A few weeks ago, I saw a hammock chair for sale for something like $40. I thought that I could make one for less than that. Turns out I can make one for about $6. All that is needed is a special tool, and some cord of some sort. I ended up making the tool out of a peice of scrap plywood I had from building the folding kayak. I just carved it up, and sanded it down according to the pictures I saw of people making fishing nets. The cord I used is actually Cat Fish Drop Line, what ever that is. It’s rated for 4 hunded pounds. I have 24 strands of it holding the hammock up, so I don’t think I need to worry about the hammock breaking anytime soon – that is 9600 pounds, well over 4 tons.
I takes a bit of practice to get going, but with the shuttle and guage stick, it’s actually quick simple. Once you get the rythm to it, you can make quick work out of making this. I am not quite happy with this one, as it’s currently a bit uncomfortable, but I knew the first attempt would be less then perfect. I am actually surprised at how well it did turn out. I think a lot of my problems is with my tying it to a single support beam. I might try to pick up some good hooks and fiddle with how I hang it.
