Biothane Harness

[wvcraftsman]

I was wondering if anyone has sewn Biothane, or other coated webbing (Ohiothane, Brahma Webb) by hand? If so, what kind of needle and thread did you use?

[wvcraftsman]

Bump.

Nobody has sewn the coated webbing with a machine or by hand?

[Spence]

I've seen plenty of the coated webbing sewn by machine, but not by hand. It is on my wishlist of projects to start. I want to make tracking leads and maybe a halter or two. But I don't have a machine, so I was just sitting back in the shadows, hoping to see how many would answer your question.

[awharness]

I've only ever sewn it by machine, never by hand. Havent heard of anyone hand stitching it either...

[wvcraftsman]

Thanks guys. A machine is on my wishlist for next year, but I was hoping someone had tried sewing by hand. I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.

[harnessman]

Thanks guys. A machine is on my wishlist for next year, but I was hoping someone had tried sewing by hand. I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes.

Hi

There is a reason that no one has sewn this stuff by hand! It is evil nasty stuff to work with, hard to push an awl through and the holes close up immediatly an make it hard to push the needle through. Even with a heavy stitcher you will find that it tends to dull needles frequently and it takes slow speeds or you will heat your needle up hot enough to melt thread in a short time. If you do stitch it be sure to get your stitches in far enough from the edge to catch the nylon core, otherwise they will just pull through the urethane coating.

Good Luck

Jim

[barra]

In my apprentice days I would take on any job that came to hand. I did not have a machine in those days and got a lot of trotting harnesses to repair. God awful stuff to stitch by hand for the reasons mentioned by Awharness but it can be done.

Barra

[Spence]

These answers are going to save me a lot of money, as I was thinking of hand-stitching dog harnesses, etc. Thanks folks.

[wvcraftsman]

These answers are going to save me a lot of money, as I was thinking of hand-stitching dog harnesses, etc. Thanks folks.

and save lots of bruises and blisters....not to mention the %^&*^$$# words that I might have used.

Thanks everyone. I've never seen them hand stitched either ...... and now I know why.

Any recommendations for a machine that will sew both leather (all sizes) and the coated webbing?

[Lace]

With Bio you need to be careful even with a machine. I'm lucky to have access to machines at my work to sew bio and other materials and I've never tried hand sewing. I wouldn't like too either. It's nasty even to sew with a machine. It can be sticky and because of the nylon core it's easy to get too close to the edge and rip it apart (which was said). I think it's the stickyness that gets me every time, I HATE sewing trotter hopples for that reason .

If you are going to sew it, I would glue it first. It comes off easily so you can gob on a bunch and let it get really tacky and let it set really well so you know where you are going, and if you can find a scrap piece or and end see how far in the core is and where your stitching needs to be and mark it with a pen. I use barge contact cement but anything would work I guess. Just make sure it's good and set before you sew because it can hurt your machine if it's not totally dry.

The machine I use is a big huge hand operated one. I have NO idea what it's called but it's the old hand crank foot petal kind that you need to sit on a 4' stool to reach. We use it for all the big stuff like saddle skirts and draft harness.

Hope this helps.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Lace

[colttrainer]

Nobody addressed the needle issue, use a fabric needle (it won't cut the nylon core). I sew biothane on a singer 31-20 it is a treadle so I am not dealing with heat issues. But I would think a lube pot would take care of that issue, along with slower speeds.

Al