Some modest advise to noobs from a noob

Frist of all, I have to say their are many people on here with much more experience that I. I've been "injector thread" for a little over a week, but I've discovered a few tricks that may help out other noobies.

1. watch all the videos you can from the people on here. Some have been doing this for years and they know what they are talking about.
2. Research whatever topic and read ALL the threads you can about it to learn from those who know.

Those are obvious, these are a little more specific to what I've experienced so far:

1. Even though the gear will be used for outdoor usage, I had trouble with the heavy duty thread. Because the fabric is so thin (excluding webbing), I was getting a lot of "loose" threading as a sewed. Try the lighter thread, but make sure it is 100% poly.
2. Keep the fabric tight when you are sewing. I'm used to working with wood and steel and you can just let that stuff run through the tool. I have found it might help if you keep a little tension on the fabric as it is going through the machine. I got better stitching and a much better look.
3. When splicing cordage, the videos and pictorals on this site are GREAT! I follow them to the letter with one modification. I still have my "IN" and "OUT" points for my piece of bent wire, but I feed the wire in the "OUT" point with the loop and come out the "IN" point ready to grab the end. (I hope that makes sense). Instead of taking the point end of the wire and going in the "IN" piont and feeding it through that way, I go the opposite way. For me, I found the curved end of the bent wire cause significantly less damage to the inside of the cord than the pointed end. Trying to make Soft Shackles last night, I tore up a couple peices of cord trying to feed the sharp end through, which brings me to the last point:
4. Be patient and forgiving. I've been building and creating stuff for 30 years, but never on a "thread injector". I've also never used cord this small before, even though I've whipped and spliced quite a bit in my past. It takes time to get good at anything and I get the impression no one on the site cares if it is perfect. Just make it safe.

Good luck and keep DIYing!

Great advice, especially about the heavy duty thread. I learned that lesson too, a few years back.

I'd also add that newcomers should feel free to add their experience or ideas to the pile. Many people have previous professional or hobby experience that could be useful. I think Nacra533 introduced the nacrabiner to us in his very first post! It's exciting to see the community grow and evolve.

Good stuff Pro Vagabond

My Mama would always hold the material well
both in front and behind the foot
with an ever so slight tension pulling behind
and a firm hold but feeding in front.

There must be a formula for thread thickness vs. material
just like welding rods and the like,
but thin and strong for thread.

My thoughts are: buy as expensive/high-quality as you can IE; machine
don't cheap out on the thread.
I won't but things like thread from WM
but go to the store that sells only sewing materials,
they should have the best you can get.

:D