If you want to make your own, power to you. However, I've found that Colby Canvas out of Colby, Kansas sells top notch canvases at a good price. They are rubberized and built to last a lifetime. It seems the slats on them are metal, covered in rubber that is vulcanized to the rubberized canvas. No frayed ends on the connecting flaps or traditional rips and tears (That alone is enough to justify the price to me! My biggest frustration with canvases is the flaps fraying after several uses, then it's a struggle to get them through the slats without tearing, which causes more trouble.) I can't recommend them enough.
If you decide to opt that route, call (785) 462-3981 and talk to Steve Molsted. He's a great guy, and he'll get you hooked up, if you would rather go that route.
Also...yes...the slats are essential to getting the crop from the cutter bar to the cylinder. If conditions were absolutely perfect, you may not need them, but usually if the crop is very short or you are just taking the heads (like with milo) the slats are essential. Also, make sure your draper speed isn't too fast. If it is, the canvas will outrun the crop, in a sense, causing the crop to slow its travel or slide down the header, bunch, then run a slug through the cylinder.
One last note...if you go traditional canvas, make sure to keep a bottle of "Tear Mender" and a few scraps of canvas handy for patching tears/holes. (That Tear Mender is awesome stuff for canvas repair! You can get it online, at Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, and maybe more places) More than likely you will need it sooner or later.
Edited by CrestonM - 29 Jul 2017 at 5:41pm
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