Info about making an A-Frame Tent

[cplgordon]

Hello Everyone,
I have currently, do to the economy, been blessed with a lot of free time. So besides trying to find a new job, I have been using this time to updated and make some new equipment. I have been thinking for some time about making myself another tent. Now that I am married I have found that I need 2 tents at reenactments. Was wondering if anyone here had made an A-Frame tent, and if they had a pattern or suggestions etc etc.
Thanks for the help folks.

Cpl. Gordon
2nd Maine

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

I wish I could be more encouraging here, but that task is one of the hardest of all reenacting items to make correctly, as there is no known commercial pattern out there. I've been making them for several years, and today its just as daunting as the first time I made one. Being that there is no pattern, you have to use the government specifications (which can be found on this site by doing a search for "common tents"). Then you have to cut your cloth allowing for the proper seam allowances (often two inches), you have to understand that period duck cloth was often only 28 inches wide on the loom, so you have more panels, thus more cutting and sewing , than with modern canvas or duck, and they were all completely handsewn per specifications, as most machines were not able to penetrate the multi-layers at some points in the construction. It took me several months to use the specs in conjunction with period photos to draft a pattern, and that took alot of tweaking while I went along. For the record, you need strong fingers and a weak mind to try to take that on, so that is why I recommend to most people unless you have alot of experience in period sewing, just go and buy one from a vendor as it will save you about 20 hours of sewing, 3 hours of cutting, alot of twisted linen cord and beeswax, and a couple of ER visits when the needles go through your fingers.

[Bummer]

Please! An A-Frame is a sort of Swiss chalet, not a tent. You might be thinking Common Tent, wedge tent, or maybe A tent--but not a bloody A-FRAME!

Thanks. Let's try to keep to 19th century terminolgy. Like the man says, "Words mean things". (Some things annoy the heck out of me, sorry.)