DIY Kestrel Clone

[Homebrew454]

Here are the 32" wide versions as well. After mocking it up it seems like it will be a little bit more comfortable for me with a 38" waist.

Thanks for the post. I made mine 31.5 inches and have a 36 inch waist. I think you will find it very comfortable.I will definitely use this for my next go at thread injecting.

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[colby._attack]

My first real thread injection project.

After sewing up the first one based of the pattern I posted I decided to go ahead and modify it a bit to make it a single piece per side.

So far I’ve got it cut and sewn and am working on adding the grosgrain but am not really sure how to go around the arc shape. Got the buckles and webbing in so I’m basically ready to finish it.

PS: Those rotary cutter things are a live saver. My wife brought me hers after watching me struggle for a few minutes.

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[Swampfox]

Looking good!

 

[colby._attack]

Got some more work done today!

Finished attaching the grosgrain.

Measured out the 2” webbing for the outside of the saddle frame. Fingered out where I wanted the bridge length to be and then split that down to the middle and attached it to the top center of the frame.

With the top attached then started to fold the sides over and then sew. Basically folding over the two edges and sewing them to the center. This is pretty thick and this point and I had to take my machine down to the lowest speed to get through it well.

You are going to want to make sure that you leave the parts that attach to the bottom of the saddle frame undone until you finish that. If you don’t it will be quite difficult to sew.

I decided that this felt about the right length. You are going to want to leave about 2 inches before and after the doubling to make it easier to attach back to the saddle at the bottom.

Then I went ahead and sewed the bottom attachment area to the saddle. Leaving about the center 4 inches undone to attach the legs straps.
You can see them kind of flipping up here.

After that I went ahead and sew some leg straps on side by side. I left them really long at the moment because I am going to be using buckles to attach and want to test the lengths.

I just kind of tack sewed a few lines in to attach the leg straps and then folded over the main support 2 inch webbing and then sewed it up nice and tight. Bringing it all together.

As you can see my sewing is not great and this is my first sewing project but I’ve learned quite a bit. This isn’t pretty but I am sure it’s will be quite strong. I am going to open up and show you the ugly side. **** happens. If you are hesitant to start sewing or to make your own saddle it may not look great. But for less than 40 bucks in materials (if you don’t use cobra buckles) it’s worth the shot. Just make sure you do your research and use the proper materials eg: thread (Tera 40), 500 or 1000d cordura and most importantly climbing or rescue rated webbing.

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[donnieballgame]

Looks great to me! I need to get on this anyway lol

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[colby._attack]

All done today! (For now)

Finished attaching the leg straps up to the top. I brought them up to the top 2” webbing and sewed them down. Using two decent buckles and a slide stop.

Then I attached to top belt and cobra buckle.

Trying it on a little bit.

I built the loops for the lineman’s strap.

Got them all sewn on and ready to go!

Trying it on for final until my Amsteel comes in.

Thanks for watching!


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[DanO]

I'm no sewing expert @colby._attack but you've changed quite a few things from the OPs plan and I'm not quite sure I would trust that 100%. Any sewing experts want to jump in and highlight any concerns. Don't want you to have a fall and don't want others following your exact pattern if there are issues. I could be all wrong too, wouldn't be the first time. @skell or @ckossuth want to chime in?

 

[colby._attack]

I'm no sewing expert @colby._attack but you've changed quite a few things from the OPs plan and I'm not quite sure I would trust that 100%. Any sewing experts want to jump in and highlight any concerns. Don't want you to have a fall and don't want others following your exact pattern if there are issues. I could be all wrong too, wouldn't be the first time. @skell or @ckossuth want to chime in?

I’d be interested in hearing obviously. My process was basically take a bunch of my climbing harnesses and saddles and looked at the techniques for joining and the way the load was distributed to the sewn joints. The principal thing I learned was to keep all of the joints acting in shear load as opposed to the materials kind of pulling perpendicular or away from the join. You can see this primarily in the way the linesman loops are done. So that the load will always be pulling in line to the sewn.

I’m much more comfortable in my engineering of the design than the actual sewing, but I think I’ve overbuilt all of the joints to the point I’m comfortable with it.


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[JBDaddy]

We're all taking some risk or other, but I'd worry about the lineman's belt loops being secure while only being stitched on to the sides, not fully around you. The worst-case scenario would be a fall (if a branch broke or foot slipped) - they'll have to hold up your full weight + the sudden shock of being yanked into full use. I worry about that with my own DIY's lineman's loops, too.

