Few starter questions from a newbie…..

[Brad Eaton]

Hi my name is Brad, and I'm a MYOG'aholic. I'm here as a total newbie, but I think I might have read most all the posts on this forum. You're a very inspiring bunch, and such an open group. I am almost finished with my second pack, but both are very good examples of the room I have for improvement. They're not bad, but leave plenty to improve upon.

One of the bags I've been trying to build is a camera bag. I don't want a big camera bag, I want something that will be fit snug to the camera, and only hold a DSLR body and lense. I want to use it to put in other bags, and eventually build a few bags and incorporate it in to my designs. What I'm trying to do though, is created a rigid body so when I take the camera out of the bag, it won't lose it's shape. I tried batting in my first attempt, and it worked out ok, but it still collapses too easily. Any thoughts?

My second question comes down to tools. Can I ask how everyone is cutting their material? The girlfriend doesn't like the fact that I've taken over the kitchen table and is worried I might mess up the table. So she recommended I look in to a large cutting board, and cutting wheel. Anyone using this type of set up? I'm just using scissors now.

Thanks for all the motivation guys, the packs on here are incredible. I'm a big fly fisherman and photographer, so I'll hopefully be making a few sport specific bags in the near future with pics to show. It really is addicting.

[Jerry Adams]

1/8 inch close cell foam?

They have stiff plastic cutting boards that you can put on top of the table to protect the table

I just use scissors

For frayable material, like uncoated nylon, it would be nice to have a hot knife but I know nothing about this

[David Goodyear]

I don't have a lot of experience, but I know that for stiffness – Walmart sells a set of 3 thin plastic flexible cutting boards. You could use these to stiffen the bags. They cut very easily, bit you may need to hand sew with a speedy sticher.

let's see some pics.

enjoy

Dave

[Kevin Beeden]

I've used expanded polythene (EPE) blocks for this sort of application in the past. This stuff is often used in packaging for things like computer monitors. It can be cut with a craft knife or hot wire cutter, and thus tailored to fit your piece of equipment perfectly. It's quite sturdy, will absorb impacts, float, and is waterproof. And usually free…

When used in commercial packaging, it can be cut from very thick blocks, or die-cut from thinner sheet and then bonded into a thicker shape. There's one sitting on my desk at the moment, taken from an Altera NEEK development kit…

[Brad Eaton]

Thanks for all the great insight. I actually think I am using the sheets from Wal Mart as cutting boards, which might work well.

I finished my first actual "pack" and it came out ok. Definitely needs some stability, and load lifters, but mission accomplished overall. I'll try to post some pics this weekend. Will be using some $$ I won on Boston winning the Stanley Cup to buy some materials and hardware to improve on the first pack.

When everyone buys their materials, do they buy from multiple sources? Lawson, do you still have materials on hand you're looking to sell? I'm looking for XPAC or Dyneema, clips, cord locks and a few other things. Sticking with the waist pack camera bag for now until I can get it perfected.

Thanks again for all the insight.

[Michael Ttrafton]

Try the role blade I too used scissors for years. I got talked into trying a roller knife and have not ued scissors on anythin scence.

[John Donewar]

Brad,

"…a rigid body so when I take the camera out of the bag, it won't lose it's shape."

Try WalMart's housewares aisle. I found a thin (.015" – .020") plastic placemat that is approximately 12" x 18". I used some of this material to fabricate a stiffener for a roll down closure on a pack. I was able to sew through this material with my regular home duty Singer sewing machine. I picked mine up for a dollar. If you ignore the designs and patterns these are a good source of MYOG material. ;-)

In your particular project I believe these stiffeners would be covered on both sides by fabric.

Party On,

Newton

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