Sewing canvas
 

Has anyone on MLU forum actually made their own seat covers and canvas tops ? I guess most of us pay a auto trimmer to do the job, but with labour costs these days .. it's a tad expensive if you are doing it on a regular basis. Lucky for me, a retired upholsterer did the C8 seats for free. He learned the trade in the RAAF of all places.

There are many old industrial sewing machines around. Singers, or clones of Singers seem to be available. What are the things to look out for ? Is it a difficult skill to learn ?


Mike

Sewing machines
 

Hi Mike

This is a topic I have some interest in as I need to do 3 sets of front seats as well as some rear seats for the FGT, as well as the side curtains, sunshine roof cover and bags. I have good patterns for all of these but lack the skills and a machine.

From what I gather the machine needed is going to cost more than $1,000 but I could be wrong.

I have several of the tent bags from Tooles in Wodonga which have the correct vintage canvas. Surviving bits of canvas you find on trucks are a pale colour which is a bleached version of the originals which were a sort of khaki green.

Oh well... yet another skill to learn. Perhaps we should share a machine around - the seats I've seen made by motor trimmers are usually made from thin modern synthetic canvas with foam inserts - an expedient rather than correct.

I wonder how you can make the sprung wire seat bases. I have a sample.

yes
 

Hi Keith

Yes, it is a topic I have always been interested in. Many years ago, a friend and I found some genuine WW2 Jeep canvas tops , stored in the back room of Hudson stores in Bourke St., in the city. The tops were moth eaten and torn here and there. We used them for a while on our Jeeps !

Yes, the 'real' industrial sewing machines are expensive, over $1000 or more. Many people sell machines that are actually only semi-industrial, basically these are only heavy duty domestic models . These are OK for many jobs , Jeep tops and such , even seat covers which are relatively light. But for the heavy weighted canvas as used on Blitz and other vehicles, you would definately need a stronger machine with a 'walking foot'. The walking foot feature , pulls the job through , which you need with multi layered haevy canvas . Most of the domestic and semi - industrial models use a simple presser foot which just presses the work onto the serrated dog beneath.

In the factories, the machines were set up to do a certain job 16 hours a day . It's not a straight forward thing , as there are many variations of feet and such for leather work etc. Believe it or not , there are clones of the 1950's industrial Singers being made in China today, they tend to be of dubious quality though. Singer designs were copied by many companies.

A machine like this would be ideal :

http://www.industrialsewmachine.com/...inger/211a.htm

Mike

Those 100 year old Singer leather sewing machines will go through anything you want to sew. A lot of people who know what they're doing seem to prefer them. They sell at auctions now for around $500 to $1000.

My Father used to run Courtholds Hilton Fabrics up here in Ballarat and i am fairly sure he has one or two of the old singer industrial sewing machines stored some where at the farm he is also a pretty flash operator . I will see if he has a machine we can liberate for awhile as i will need to make seat covers and a sunshine roof cover for the F15A .

I have done my own seat covers for years, and also have made tarps for various CMPs. It is a good hobby for the winter...at -35 it's good to have reasons to stay in the house.

I have both an industrial Singer and an industrial Juki. We had both types when I was in the military, and most guys preferred the Juki. I bought both used and paid around $400 for each machine. I have seen both listed in the buy & sell for even lower prices than I paid, including one where a guy was giving away a Juki with it's table, but he warned of the weight and that the recipient would have to bring it up from the basement.

There are a few things to watch for when buying a machine. First, if it comes from an old factory, you want to make sure it's not 3 phase. The next thing is to find a fairly large throat. A small throat will let you do seat covers, but you will have to plan ahead if you are going to sew a tarp together.

When it comes to the thread, there are a billion choices there too. I am fortunate in having a thread supplier in Winnipeg who has stock of or can get any thickness in any color.

Your first results may not be perfect, but as you get to know your machine, it just keeps getting better and better.

