My Stretch Saddle Build

[BackSpasm]

Beautiful stitchwork. I am telling myself it's because of your nice machine. Looking really good.

 

[nighthawkF-117]

This is the pencil I use. I agree the disposable chalk pencils suck. This one is like a mechanical pencil. It is a little pricey but works awesome! It’s Bohin. They have a fine line and a regular one. This is the regular.

 

[Razorbak66]

I agree the chalk line sketched out is the way to go both to get the accurate lengths as well as to make crisp lines. Beautiful work. I’m moving but hope to get back to sewing very soon. Thanks for posting so many pictures, I know it takes a lot of extra time but it is priceless to others! What chalk are you using for marking fabric? I have pencil and it is awful, I can’t get it leave a line unless I run over it several time with a lot of force. Thanks!

I use the chalk triangles when I do mine. I hate the pencil snd I also been doing fine tip dry erase markers that come up with a damp cloth

 

[Treehopper2]

Very nice work really like your stitching and layout.

I wonder how that panel material will feel after a long set. I feel it will give to much and transfer all your weight to the outer frame webbing.
Have you thought about putting in some vertical webbing to help with this or is that even possible in this design?


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[nighthawkF-117]

Yes I have thought about the seat flexing too much. I think the material will have enough support to prevent that. But that's the point of this project! I can always build another if the stretch turns out to be a bad idea. I really wanted to try it since I haven't seen it done this way before.

 

[nighthawkF-117]

Sorry for the pause in updates! In short, I finished the stretch saddle and it turns out some of you were right. The stretch fabric stretched too much and caused most of my weight to be on the seat belt webbing perimeter. While I’m disappointed that my idea didn’t work out, I learned a lot about sewing a saddle and found a few design improvements I’ve already implemented into my next saddle. I attached a few pictures of the stretch saddle, I wont share all of the photos of finishing it.
Improvements for the next saddle:
1: Slight change in dimension, slightly less long and slightly less wide
2: Change lineman’s loop construction so they stay open and don’t flop around
3: Change hip pinch reduction plastic from removable to permanent
I have already finished my second saddle and Ill be sharing pictures here momentarily. Thanks for the support and following along!

 

[nighthawkF-117]

Here is the start of the second saddle. I used mesh from Rockywoods. It does have some stretch to it and it is very abrasion resistant compared to other meshes I’ve seen. I decided to make the plastic hip pinch reduction insert permanent. I sew it between two pieces of 2 inch webbing. This did actually prove to be very difficult. My Juki 1541 had plenty of power to sew it, but I kept having thread breaking. I think the rough hole created by the needle would cut the thread during sewing. I was able to get it work by using a size 23 needle to create a bigger hole for the thread to pass through. I usually use a size 20 needle so this was quite a bit larger.

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Here is the start of the second saddle. I used mesh from Rockywoods. It does have some stretch to it and it is very abrasion resistant compared to other meshes I’ve seen. I decided to make the plastic hip pinch reduction insert permanent. I sew it between two pieces of 2 inch webbing. This did actually prove to be very difficult. My Juki 1541 had plenty of power to sew it, but I kept having thread breaking. I think the rough hole created by the needle would cut the thread during sewing. I was able to get it work by using a size 23 needle to create a bigger hole for the thread to pass through. I usually use a size 20 needle so this was quite a bit larger. View attachment 66045View attachment 66046View attachment 66047View attachment 66048

It looks great man. Sorry that the stretch didn’t pan out. I went through a few of the prototypes before landing on designs I liked as well. Another idea that will function similarly to the plastic insert idea, is to use some thicker 1.75” or 2” webbing, fold it over the edge and sew it back and forth to reinforce it. It won’t hardly bend and will perform the same as the reinforced plastic inserts

 

[nighthawkF-117]

Thank you! I did consider folding over some thicker webbing, but I didn’t have any available. If I make another saddle (which I definitely will) I would like to use some of the resin impregnated webbing like what you see on belts.

 

[nighthawkF-117]

I followed pretty much the same steps for the rest of this saddle as my first. I did add some 2 inch webbing vertically on the saddle to add some support. This webbing is cordura webbing from rocky woods and is pretty flexible. I added 1 inch tubular webbing on the bottom of the saddle with a big loop for my rappel auto lock, as well as molle for my pouches. Leg loops were sewn on the bottom half of the saddle as I find this a more comfortable. These were sewn with the same zig zag stitch that calculated to 4000+ lbs. Bridge loops were sewn in the same manner as the first saddle.

 

[nighthawkF-117]

Again sorry for the lack of pictures, the rest of the build is pretty straight forward. The belt was made from the same 2 inch seatbelt webbing as the main structure of the saddle and a cobra buckle was used. Leg loops are 1 inch tubular webbing with austrialpin frame buckles. Lineman’s belt and upper molle are the same tubular webbing. I did make the lineman’s belt slightly different so the loops will stay open easier. My bridge is Resc Tech 8mm with Sterling 6mm prussic. I also made a pouch from some leftover materials big enough for my rappel rope.
So that’s it! I just need to make some webbing loops to attach my pouches and this thing is ready to rock. It is much more comfortable than my stretch saddle, and still much better than my latitude classic. I’m very excited to get some time in it soon!

 

[Treehopper2]

Looks very nice I like it.

You may want to double stitch those corners or run another pass near that area.


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[sojourner]

Looks good!

 

[Fl Canopy Stalker]

Looks very nice I like it.

You may want to double stitch those corners or run another pass near that area.


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Why double stitch the corners? The bulk of the weight will be along the horizontal run. I don’t double stitch my corners and none of them broke in drop tests. On the linesman loop test, the mil spec binding tore away before the stitches would give out. I thought companies doubled the corners simply because that was their starting points so they were back stitching lol

 

[Treehopper2]

Why double stitch the corners? The bulk of the weight will be along the horizontal run. I don’t double stitch my corners and none of them broke in drop tests. On the linesman loop test, the mil spec binding tore away before the stitches would give out. I thought companies doubled the corners simply because that was their starting points so they were back stitching lol

It’s just the way I do it

Why double stitch the corners? The bulk of the weight will be along the horizontal run. I don’t double stitch my corners and none of them broke in drop tests. On the linesman loop test, the mil spec binding tore away before the stitches would give out. I thought companies doubled the corners simply because that was their starting points so they were back stitching lol

I haven’t had stitches break in this area either but I have seen a difference in how the material looks over time showing a stress point in this area
I’m not saying he has a issues his work looks outstanding it’s just how I did it and I’m not sure how others build saddles I just tried to build a tank I guess lol