Sewing machine for fixing gear?

[AlexR]

The Speedy Stitcher is great, and although Phil's drill method sounds cool I'm lazy and have just always used a sewing machine bobbin (which I "load" on the sewing machine). It holds less thread than the spool the stitcher comes with, but that's not really a limiting factor on the stitcher.

I'd say the stitcher and a sewing machine do pretty different things (for me), although it's possible to e.g. replace the velcro on an AV using the stitcher, you'll be there a good while. I definitely was. Conversely, there's not a chance in hell my puny sewing machine could do anything with a tackle sack.

Stitcher:
Really good for small fixes in thick material and hard to get to places; e.g. webbing attachment or bottom of a tackle sack. Punches through absolutely everything, including your hand. The pantin fix below is a good example, though I should have left way more webbing between the stitches in picture 1. Also fixed bouldering mats, knee pads, put an extra attachment loop on my tackle sack, stuff like that.
In my experience the stitching has always outlived the surrounding material, case in point the bottom of the AV tackle sack in the picture below.

Sewing machine:
You'll wish you had one as soon as it comes to stitching longer stretches, e.g. crampon ripped bottom 3rd of trousers, changing velcro on caving suit, etc.


This might not be a problem with a decent sewing machine, but with my AEG plastic fantastic (I think it's this one) it takes me quite a long time & scrap material to find out the correct upper and lower thread tension plus some experimenting with stitch length to get an ok stitch out with thicker threads. Even with a thick needle the machine just doesn't like thick threads. I've had some success with using a thicker upper thread and thinner bottom thread.
Some of this fiddling got me pretty close to throwing the machine out of the window.

 

[AlexR]

Just took out the old sewing machine and remembered a couple of points that might be useful to anyone else looking at this. These are personal opinions, naturally the more experienced will have a better grasp on this than me. The below is intended for anyone not sure where to start.


Threads & Needles

Thread sold for personal use is usually marked in wt., the higher the number the thinner the thread. For the purpose of outdoor-compatible gear don't bother with a wt. higher than 40. Do not confuse a 40wt with #40.* 40wt. should be sewn with a #90/14 needle. That's the sort of standard thread I use for general sewing, say undersuit bits and bobs. Depending on where the seam is, probably a 30wt. for oversuit (with a #100/16 needle). On AV suits the fabric will still fail before the stitching does, especially as you're fixing an oversuit that has likely already worn thinner. If you're getting to work on a Warmbac with a normal sewing machine, good luck to you.

In a commercial/ industrial setting, thread sizes may be given in Tex (T), Denier (D) or Commercial Size (V, this is Denier divided by 10). These all work the other way around: The higher the number, the thicker the thread. I've read that a normal household sewing machine will struggle to handle heavier than V69.

Thread is sold in different materials, I recommend bonded nylon. This is most easily and cheaply available on ebay; stronger than polyester but doesn't like heat.

For tackle sacks/ hand sewing I use Dyneema fishing line, at least this is marked with the actual thickness rather than the jungle above. 0.26mm is plenty strong for nearly anything. On tackle sacks I use 0.5mm, this will outlive any material you sew with it. I have 1mm, this is excessive for even the most demanding sewing application. I've broken 4 needles and my will in trying to get Dyneema to work on a sewing machine.

If you're anywhere near as inept as me, bear in mind you'll need scrap fabric to determine the upper (and potentially bobbin) thread tension at a given stitch length to get a usable seam out. An old oversuit will do nicely, but word on the street is Tony (Starless river) may give you a piece of AV suit fabric for repairs if you ask him nicely. If you take the piss and ask for enough fabric to make yourself an oversuit, he may still give it to you, but your ladder on Garland's might mysteriously coil itself upwards on your next Giant's round trip/ rocks appear on lids, that kind of thing

Happy sewing!


*The counter-intuitive higher weight = thinner thread comes from the fact that it is the weight of a spool, the thinner the thread the more densely loaded the spool, therefore the heavier.