Now you're talking!
 

James, you may become the CMP 'Seamstress' for Australia! :D

Seriously though we who are restoring these vehicles should pool whatever resources and expertise we can to make this happen - thanks to Mike's post we are seeing another great example the power of the internet and a special interest forum such as this to help many people.

Rob, perhaps you can share your approach including the do's and dont's...

Also just noticed Dirk's post with link...
 

http://212.79.246.244/5800/home.nsf/...id=a&count=100

http://212.79.246.244/5800/home.nsf/...eatCovers2.jpg

I think the Australian seat squabs were different to the Canadian ones.

For the Aussies: € 100,00(one seat) = $A 163.55 which I think isn't bad value for the real thing (plus of course postage) but we need quite a few of them!

One on E-Pay
 

Currently on Australian Epay is this Toyota machine at a buy it now price of $1100

Link.

from seats to mimi blinds
 

power of the internet,,who has made mini blinds for a cmp 2K1 body
Can they be purchased. could be called black out curtains.
4 side windows, door window and front of cab window.
plans? need to look original
dennis
Building 24x24, 12ft high cement CMP bunker :support :support

I have not sewn any military seats but I have worked with canvas and sewing machines. I currently have 20+ domestic machines and some of these can do heavy work.
I believe any guy capable of rebuilding an old truck has the skills to sew canvas. The trick is to make it look right and to do it exactly the same for all the seats in one vehicle.
The walking foot with the open arm is preferred to do the tight corners you find in seat covers. I may be wrong but the seats I saw at the Hammond Barn had piping on the edges. A piping foot would be a definite asset for this project. A zipper foot can also be used to sew piping. Book stores have sewing books and a quick peek will give you the necessary techiques.
My supplier states that canvas should be sewn with a cotton/polyester blend. The polyester is for strength and the cotton is to protect the polyester from the sun. Cotton also swells when wet and seals the seam.

** There are a number of domestic sewing machines that were sold after the war that were manufactured in Japan. They can be found in Canada under the name of White,Brother,Viking and a number of other brands. They were mass produced and cosmetic changes to the casing were available to various suppliers. Look for a machine that has all steel gears inside.... I have found the heavier machines (cast iron flywheels) do amazing work. **

***There are three different lengths of feet on domestic machines. There is a short foot and a slanted foot. Both of these should be avoided. Look for a machine with a long legged foot. You can buy a greater assortment of feet for this machine. These machines also usually have the capacitiy for thicker material. The best part is that the longer footed machine can be modified to take a shorter stronger needle. This is done by shortening the needle bar. (usually just an allan screw)

I am sure that the job can be done.

If there is interest in continuing this thread, I will post pictures of the machines I would recommend.

PS: I had to do a Steam Boat weather cover and my walking foot broke down. I did the whole job on a standard feed Singer..... an industrial type with table and motor underneath.

Guy

Pictures
 

Yes please, be interested to see the comparitive pictures of the different feet you mentioned. :salute:

parachute rigging not CMP, but sewing related
 

When my brother was posted in Germany, and learning parachute rigging, he went around to the various Pfaff and Miele stores. As a Canadian soldier who spoke adequate German and wanted to learn the hardware, the store owners treated him well. He repeated to me what to look for, and from the postings above, most of those things have been mentioned.

His hanging-around drop zones was providential because a few years ago, out of the blue (bad joke), one of the German parachute makers invited him to test as a 'proofer' for their line. He gave them some samples of his work and copies of documentation. Now he is something like the only North American authorized inspector for other riggers' work for that line. A proofer is sort of a master master in the German craft system.

There is one thing I have to add if making a tarp for something like a 15cwt: Make the tarp about 4" bigger than the original. I made a couple, and despite exacting measurements, the brand new canvas mysteriously shrunk once it was sewn together. It could be stretched, but as soon as you put it away for the winter, it would shrink again. So add a little extra.

