Messages

Like Mojo, I've had GSDs for the better part of 30 years.  Some are easy, some are not.  Only with the latest I've found that a stronger hand is required.   She was crazy, nutty, over-enthusiastic, didn't know her own strength, nippy, whirling dirvish on a leash, you get the picture.  The only thing that worked with her was overpowering with strength - and it didn't take long. Left hand on the collar, right hand on the shoulders, push her to the floor and pin her there till she calmed down.  No hitting, no pain, no abuse, just "I'm in charge here and I'm bigger than you".  Only had to do that for about 3 weeks.  And after 2 years, she still army-crawls to the front door when we come home - squinty eyes and all.  Not saying it will work, but like kids, you sometimes have to adjust your methods to achieve the desired result.

June 

Is the curved bit supported behind?  Or is it free standing - like a seat back with no fiberglass or frame behind.  If it's supported, PVC board is great.  I've bent quite a few feet over the years, with a not-too-crazy heat gun.  Trick is to get it hot enough to bend without melting it.  It's really pretty easy to work with.  But, if it's not supported, it may not have the structural strength.  I've only ever used 1/2".  Thicker than that I think it would be really hard to get it hot enough to bend without an oven (the outside skin would melt before the interior got warm enough to bend). 

To do it with wood, I think you'd have to either do the bent laminate thing (think - make your own plywood), or score the inner plys with a table saw so it'll bend inwards (would require a shaped frame to hold the wood) or buy the plywood already bent.  Somewhere in my list of favorites is a supplier who sells already curved wood and ply. 

Personally, I'd stay far far away from wood.  I don't care how much finish you put on it, water WILL get in and rot the stuff in a year or two unless it's teak.  I LOVE my plastics - acrylic, coosa, PVC, starboard, whatever.

A piece of PVC board that size should cost less than $50.  A full sheet is around $80 (4 x 8) but buying smaller pieces is more expensive per square foot.  Check your local Home Depot or Lowes for smaller pieces.  Some stores carry it - as well as King Starlight (the light version of Starboard). 

June

Sounds like maybe your thread tension is too loose?  You say the stitches are in the correct position - That indicates to me that you don't really need to get the stitch line any closer to the cord.  Is that correct? If you can see thread as you pull the face fabric away from the welt, your thread tension is too loose (or the bobbin tension - same result).

As for the corners, I'm betting the stitching is much better on the approach to the corner than just after you turn it.  Try this - flip the work over and stitch from the other side just going into the corner. 

What happens is that on the approach the needle is riding just where it should be along the welt and into the bend, but as you round the bend, the welt foot tends to push the welt away so you get an inch or so of stitching that isn't close enough to the cord.  If you flip the work over and stitch in the other direction into the bend, it'll tighten up that side of the corner. 

June

Looks terrific Mike!  What a transformation.  You'd never know it was the same boat.  All set for summer fishing!

June

I'm with Sofa on this one.  I'd rather sew.  It's too hot out on the boats doing patterns or cutting.  I spend maybe 1/3-1/2 of my time sewing.

June

Bobbin winding machine?  That's what drills are for - variable speed - up to 1600 rpm's!  Now you can wind some bobbins on that!  Make a spindle that'll hold multiple bobbins and do 6 at a time.  That's what I'm talkin' bout.

June

Yep, like some suppliers offer vinyl with 1/4" foam backing - but the foam backing is barely 1/8", much less 1/4....  NOT.  I'm not buying that story for a New York minute. 

June

All storage is basically in the house, Darren - or the garage if you have one.  No furnace - it's called the sun.  No double-hung windows.  No storm doors.   The garage holds the washer and dryer, water heater is hung above the dryer (in my house) - it's a "short 40".  The garage also holds hurricane shutters and all lawn equipment because we use it year-round - winter is like vacation since the grass only needs cutting twice a month instead of every 5 or 6 days.  Pools only get drained to be resurfaced and we don't swim when the temp is below 83 or 84.

Insulation is basically non-existent.  The above-stove vent is open to the outside of the roof with no damper.  The attic vents are open, year round.  On a cold night I can feel the draft around the windows above my head in bed - yes, I need new windows. And right now the AC is cranking to keep the house at a comfortable 77.  It's been on since Saturday.  My orchids on the back fence are blooming.  Such is life in SoFla. 

Now August is another story.

June

I sold an old black Singer 111w machine that I had picked up because I thought my original was dying.  Unfortunately it had a small bobbin so I sold it.  But before I did I cleaned it up really nice, oiled everything in sight, put a brand new hook in it, new guides for the thread, etc.  It was running crazy smooth when I let it go.  I've regretted it ever since.  I just keep reminding myself that the bobbin ran out way too soon. 

I have another machine now I need to fix up and sell.  I just don't use it.  But then, I'm a tool pack rat.  I'm one of those people who's collections you see at estate sales - the ones where you say "what was a marine upholsterer doing with a gear puller anyway?"

June

Welcome to the "do over" club!  Oh, and when the vinyl starts to stink, it's time to move the heat gun.  And... if you just happen to be using a textured vinyl like carbon fiber, toss the heat gun - it'll make that vinyl flat as a baby's a$$.   Ask me how I know  :D

June

OMG, I 'd never even bid on something like that.  Funnies thing ever to come up on this forum, as I recall, was a vinyl "ass end receptacle" for a stud thoroughbred horse to collect semen for artificial insemination later.  LOL.  I wouldn't know where to start!

June

Somewhere around here i have a pic of a barstool - simple round - and I swear, each one had about 500 to 600 staples.  I think they grabbed a handful of cheap vinyl, twisted, and stapled the sh&$ out of it with a repeat-action stapler and each and every one was buried in the wood.  Anyhoo, marine work is different in that stainless staples are NOT cheap so you don't encounter this particular issue. 

Ok, where was I going. 

Ah, now I remember - stuff you see when tearing down.  Reverse engineering is one of the best ways to learn the techniques.  But the funniest thing I ever encountered was a tablecloth - lavender and orange blossoms - used on a listing pull inside a seat.  Funny as heck. 

June

Mike, I gather what lizzieb is doing is, at the very end of the run, seriously stretching the polycord core using pliers to make it skinnier.   Lizzieb, doesn't that cause the vinyl or fabric to wrinkle when the core retracts?  I'd be afraid of ugliness down the road.

What I typically do when welting cords need to cross is to grab my razor blade or box cutter and shave the cord core in half at the point where it crosses.   

I also do this on coaming bolsters where welt runs over the top in the middle somewhere due to the design.  Most welting runs simply around the edges of bolsters, but occasionally a run will cross over the top, making the board not fit tightly against the hull.  "Skinnify" the welt core at that point and problem solved.

June

I often think that I don't do enough to protect data.  When I was in IT, we backed up daily, weekly and monthly.  The tapes (yes, I'm that old) were cycled and we'd never lose more than a day's work.  The monthly backups were packed up and FedEx'd to Ruby Hills (the salt mines in Kansas? I think).  Every month we'd send them a new batch, and they'd send us back one of the older backups to reuse the tapes.  OK, that's a different business. 

But. If your house/business burned to the ground tomorrow, insurance would probably cover most of your property but what about the data?  With my luck, a year after that happened the IRS would want to audit my records from 2 years ago.  It would be a good practice for all of us to keep a backup copy somewhere off-property. 

June

Make the outside strips the length you measure minus an inch or so, and make the inside curve strips about 2 inches shorter than you think necessary.  They'll stretch.

June