DIY Tarp III

[xj35s]

So it was nearly 60*F today. I spent a lot of time playing with my new tarp. I made this one actually 10.6' x 10' tie outs every 20ish inches.

I made a mistake of not trimming one end so it came out with an odd corner at one end. I had to fold and hem and cut the extra off. Not real noticeable and the tarp works great.

I have Easton Nono Aluminum poles that work well but seem to warp easily. They fit tight to the 10' width but don't stay in place very well at all. I can run a ridge line under the tarp to connect the pole by Prussic but that tends to allow rain seeping in under the tarp. I know drip lines bu that doesn't always work either.

So I put both poles in and used the rubber band wrapped around them to lock then in an X shape. It seemed to keep the tarp tight even though they were not near the peak of the tarp. I hope it shows in the picture. I wrapped the rubber band around then put one end into the loop of the other end and just stuck a small branch in there. It worked good.




I moved the corner tie outs in one d ring and connected the corners together. I had to put a stake in under the hammock to get the doors tight. Not sure how full doors are going to work. I forgot to set it up that way.



Here you can see the X of the poles and the partial doors doing their thing.



Single pole flopped over onto the hammock ridge line. Full spread with the hammock inside nicely.



Partial doors and X'ed poles.



Here is the tarp inside the military compression bag that's big enough for my snugpak under blanket as well. The stake roll that has 20 aluminum coghlan's, 150 feet of Utility cord, all 5 tie outs figure 8 wound in their own little pockets, and the stake hammer. I didn't need the hammer today just pushed the stakes in with my toe. Then the small sac for the poles. I need to get a weight on all this stuff...




I'm going to put up a video that has way more details especially the tie outs and micro key chain biners from nite ize. It's uploading...

[wsdstan]

Looks like it is going to work well to me. 

How did you do the tie outs?  The method used on my best tarp is a nylon webbing folded over the edge and sewn.   A stake can be put through the loop it makes.  I have another tarp with a grommet in each webbing.  The only problem is that you have to have a stake small enough to use on the grommet whereas the webbing loop is big enough for anything I would use.

I am going to add some tie outs and was thinking of putting a grommet in the tarp and using paracord or similar for a loop to put the stake in. 

[xj35s]

I used 1/2" grosgrain webbing. and 1/2"  beastie D rings. You can see them close up in this.

[wsdstan]

Thanks, I have the webbing and I believe enough D rings to do it that way.  Should work better than the grommets too. 

[xj35s]

A lot of the new ultralight tarps have grosgrain around the entire perimeter and short loops sewn thru them. I think mine my be over kill with 6" of 7/8" folded in half stitched to the hem and 8" folded in half sewn perpendicular to that.

I don't know what this material actually is. I believe it's a silpoly not nylon but it's heavy and very strong. It was a remnant from someplace bought by Real Deals dollar store owner. Word is he has a ton of it but only releases a little at a time and only to one store or another. I hit as many of them as I can on the weekend to try to catch more.Usually only 10 or 12 yards on a roll. I assume the company has to switch them out before starting the next production. 

[wsdstan]

While it may be overkill on the webbing material it is better than having a couple of them rip out on a trip.  I will take a look at how I am going to do mine if the weather gets above down coat and gloves temperature.  Maybe by May. 

[crashdive123]

Well done.

[greyhound352]

Great job XJ, you are getting pretty good at these tarps. I have some seconds from R.B.T.R. that I hope to someday make a tarp.

[xj35s]

Well done.

Great job XJ, you are getting pretty good at these tarps. I have some seconds from R.B.T.R. that I hope to someday make a tarp.

Thanks guys. If you are going to sew one up just use all purpose thread from walmart or jo-annes. I bought the much hyped mara 70 from dutch as per hammock forum. It sucks. kind of stiff and way over kill in strength. That all purpose polyester just flows smoothly. In my machine anyway. Singer 1501.

[Dano]

That turned out GREAT I think, I really like the pole addition- I can see how that would really open it up.  I bought an entry level, el cheapo Singer sewing machine with the intentions of making a tarp mysel, but just can?t get the time to learn how to use it.  I started, but had problems learning the thread tension (along with everything else) and had to give up.  Hopefully ?one of these days? it will come to fruition.

[xj35s]

I've read a lot on troubles people have. One of the biggest that folks think is a tension problem is the needle. Take the needle out of the machine and hole the thread 12 " apart. the needle should slide up and down the thread without hanging up. It it sticks then go to a bigger needle. I use a 90/14.

The other thing is making sure the bobbin is in right. Some feed clockwise some counter. It depends on the machine. I think most singers come off counter, so if you pull up on the bottom thread the bobbing should spin counter clockwise. Check the manual tho. There are free ones online.

[Orbean]

Another neat one. You have put that material you got to good use.