Fire Fighting Turnout Gear Repair

[shoepatcher]

One thing nobody has talked about is what Nomex and Kevlar thread do to all the parts in the thread path.  It wears thru steel.  Know that going in for parts replacement, i.e.  feed dog, hook. throat plate , take up lever, all the thread guides, take up spring!!

glenn

[ArtV]

On 11/7/2020 at 3:17 PM, shoepatcher said:

One thing nobody has talked about is what Nomex and Kevlar thread do to all the parts in the thread path.  It wears thru steel.  Know that going in for parts replacement, i.e.  feed dog, hook. throat plate , take up lever, all the thread guides, take up spring!!

glenn

Thanks for the reminder......... some how I was aware of that but it was not in the for front of my brain. My eventual plan would be to have a dedicated machine for repair but I need to start out dual purpose to see if the repair idea works out. 

[DonInReno]

You should be warned that having a heavy sewing machine around fire guys will create a steady trickle of little projects as favors!   You’ll be altering storage bags, creating custom shaped items, restitching seams in boat seats, dog collars, belts, tool holders from old hose, hot tub cover, leather tool belts, tool covers, adding new padding to backpacking gear, changing zippers of all kinds, custom sun shades, rain tarps, organizers for vehicles, radio harnesses, chainsaw chap repairs, and things you haven’t even thought of yet!  Lol
 

There are not a lot of choices in feet for fabric, unlike smaller upholstery machines, so down the road buy extra outer feet to alter. The thick fabrics that are great for gear bags are very slick so smooth feet don’t do well.

 

Kevlar will quickly dull normal scissors, but the fly tying industry has a number of high quality scissors designed for Kevlar that have carbide edges.

 

 

 

[ArtV]

11 hours ago, DonInReno said:

You should be warned that having a heavy sewing machine around fire guys will create a steady trickle of little projects as favors!   You’ll be altering storage bags, creating custom shaped items, restitching seams in boat seats, dog collars, belts, tool holders from old hose, hot tub cover, leather tool belts, tool covers, adding new padding to backpacking gear, changing zippers of all kinds, custom sun shades, rain tarps, organizers for vehicles, radio harnesses, chainsaw chap repairs, and things you haven’t even thought of yet!  Lol
 

There are not a lot of choices in feet for fabric, unlike smaller upholstery machines, so down the road buy extra outer feet to alter. The thick fabrics that are great for gear bags are very slick so smooth feet don’t do well.

 

Kevlar will quickly dull normal scissors, but the fly tying industry has a number of high quality scissors designed for Kevlar that have carbide edges.

 

 

 

I am keenly aware of this fact… it adds to the fun.  I currently make various leather goods for the fire service and I’m to the point that I could really use a machine. My none-fire goods make more money for me but I don’t get to put as much time into them because of the fire leather side. I can’t keep hand stitching everything, it just takes too long. I started with the fire leather side and don’t won’t to let that slide so I just need to increase efficiency. 
 

Thanks for all the input… it all helps with the decision making. 

[DonInReno]

Paragear has interesting hardware and some fabric.   They cater mainly to skydiving riggers, but have some things not seen in other places.  http://www.paragear.com/parachutes/10000171/PARACHUTE-HARDWARE

 

[ArtV]

On 11/9/2020 at 9:14 PM, DonInReno said:

Paragear has interesting hardware and some fabric.   They cater mainly to skydiving riggers, but have some things not seen in other places.  http://www.paragear.com/parachutes/10000171/PARACHUTE-HARDWARE

 

Cool stuff........ thanks for the link. Already found some things I could use. 

[DonInReno]

On 11/10/2020 at 7:20 PM, ArtV said:

Cool stuff........ thanks for the link. Already found some things I could use. 

30 years ago I acquired an industrial sewing machine for our wildland fire crew -  by the end of the first summer everyone on the crew could sew.   Our budget for any new equipment was pretty tight, but there was never a problem getting approval for material related to repairs!   
 

The aluminum quick release buckles on page one of the are a hit with wildland firefighters on work belts.   At first I only saw the smoke jumpers with them, but over the years they seem to pop up on many of the type one crews.

[ArtV]

22 hours ago, DonInReno said:

30 years ago I acquired an industrial sewing machine for our wildland fire crew -  by the end of the first summer everyone on the crew could sew.   Our budget for any new equipment was pretty tight, but there was never a problem getting approval for material related to repairs!   
 

The aluminum quick release buckles on page one of the are a hit with wildland firefighters on work belts.   At first I only saw the smoke jumpers with them, but over the years they seem to pop up on many of the type one crews.

Funny… those buckles are what I was looking at. Thinking of belts as well. 

[DonInReno]

That’s funny.   

[Smartee]

On 11/6/2020 at 12:03 PM, Wizcrafts said:

Apparently, there are no #18 needles left in System 7x3. The smallest currently available is #19. This lets you sew with #92/T90 thread on your 441 clone harness stitcher.

I detailed the process of "dumbing down a Cowboy CB4500, Cobra Class 4, or similar harness stitcher" on my leatherworks blog. This process lets you sew thin material with thin thread and needles that would otherwise not be possible on a big harness stitcher. I don't recommend this if you already have a standard walking foot machine unless your other machine is a flatbed and you must use a cylinder arm and it is a harness stitcher.

Looking for info on which needle for thread - this post is the best cross reference i've seen for what i'm looking for.  Thread looks to be #90 best I can tell (Tenara 8oz) and calls for a #20 needle for what i'm doing.  So it looks like I need a 7 x 3 #20 to fit my CB3200?

TIA!