[guyvapeur]

There is a wealth of information on the web about the Singer industrial machines. I use #21 135x17 needles on my machines along with T120 thread. For canvas I use a dual duty (Coates*) thread. My undertanding is that this thread is polyester core with cotton outer. The cotton protects the polyester from sun damage and swells up when wet to waterproof the seam. I have no formal training but I have spent endless evenings testing various materials to thread/needle combinations.

Bob C............in response to your request for a sewing machine for Christmas, I have been advised that you have been naughty over the last year and the machine will have to wait.

Re: Wood burning stove.
I have researched the net for *gasifier stoves*, *volcano stoves*, and *rocket stoves*. As a result my prototype stove is made from two cylinders. The inner cylinder is a 20 lb propane bottle with a 4 inch hole in the bottom and approx 24 .375 in. holes on the upper rim approx. 2 inches from the 10 inch opening at the top. The propane cylinder sits on 6 in. legs. The propane tank is then lowered into another cylinder (water tank) which is approx. 2 in wider than the propane bottle. The outer cylinder has an opening at the bottom to regulate air intake. The top of the outer cylinder has a 4x4 in opening to allow wood to be put into the inner cylinder. It also contains the cooking surface and chimney outlet. The stove is so built as to allow the combustion air to enter from the bottom. Air also circulates between the walls of the two cylinders and is heated. As this air rises to the .375 in. holes of the propane cylinder, it is mixed with unburnt gases and causes what may be called secondary combustion. ***this type of stove is not meant to be left unattended for long periods of time..... it must be replenished often. However, you can easily regulate heat.... and after use in a hunt camp for 1 week, we took out a couple of handfuls of fly ash....