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Vest repair


Janice Arthur

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Hi all;

 

I'm doing an occasional repair and replacement of vests pads and straps.

 

I add Fastex buckles in a couple of places and use Seatbelt material in place of the webbing straps on most vests. It is very strong and the buckles slide much easier.

 

I can sew through very thick of materials. I've fixed Portabrace cases and bags too. Audio harnesses that need work are fair game too.

 

(Kind of a fun, keeps me away from wasting time watching TV activity in the evenings job.)

 

Let me know.

 

JA

Steadijan@hotmail.com

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  • 6 years later...
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Alejandro;

 

Sorry for delay in responding; fastex buckles are found in many places usually just find one that is the same width as the one you had.

 

Outdoor outfitters, sewing/fabric stores, and of course Google, eBay and Amazon are all likely places.

 

Shoulder buckles usually 2" in width.

 

 

Take a picture if I'm missing something.

 

Janice.

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Alex;

 

Don't do anything yet.

 

Here is a link to one you may not have to drill

 

http://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=24364&hl=fastex

 

Also, it seems like only the male side is broken.

 

Don't buy yourself work by taking off the female side, if it's not broken.

 

Test your replacement male side and see if it mates up with the female already on your vest. If it does you're in great shape.

 

Also these are factory rivets are far better than hardware store rivets so try not to have to replace them.

 

I see tiny hex screws on the male attachment piece. If you can release/replace the part that way it's far, far, far better than drilling out factory rivets on a plastic base.

 

This will get you started. Think hard before starting your options

 

More later.

 

Janice

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  • 7 months later...
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Taylor;

 

The break needs something to span it on both sides.

 

Whether that's 2" black gaffers tape or something more permanent fix that depends on your skills or budget.

 

Replacing the entire bottom requires finding the plastic and then reattaching it to the spar with hardware. Do you want to go that far or pay for it?

 

A flexible plastic that spans the break and you bolt on with small screws/nuts and washers is also doable but now you get to find the right flexible material and drill the holes and make the spanned gap secure.

 

What do you want to do?

 

Let me know and sorry for the delay, didn't see post.

 

Janice

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Hi Janice,

 

Thanks so much for your time and thoughtful advice. As for now the vest is working well enough as is. I just did my first couple shoot days with my rig and its working fine in its cracked state so I'm going to hold off spending any money on repairs for now. In the long term I hate having broken gear so I would like to repair the vest just so its 100%. Not sure what the most cost effective route will be. Do you know if this is something that Tiffen/steadicam will service? I know that the Flyer LE has been discontinued for a while so not sure what the support is from the factory is on the vest. I'd prefer to have it serviced to be working as it was new. If that's not possbible Id be interested in paying someone like you to do a third party repair to get it back into functioning condition. I'm still learning about service and support as a Steadicam Owner/Operator. I've already realized that upgrading the wiring in the sled is best customized by someone like Terry West, we've been in touch about upgrading the really lousy video and power cables that came stock on the FLyer LE.

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Taylor;

 

Call Tiffen and ask about complete factory fix.

 

You talk about gear 100% and cost effective fix, that's the big question.

Up to you what that means; do you go to the Jiffy Lube or change your own Oil?

 

Are you paying for someone else's labor and parts or can you do it?

 

Welcome to what makes your business work most profitably.

 

As for the wiring harness, rigs are built for specific niche and price point and when that was made what you want it to do now is different. You're aftermarket adding substantial extra money to make it a higher end rig.

Thats just an observation and what many people do.

 

Janice

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  • 6 months later...
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Omar;

 

I'll check my supply or ratchet straps and see if I have any.

 

Check with Tiffen or google them, pretty easy to fix.

 

The plastic should straighten if you can warm it up some, maybe even a heating pad and then just flex it back.

 

The even more basic way is to just put on the vest and see if you can make it contour to your body.

 

It should morph back to a workable shape with a few wearings.

 

Janice.

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