binding. I will try wide polyester bias tape next time around instead of grosgrain. It is prefolded and just looks like it is easier to deal with. I do think some kind of binding is needed though as is seems to be under some load when this tarp is pitched.
The corner patches are definitely necessary, especially since I haven't yet figured out a way to distribute the load from the tie-outs directly to the edges only. If anybody has a viable suggestion in that vein, let me know!
Wow...you thought they were EASY??? I have more trouble with the corners than with any other part of the tarp. Especially the grosgrain - that stuff is cake for me! I'd thought about getting premade binding, but the grosgrain works so well that I really haven't had the need to change. Plus I bet binding would be more expensive...might be wrong on that though.
I will disagree on one point, though - I don't think the trim is necessary. My personal tarp doesn't have it and survived CRAZY high winds at both Mt. Rogers and Linville Gorge this winter - with no visible stress or wear at all. The rolled hem seems to take the load just fine. I will say, however, that when I make myself another tarp it'll have the trim. Just to have one with all the "options" :p
Cool project. I like to see people using the large tarps vs the small ultralite ones.
I made my pattern out of 3/32 ply that I had out in the shop and it worked great with the soldering gun for cutting. I had both sides marked and cut in about 40 mins. I am convinced that is the way to deal with synthetic materials.
You talking about plywood?
gstepclassical
04-21-2007, 05:45
Yes. I used plywood because I knew it would work great when using the soldering gun to cut it out. Also, I was going to have to cut out 12 sides. It will be available for anyone who lives close enough to pick it up and wants to build their own tarp. BB, if you are going to offer these commercialy you might want to consider using one. I built the tarp in one day so I was probably getting tired by the time I was putting the grosgrain on. I'll see how it goes on the next one. I ordered enough material to do two.
blackbishop351
04-21-2007, 06:12
Yes. I used plywood because I knew it would work great when using the soldering gun to cut it out. Also, I was going to have to cut out 12 sides. It will be available for anyone who lives close enough to pick it up and wants to build their own tarp. BB, if you are going to offer these commercialy you might want to consider using one. I built the tarp in one day so I was probably getting tired by the time I was putting the grosgrain on. I'll see how it goes on the next one. I ordered enough material to do two.
For sil, using scissors (my preferred tool) or a razor knife isn't a big deal - you don't need to heat seal it because it doesn't fray easily enough. I'm definitely going to the soldering gun for DWR very soon, though. And if it works as well as I think it will, I'll probably just start using it whenever possible. I do know that Brian uses a soldering gun to cut his MacCats. On the other hand, I'm not going to sell the BlackCat so I'm not that concerned about time...plus I've got them down to 5 hours now anyway, give or take.
Here is my first Black Cat. One more to go for my wife. A huge thanks to BlackBishop for his instructions. Can't say I enjoy working with sil, a royal PITA!!!:eek:
Great job, it looks great! Hope it functions as good as it looks. But then again, it is a BB design!
Wow...you thought they were EASY??? I have more trouble with the corners than with any other part of the tarp. Especially the grosgrain - that stuff is cake for me! I'd thought about getting premade binding, but the grosgrain works so well that I really haven't had the need to change. Plus I bet binding would be more expensive...might be wrong on that though.
I will disagree on one point, though - I don't think the trim is necessary. My personal tarp doesn't have it and survived CRAZY high winds at both Mt. Rogers and Linville Gorge this winter - with no visible stress or wear at all. The rolled hem seems to take the load just fine. I will say, however, that when I make myself another tarp it'll have the trim. Just to have one with all the "options" :p
Trim is definitely not necessary. I don't have it on mine and I like it that way. Also, for the tie outs I don't sandwich the tarp between them. That makes things a lot easier, and IMO there is no real necessity for it.
So what were the dimensions of the plywood? 12 x 11? did you get it from Home Depost or something like that?
Great looking tarp. Now someday I'll be making my own.
blackbishop351
04-21-2007, 11:12
Trim is definitely not necessary. I don't have it on mine and I like it that way. Also, for the tie outs I don't sandwich the tarp between them. That makes things a lot easier, and IMO there is no real necessity for it.
Have fun if you ever hit serious winds like we had at Rogers. :p I "sandwich" the tarp so that the webbing holds the thread on both sides, not the nylon. It's much stronger that way. I'm frankly a bit surprised that Brian doesn't do that.
We had some decent gusts at SEHHA. There are lots of tarp companies that do not sandwich there tarps between tie outs. In fact, I have never seen it done.
blackbishop351
04-21-2007, 12:51
We had some decent gusts at SEHHA. There are lots of tarp companies that do not sandwich there tarps between tie outs. In fact, I have never seen it done.
Just because it's not done doesn't mean it's not better...my guess is that the "sandwiching" is too labor-intensive for the guys who sell tarps.
I stick to the easier way, is all I am saying. If someone is happy with doing it whatever way they want then that is the way they should do it.,
gstepclassical
04-21-2007, 15:40
So what were the dimensions of the plywood? 12 x 11? did you get it from Home Depost or something like that?
74 5/8" x 12" just about enough to accomodate the catenary curve. I got it when I built my shop several years ago. I used it to cut out templates for a gazebo scroll saw bird feeder I built. Can't remember where I got it. I must be having one of those senior moments. BTW I didn't find it difficult at all to sandwich the tie outs. Just one pin is all it took to hold them in place. Whatever trips you trigger though.
gstepclassical
04-21-2007, 16:15
Just one more picture. This is of my youngest son and his fiance sitting in my ENO single under the "house" as he calls it.
http://www.hammockforums.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=792&c=4
stoikurt
04-21-2007, 17:29
Nice looking tarp, good job. There's getting to be a lot of BlackCats out there!