design for sandbags

Um....a pillowcase might be a start.,

But you'd be better off just cutting the legs off some old jeans, sewing up one end, putting a zipper on the other.
 
I make Small sandbags out of old jeans all the time...

Cut off the seam at the bottom of the leg, then cut it off at just below the hole worn in the knee (maybe I wear mine too long..). You now have a tube with clean ends.
Sew across the bottom closing it up - make sure the stiching is very tight. I use a zig-zag stitch and go back and forth twice slightly appart.
Then pour in half of the weight you want. I use small peagravel (the stuff used to grit roads) as it's garunteed not to seep out of cracks.
Then sew across the middle of the bag once - this keeps the sand/gravel evenly distributed.

Then take a spare peice of fabrick from the upper part of the leg and make a strip thats as long as the leg is wide in the middle and about 2.5inches wide.
Fold about .75 inches from each side of the strip over onto the same side (overlapping) leaving you a nice clean 1" strip with neat sides. Run down the middle of this once with the sewing machine. This is your handle.

Take the handle and sew it on to the middle of the leg peice that is the bag, over the middle stich, by each end of the strip. I do a square patern attaching about an inch of the strap at each end.

Then pour in the 2nd half of the sand/gravel and sew up the open end, again makgin sure it's tight. (again I recomend double stiching).

The result is a handy small bag with a handle for the price of some thread and a bit of gravel.

I wear black jeans, so that makes them look good. I think blue may look tacky. Depending on the size of jeans you find this will limit the wieght of the bags. I have a bunch of small (under 10lb) ones that are handy on set for a lot of stuff. Thgouh they wouldn't work for bigger tasks.

- Mikko
 
How about one of these? I can get you a really good deal in spring.
The good thing is that they move on their own too.
For pickup only though... i'm in california. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)


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Z said:
How about one of these? I can get you a really good deal in spring.
The good thing is that they move on their own too.
For pickup only though... i'm in california. :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)


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Yes I've used those before, the baby ones, actually they won't move at all if you club the c.r.a.p. out of them with a baseball bat first. They won't move one tiny bit.
 
brianluce said:
Yes I've used those before, the baby ones, actually they won't move at all if you club the c.r.a.p. out of them with a baseball bat first. They won't move one tiny bit.
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Now that's good ol' gut wrenching comedy. Seriously :dankk2: i'm in pain now.
 
brianluce said:
Yes I've used those before, the baby ones, actually they won't move at all if you club the c.r.a.p. out of them with a baseball bat first. They won't move one tiny bit.
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I'm officially creeped out now.
 
brianluce said:
Yes I've used those before, the baby ones, actually they won't move at all if you club the c.r.a.p. out of them with a baseball bat first. They won't move one tiny bit.
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I hear the small ones make great sock puppets...

OK.. i've added to the sickness.

:)
 
brianluce said:
I'm in the philippines. As soon as B&H opens an outlet here I'll be the first to inform you.
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I didn't know you needed the most biggest photo/video store in the world to get sandbags (not that they even have them). Do you have a hardware store by you?
 
You may be able to get sand at a hardware store or even a beach or a playground. But that doesn't mean you can buy sand bags at a hardware store. Maybe sand bags for hurricanes and floods, but not ones suitable for film production.
 
Noah said:
You may be able to get sand at a hardware store or even a beach or a playground. But that doesn't mean you can buy sand bags at a hardware store. Maybe sand bags for hurricanes and floods, but not ones suitable for film production.
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Am I missing something? I wouldn't bother buying sand..thats a waste of money. What is the diffrence between a sandbag for hurricanes and ones for film production. You hold down things or counterbalance things with them no? as long as it doesn't leak...
 
Sand bags for film are generally in two compartments to be easily draped over things. They are also made with handles for transporting and are made in specific weights. If you don't want to pay for the sand, you can just buy the bags and fill them yourself ;) As far as I know, industrial type sand bags are much larger, made of a less flexible material and don't have nice handles - they're just meant for stacking for protection.

You could use heavy books or bags of water - whatever you like, but these film industry sand bags are a standard for a reason.
 
egproductions said:
What is the diffrence between a sandbag for hurricanes and ones for film production.
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The ones for construction leak. If not the actual sand, then the dust. Which is probably even worse for your equipment.
 
I liked the sound of mikkowilson's design. I'd suggest sealing off both ends with zippers so it's easier to empty and refill the bags with various materials. You could get the jeans at Goodwill.
 
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