Sowing webbing

[Swanrad2]

I am making a couple of webbing 'strap downs' for the boat - I've bought the webbing and the cam buckles. My wife who rules her sowing machine absolutely, tells me she can't sow webbing (or she won't and I wouldn't dare touchher machine). So can you buy a flat clamp type thing, maybe with small bolts to pin two pieces together without sowing? No idea if such a thing exists.

 

[30boat]

I've used nuts and bolts with large washers.It makes a very strong joint but the nuts protrude a bit.I suppose they can be gound down a bit.

 

[Zen Zero]

I am making a couple of webbing 'strap downs' for the boat - I've bought the webbing and the cam buckles. My wife who rules her sowing machine absolutely, tells me she can't sow webbing (or she won't and I wouldn't dare touchher machine). So can you buy a flat clamp type thing, maybe with small bolts to pin two pieces together without sowing? No idea if such a thing exists.

Thank you for reminding me I need to sow the cabbage seeds I bought this winter - it's time.

For sewing though, your wife's right, you'll knacker her derssmaker's sewing machine with webbing, you'll either have to stitch it by hand or go to a sailmaker. A sailmaker is currently sewing webbing onto my "new" mainsail for reef points and a cunningham. For hand stitching you'll need a sail maker's palm or one of these: be careful though, the needles are bloody sharp!

 

[John the kiwi]

http://www.speedystitcher.com/products.html

I have one and recommend it. I mostly use it for webbing.

 

[sarabande]

the purpose behind sewing rather than bolting is to remove point loading of a strain on the material of the strap.

When I was working with a military vehicle supplier, the MoD had very definite patterns of stitching for use in webbing slings and seat belts..

Commercial info here :

http://www.besi-inc.com/seat-belts


There'sa lot of discussion and technical expertise on this site

http://electricant.net/projects/testing/testing.htm

about sewing braid on sailing sewing machines.

 

[estarzinger]

If you are interested . . . I have recently conducted a ton of testing on sewing webbing . . . summary of results can be found here (a little more than half way down the page): http://www.bethandevans.com/load.htm

 

[sarabande]

my goodness, that site is going to be useful. Many thanks.


For hand sewing (the OP's question) I note your comment about 2/3 down th elong page.

" It is possible to make really strong individual hand stitches (using doubled 80lb Dyneema fishing line for instance), but to get 4,500lbs on a pattern you need to have enough stitches (about a 100) to spread it smoothly out over heavy polyester webbing"

 

[Sailingsaves]

Someone on here (I can't find it but maybe Google "ybw, web stitching, jacklines") showed the correct pattern for safe sewing and stated that the colour of thread was different from webbing to show during inspection that (a) pattern was the correct 'safe' pattern and (b) no chaffing.

Or copy the pattern on your own lifeline to Gibb hook?

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I am making a couple of webbing 'strap downs' for the boat - I've bought the webbing and the cam buckles. My wife who rules her sowing machine absolutely, tells me she can't sow webbing (or she won't and I wouldn't dare touchher machine). So can you buy a flat clamp type thing, maybe with small bolts to pin two pieces together without sowing? No idea if such a thing exists.

Don't know where you are in Cheshire but if you drop them in at my Chester bolthole I'll sew them for you on my Sailrite sewing machine. Will only take a few minutes.

 

[geem]

We sew webbing with an old singer 201k. They are widely available on tinternet for about £70. They were used to sew seats on Rolls Royce's. We have sewn through multiple layers of webbing with no problem

 

[Mrnotming]

I brought mine to the local cobbler/shoemaker!

 

[savageseadog]

There are buckles that don't need sewing

 

[Swanrad2]

Thank you for reminding me I need to sow the cabbage seeds I bought this winter - it's time.

For sewing though, your wife's right, you'll knacker her derssmaker's sewing machine with webbing, you'll either have to stitch it by hand or go to a sailmaker. A sailmaker is currently sewing webbing onto my "new" mainsail for reef points and a cunningham. For hand stitching you'll need a sail maker's palm or one of these: View attachment 40673 be careful though, the needles are bloody sharp!

Embarrassed!,

I knew it looked wrong when I typed it, in my defence it has been a long week at work- I apologise.

 

[Zen Zero]

Embarrassed!,

I knew it looked wrong when I typed it, in my defence it has been a long week at work- I apologise.

It's me who should apologise - for being a smartarse grammarian - but really thanks! You reminded me to plant these blessed seeds!

 

[GrahamM376]

I am making a couple of webbing 'strap downs' for the boat - I've bought the webbing and the cam buckles. My wife who rules her sowing machine absolutely, tells me she can't sow webbing (or she won't and I wouldn't dare touchher machine). So can you buy a flat clamp type thing, maybe with small bolts to pin two pieces together without sowing? No idea if such a thing exists.

These may well do the job without sewing, I've used them on life raft tie downs and got them from here - http://www.profabrics.co.uk/shop/show_product_info.php?id=SST50

 

[William_H]

I guess much depends on the thickness of the webbing. I have sewn a lot of car (retractable) seat belt type webbing on a very ordinary domestic sewing machine. No problems.
I certainly don't vbelieve you can damge a sewing mchine sewing heavy material. Drive it by hand if the motor stalls. If you overload the sewing machine in the first instance the needle might not penetrate secondly if it does it will just lift the foot rather than withdraw the needle.
Regarding the sewing awl. I made up one using a sewing machine needle and a handle for it to fit into. It can be useful but I did find it tedious compared to an ordinary hand sewing needle. Webbing can be hand sewn with light whipping twine and a heavy needle. Use pliars to help push the needle through and pull it through.
The standard best sewing pattern for webbing is to use a large zig zag in a box pattern ie across the cut end doown the sides and across to make a box then possibly 2 diagonal lines of stitching. You cna see this on amost commercially stitched webbing. good luck olewill

 

[30boat]

Thank you for reminding me I need to sow the cabbage seeds I bought this winter - it's time.

For sewing though, your wife's right, you'll knacker her derssmaker's sewing machine with webbing, you'll either have to stitch it by hand or go to a sailmaker. A sailmaker is currently sewing webbing onto my "new" mainsail for reef points and a cunningham. For hand stitching you'll need a sail maker's palm or one of these: View attachment 40673 be careful though, the needles are bloody sharp!

I have one of those.It works.

 

[estarzinger]

The standard best sewing pattern for webbing is to use a large zig zag in a box pattern ie across the cut end doown the sides and across to make a box then possibly 2 diagonal lines of stitching.

This happens to be NOT true. That is not the best pattern . . . As shown both by my own tests and by parachute mfg tests in both the UK and US.

There are two cases for webbing loops. One is the "sling", where you sew the two ends together and end up with one big loop (sometimes the two parts are then sewn together to just leave end loops). This is commonly used both in rock climbing and commercial lifting. The second is an "end of webbing" loop, where you fold the end back and sew it down to form the loop. This is commonly how jacklines and tethers are sewn. The way the stitching loads in those two types of loops is very different. The stitching loads also differs between stretchy nylon webbing vs low stretch dyneema webbing. The box X is best for none of them - it is just a simple and inexpensive pattern, which for many applications is "good enough". Bar tacks and long "5 V" patterns are much better (depending on the material and type of loop).

 

[LadyInBed]

I brought mine to the local cobbler/shoemaker!

Yes, local shoemaker / repairer does a neat job, they use synthetic thread these days.
I've used an Awl as well, strong but not so neat.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

Bar tacks and long "5 V" patterns are much better (depending on the material and type of loop).

Bar tacking seems to be universally used on climbing kit, and it's what I use when I need strong joins.