I bought a cheap piece of canvas i thought might work to make a diamond shelter out of . on the package it says heavy duty #8 canvas. it is a 9 x 12 i figure i can square it at 9 and this will be big enough . i picked it up at ollies for 15.00.I have two questions is this #8 canvas heavy enough and was this a good buy for the price?

Joseph, Sleep in that Diamond Shelter for 2-nites in the rain and then you will know you
got a deal."Been there and done that".deal is not a deal if if dont work.
Mine is 10x10 sunforger fabric from Tentsmith.
cost a few more coins than yours,But it works
and i an dry...

Well before you use it, you need to wash it in very hot water a couple of times, and dry it each time. You need to shrink it up as tight as possible. Then see if it works. It's the tightness of the weave, not the fabric so much, that makes it suitable for a shelter.

LD

Hivernant
Red Hawk sells a 10 X 10 Diamond made from
top quality 12-oz duck with all edges finished,
24-inch ties every two-feet and a reinforced
strip down the middle for a ridge pole for
$84 plus shipping ($15?) 12-oz can haul water
right out of the box. They are very popular here.

The bad taste of poor quality lasts far longer
than the sudden sweetness of cheap price.

I have a sun forger diamond from Panther Primitives. Works great as a shelter or as a fly, BUT it's way too heavy for trekking. Now many folks refuse to trek with a diamond or oil cloth as for most folks in the 18th century, outside of the military, or shipping stuff over water, oil cloth isn't well documented. In the recent article by Mark Baker in Muzzleloader, one of his associates points out that in that same time period we could strip huge pieces of bark off trees without a care to form shelters, etc. We don't do that now, so make some allowances, and carry a small bit of oil cloth.

So 8 oz. or less, in cloth weight, then waterproof with boiled linseed oil and pigment, which will add weight, and see how it works. I'm looking at even lighter material myself. It will be an experiment.

LD

I made an oil cloth out of a king size 300 thread count Egyptian cotton top sheet soaked in a BLO, turpentine and Japan Dryer mix. It took quite a while to dry but it's light and waterproof now.

All good information. The only thing that I would add is a note of caution when using boiled linseed oil as a waterproofing agent. Make sure it is pure linseed oil and not the stuff sold at Wal-Mart and most hardware stores, which contains petroleum distillates. Either way, it's highly flammable. I've heard that soaking the fabric in a solution of alum, which tightens the weave, is a good waterproofing treatment. Don't know as I've never tried it, but it makes sense.
Tok'sa,
Sunkawitko

I'll probably make a fool of myself here but...do I presume correctly that 12oz cloth weighs 12 oz per sq ft? I'm just wondering how to figure what a particular size shelter weighs in regard to using it for treking. Thanks.

12 oz per foot, that would make it kinda heavy on a 10x10, i beleive the weight is 12oz per
yard.

Now my memory fails, but I think it's Blue Heron Mercantile (on the Links page of this mag) that sells hemp canvas in a couple of specific sizes. George Washington grew hemp, and it was quite common.
I've heard stories about canvas soaked in modern linseed oil that actually self-ignited under the correct circumstances.
I think most canvas will tighten up or just swell up as it gets wet--the key is not to touch it while it's raining (they taught us this in Boy Scouts) and, I suppose, not to expect perfection.
I have a fly of untreated canvas (though haphazardly smoked from use) that works just fine if I don't go poking at it.

Dick

quote:

The bad taste of poor quality lasts far longer
than the sudden sweetness of cheap price.

Oracle, I wish I had heard that saying when I was a boy. I've wasted a lot of money on cheap items! I've learned the hard way, first I look at the price then I look at the quality. If the quality aint there the price is too much no matter how cheap it is. I'm going to try to remember that saying. That being said, where'd I put my glasses? Found em, they were on my nose.

The bad taste of poor quality lasts far longer
than the sudden sweetness of cheap price.

What I look for is function and quality first. Does the product do what I want it to and what does it cost? Off times you don't get what you pay for. Sometimes you must pay too much if you
really want top quality. Before buying a new accouterment ask somewhere here their experience or impression. Might save ya a bad
taste.

Your right and it did take me a long time to learn the lesson. When I was shopping for my muzzleloader, I asked questions and a hundred posts later, I bought a Jackie Brown. I've also walked away from things people even want to give me. If it's junk, why would I want it, especially with the dumping fees now days! I've also walked away from freebies that are useful, but if I don't have a use for it, I don't need it.

I've mentioned this in other posts, some time ago, but I'm still half-way convinced that a good way to waterproof canvas is with a paste-wax kind of stuff, like Filson's coats their canvas clothing with. A lot would go a little way (read that again! ) but it would I think be better than linseed oil.

Dick

quote:

Originally posted by Oracle:

The bad taste of poor quality lasts far longer
than the sudden sweetness of cheap price.

While I don't dispute the wisdom of this axiom, some of us are on tight budgets, and have to make do with what we can afford.

Regarding canvas: I have had good results with canvas painter's drop cloths purchased at the local hardware stores. DAP makes a waterproofing compound that, while not PC, works quite well and makes a dandy fly or diamond. Mine hasn't leaked yet, after eight years of use in the Pacific NW.

and what might be the name of that DAP PRODUCT

I shop GOODWILL for canvas. I bought a high quality 10 X 10 wall tent with floor for $3.99.
At that price I could afford to feed it to my horse and spread the issues on the roses (to
borrow a saying from Mark Twain). I could cut this in half and make two Whelan lean-to's or cut the floor out for a diamond. Your only limited by your imagination. One mans junk could be your trusty shelter.

Orical here around we refer to the "Goodwill Store" as the G.W.Boutique.We have L.L.BEAN just down the road and they give lots of stuff to the"Boutique" so on the right day it's like having a birthday.Tell people you bought it at Goodwill and they say, "Oh you shop there",but you tell them it's from the G.W.Boutique and they ask where it is located.HAW HAW

quote:

Originally posted by many lodges:
and what might be the name of that DAP PRODUCT

The product is simply called "DAP Water Repellant Sealer" It works on concrete, brick, wood, and (ta da!) canvas. I bought it at a local building supply store. I believe that Thompson's Water Seal makes a similar product too.

thank you... I will look for it.
the Thompson Water Sealer that is produced today is not as good as years ago.
it has been changed somewhat..
i will compare the DAP to it...