I was fortunate that I was able to do my experimenting on the mat tech's machines while I was still in the service. Many a lunch hour was spent experimenting with various canvas and seams and stitching.

More
 

Well, all the information is adding up . Various ideas and suggestions aree flowing. I visited a retired upholsterer today and he told me a few things .

1. Yes, the distance from the needle to the body ( throat ?), is important for handling large jobs e.g., CMP GS tops. But, seat covers, side curtains, bags and sunshine roof tops , are not that large and a average sized machine would be OK for those jobs.

2. A reverse function is desirable but not essential.. sew in either direction.

3. He said the Singer 'K' models are excellent. I was offered a Singer K, but they wanted 2k dollars ... a horse rug person.

4. It's best to have a large spacious work area, with tables to support the canvas. In the factories , the operator often sat within an island ,or cubicle, surrounded by flat tables . This is how then managed to sew huge tents. Check out the GMH 1944 colour film for an example of this.

I did have an original DD marked Blitz seat base at one time.. it had lace up covers from memory . During WW2, GMH had a large canvas sewing regime going .. they made myriad items . If you have an old pattern or sample, then it should be a straight forward job. In some cases you can pick open the seams and use the old canvas pieces as a pattern, trace them out on paper.

Mike

Singer
 

This is the Singer model 7-33

I've seen these on ebay .. over 4k dollars ! Apparently, they are considered to be the ' VERY HEAVY DUTY ' workhorse of the fleet.

Mike

G503
 

I posted the sewing query on the G503 Jeep forum:

The replies are most informative.. particularly 'BAZZA' from Sydney.

http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=120496

Mike

We could divert this thread a little. Mention of the Juki reminds me that this Japanese company also made Machine Guns during WW2, the Juki MG being nicknamed the "Woodpecker" because of it's distinctive slow stuttering beat. Toyota and Suzuki were sewing machine makers long before they branched out into automobiles. Hiram Maxim modelled his MG (which later developed into the Vickers) on the mechanism of a sewing machine. Lithgow Small Arms factory, after the war, branched out into sewing machine manufacture making the Pinnock machine for a South Australian co, but also badge engineered these in a variety of other brand names, one (in a parallel of the Juki, or in homage to Hiram?) called the "Vickers"!

seats
 

I took a few snaps of the original seat bases I have.

I think the lower base maybe is from a CMP. It has springs inside it and a lace up covering. There would be a lot of work , fabricating one of these bases from scratch.

The back covering squab, not sure what it's from.

Mike

BTW I have noticed that the stitching on these old original items is rather sloppy and loose. The thread tension is very bad and uneven.. stitch length is uneven , probably typical of wartime production with inexperienced operators and large volume output. The stitching on the GMH sidecurtain I have , is beyond description , it's that bad . A little 5 year old kid would do a better job on a toy sewing machine.

Here's a guy - you know him, Mike - who has learned to sew his own canvas. For his PU 8-cwt he was helped by an experienced man, who used to work for British rail. Richard N., our esteemed ex-MLU member (thanks boss!), also got very handy with canvas. The trick is, he says, to buy a good old fashioned sewing machine, and get going copying old canvas seat covers to see how everything was stitched together. Like you say Mike, one can hardly do any worse than many of those wartime rush-rush jobs! (I can tell an original CMP cargo body by the welding - splatter everywhere.)

H.

yes ive been doing my own work for years i have an old industrial machine i use trouble is getting some thing to draw the pattern from! because drafting can be a real pain

Sewing canvas
 

Hi,
my experiences with sewing: I have made or adapted couple of battledreses and made for my Austin K30 new seats.
My sewing machine is usualy old electrical Czech Lada, stronger will be better.
The mains problem is with the threads. You will need any stronger but not thick. And the second is the needles. I am using needles for jeens.

But the first step is, if you have, take the original one piece and look how it is sewing together!!! When you can rip it for better knowleges of old work.