358Yeti
New Member
- Joined
- May 5, 2019
- Messages
- 5
I guess now is as good of time as any to jump in here on the forum. Some of you may have seen my posts in the Facebook group.
I'm a DIY junkie, but I prefer the term "skill collector." From osage selfbows to automatic brass case annealers, I've tried my hand at a little bit of everything. Every once in a while it even works out! With all the opportunities for diy gear, and the overall benefits of saddle hunting, I was sold, I just needed to get my grubby mitts on a saddle.
I combed through the diy threads here and found Ckossuth's kestrel clone build. I started researching and collecting materials while I looked for a machine.
I ended up finding a 1950s Singer 404 straight stitch machine on Facebook marketplace for $45. I practiced on some scrap thread whole I got the machine set up and tensions adjusted (thanks YouTube).
My first effort was pretty solid, but the machine had some struggles in areas where the webbing was layered pretty thick. Regardless, this saddle allowed me to hook into a tree (at ground level) and try it out for the first time. That definitely sold me.
With the changes noted, and a machine upgrade to grandma's backup commercial grade singer, I produced this saddle. The craftsmanship was much better (plenty of room for improvement!), and it came together in much less time than my first attempt.
I also put together a 4 step aider that I used to climb up to 15' with only minor profanity.
On the workbench now is a set of DIY sticks using helium steps, a scooter platform I'm going to trim some fat on, and a rework on saddle attempt #1.
I'm a DIY junkie, but I prefer the term "skill collector." From osage selfbows to automatic brass case annealers, I've tried my hand at a little bit of everything. Every once in a while it even works out! With all the opportunities for diy gear, and the overall benefits of saddle hunting, I was sold, I just needed to get my grubby mitts on a saddle.
I combed through the diy threads here and found Ckossuth's kestrel clone build. I started researching and collecting materials while I looked for a machine.
I ended up finding a 1950s Singer 404 straight stitch machine on Facebook marketplace for $45. I practiced on some scrap thread whole I got the machine set up and tensions adjusted (thanks YouTube).
My first effort was pretty solid, but the machine had some struggles in areas where the webbing was layered pretty thick. Regardless, this saddle allowed me to hook into a tree (at ground level) and try it out for the first time. That definitely sold me.
With the changes noted, and a machine upgrade to grandma's backup commercial grade singer, I produced this saddle. The craftsmanship was much better (plenty of room for improvement!), and it came together in much less time than my first attempt.
I also put together a 4 step aider that I used to climb up to 15' with only minor profanity.
On the workbench now is a set of DIY sticks using helium steps, a scooter platform I'm going to trim some fat on, and a rework on saddle attempt #1.
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Life's good and welcome aboard.