 

[colby._attack]

We're all taking some risk or other, but I'd worry about the lineman's belt loops being secure while only being stitched on to the sides, not fully around you. The worst-case scenario would be a fall (if a branch broke or foot slipped) - they'll have to hold up your full weight + the sudden shock of being yanked into full use. I worry about that with my own DIY's lineman's loops, too.

I didn’t even think about it that way in having the loops connection wrap around you. I still think that’s not really a solution though because the front most connection of the loop is still basically the same potential failure point.

I’d like to test it if I had a way to. But my gut feeling is that it’s still an acceptable percentage of the webbings original failure rating.


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[skell]

Lineman loops would be my concern as well. I don't doubt those would hold your weight...my fear would be any type of slip that results in a shock. The pic show how I did the loops on one of my rigs. The shortest side is sewn about 5 inches if memory serves me correctly.

@ckossuth probably has better input. He's the sewing expert here...I'm just decent at research @DanO

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[colby._attack]

Maybe I’m thinking about this wrong but doesn’t the first stitch inline to the load take all of the force. With the other stitches taking the load only Incase of failure.

I may rig up a test of a single lineman’s loop with only 1” on either side of a stand-alone piece of webbing and 1 stitch.

My presumption is that it will take the same amount of force to defeat the first stitch as any subsequent ones and they will fail in line under roughly the same load.


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[ckossuth]

Ok, l see a few areas of major concern. @colby._attack, first thing and most concerning to me, is the quality and quantity of the stitching. You have some major tensioning issues with your machine! All of these loops are BAD!!! Being so loose they are not able to properly lock each stitch in. There’s also not near enough vertical bar tack passes and no horizontal zig zags. Having one continuous piece of webbing going all the way around the saddle is optimal but not required. I've done individual lineman's loops with no issues on prototypes. Individual lineman’s loops are fine but the front part of the LL needs to be long enough that it can lay under the back part so you can stitch through everything with the proper stitching. I also noticed you have your waist belt way low. Based on its location, and how you assembled the saddle in general, it appears you discovered your machine wouldn’t properly sew through all of the layers. What kind of machine are you using? What kind of thread?

I’m not trying to bust your balls but you need to start ripping out some stitches and regroup. If your machine isn’t capable of going through the required layers, then you need to find one that will. If it will sew through all of the layers, then you need to take care of the tensioning issues. I can see the tension settings were no good throughout all of the stitches, even the thin sections of material. Again, not busting your balls, just potentially keeping you fracture free. DO NOT HANG IN THIS THING AS IS!!!!! IT WON'T HANDLE THE SHOCK OF EVEN A SHORT FALL!!!! DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Also refer to this a lot!!
https://saddlehunter.com/community/index.php?threads/sewing-resources-and-information.6100/

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[skell]

I dug out "On Rope" this morning...there is some good info on sewing webbing in there. For load bearing stitching it recommends a minimum overlap of 3 times the width of webbing. So minimum of 3 inches each side of the loop.


Sorry if the pics are blurry...I was a little shaky this morning!


EDITED: Replaced images with clearer versions.

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[ckossuth]

Good stuff @skell !!!

 

[DanO]

I dug out "On Rope" this morning...there is some good info on sewing webbing in there. For load bearing stitching it recommends a minimum overlap of 3 times the width of webbing. So minimum of 3 inches each side of the loop.

Sorry if the pics are blurry...I was a little shaky this morning!

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I like that chart but couldn't read it well. Here's another pic of the same page I believe:
https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/stitching-webbing-for-foot-loops.268795/#post-5109065

 

[skell]

I like that chart but couldn't read it well. Here's another pic of the same page I believe:
https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/stitching-webbing-for-foot-loops.268795/#post-5109065

Sorry...more blurry than I realized LOL. I can retake tonight or tomorrow for clearer images.

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[LeanMachine]

The very first thing that I noticed in your build Colby is that you did the main panel "incorrectly". The body is "supposed" to be made of 4 panels total. 2 inner and 2 outer. The radiuses should be sewn together in the middle of the inner and outer layers. That is what forms the contoured shape that cups your butt.

 

[ckossuth]

The very first thing that I noticed in your build Colby is that you did the main panel "incorrectly". The body is "supposed" to be made of 4 panels total. 2 inner and 2 outer. The radiuses should be sewn together in the middle of the inner and outer layers. That is what forms the contoured shape that cups your butt.

How he made the panel body may just be personal preference. Some guys don't necessarily like a lot of cup in their saddle. The one piece panel design will actually be stronger.

 

[LeanMachine]

How he made the panel body may just be personal preference. Some guys don't necessarily like a lot of cup in their saddle. The one piece panel design will actually be stronger.

Yea i understand that. Hence the quotations marks.

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