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There have to be some riggers in here..

Where can I find legitimate technical info about stitching load bearing gear?

(Thread material, type, stitch pattern, strength calculation, ideal vs. actual strengths, etc)

Books, textbooks, websites(?), friendly folks.. anyone got some solid advice?

thanks!

-anthony

 
Pointers is about the best you'll find. There are a couple of others. One is on air drops. Most of the books are a bit old. It wasn't till recently that people started to do any kind of measurement of the actual forces involved. Peek has done some of the best work on the subject. The bottom line is a lot of the industry really isn't that scientific about it. The honest truth is we build shit and then toss it out the door of the plane and see if it blows up. No shit, that's how we do it.

Lee

and tossing it out of a plane to try and blow it up is BY FAR the best way to test it, no?

parachutes and harnesses on humans have so many complex load bearing angles and measurments. there really is not way to shop test a harness or parachute.

of course you can do stich load testing, and basic harness failure testing, etc. but you cant simulate a parachute opening.

of course, shit (harnesses) seem to be so overbuilt, for wear and tear, longevity, etc that i have never worried about one failing.

hey- thanks for the replies. i admit that i wont have the luxury of tossing said homemade bits and pieces out of airplanes.. im a rock climber and am looking at much less complex, but potentially higher-loaded, sewn connections.

but perhaps there is some rigger's handbook that would have some technical info? surely, with all the seatbelts, climbing sewn gear, parachuting gear, industrial equipment, etc, there must be something that says..

"use only nylon thread, with a z-twist. ideal stitch strength is 2 x #stitches x thread strength. actual stitch strength is generally 75% ideal strength... etc etc"

any ideas would be great.

that said, i will be doing my own version of real-life drop tests. but i still want to have some theory behind the testing.

is 'pointers' a book? i coudlnt dig it up on google.

thanks,
anthony

oops. i figured it out. dan poYnter. thanks.

any other tips would be really appreaciated

anthony