USMC dress cover. - Page 3
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  1. #31
    Marine Free Member Quinbo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Petz View Post
    one, how did you build them?

    two, how do you sweat through vinyl?
    The current ones come already put together. The older ones came with a frame and a cover. Whether cotten or vinyl you got a cover one size smaller than the frame. You took the frame and pinched it in the center then folded it into a C. You then placed that into the cover and let it uncoil. Stretched and pulled until it was tighter than a drum. Put the chin strap and two screw in EGA's on. Done building. If you got some sort of stain on the vinyl one that is it ... it's there forever. The cotten ones you could usually bleach it out in the wash then put it back together. Even then the cotten ones never looked quite as squared away after they had been washed.


  2. #32
    well, yeah. they still issue those in Boot Camp, but I was wondering what this talk about building the cover is all about. I'm slightly confused. 75% of the MC uses the kingform covers.


  3. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by Petz View Post
    well, yeah. they still issue those in Boot Camp, but I was wondering what this talk about building the cover is all about. I'm slightly confused. 75% of the MC uses the kingform covers.
    I was issued the one with the metal band that was adjustable, with a cloth top, after boot camp, I bought a vinyl top and it looks 100% better then the cloth. I still have it and I just looked at it to see what manufacturer it is, its a Bernard CO. frame. Whats the difference of Kingform and Bernard?


  4. #34
    one is a leather band and a different angle for the EGA on the front while the other is cardboard band with a more vertical angle for the EGA.


  5. #35
    Just checked mine again, looks like it has a fake leather wrapped heavy plastic head band, no wonder it hurts like a b1tch after 10 minutes, and the EGA is slanted foward, looks sharp though.


  6. #36
    nice... so you never bought a new one huh...


  7. #37
    currently i wear a kingform, it looks great and all.

    But i just love how crisp 8th & I covers look. from what i hear they use a regular frame and cloth cap, but they build them differently to look clean and sharp.


  8. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by Petz View Post
    nice... so you never bought a new one huh...
    Yeah, im cheap like that. even bought a used pick up with no AC in Yuma, AZ, nobody wanted to ride with me either.


  9. #39
    that's the way to do it!!! haha.

    usually people buy a standard cab and have it loaded with junk (me) so you can give people lifts!


  10. #40
    fespar...you should just purchase the cover and ship it out to one of us former 8th & I marines and we'll whip it into shape for you.

    While on the Drill Team, my cotton cover was washed twice a week. Each time, it remained partially damp from the incomplete drying. This allowed me to stretch it with the double halo frame I constructed. We always used to halo frames but removed the angle-mount bar from the second. A wire clothes hanger was clipped just long enough to form a crescent half circle on each end that was wrapped around each emblem post over each ear. The hanger (cheat bar) went from each post around the front of the cover-bill. This allowed us to force the entire cover into a pinching form that fit our individual heads and helped in forming the dip in the cover. Once I inserted the reinforced halo's into the clothe cover, I then inserted the one remaining halo mounting bar into its holder on the cover. Then I would stretch the clothe over the entire cover. The washing usually shrinks the material a bit, so thats why you do everything while it is still a bit damp. Over time we would get a bit of rust forming from the wire hanger (cheat bar). If it was significant, we would use white chalk to cover it up, or just get a new clothe cover. Keep in mind that each new clothe cover would usually be washed several times before it was workable on the cover. Most of us had several of them so we would have overlap when one got torn from the front site post or stained or rusted from grass or cheat bar.

    Most important is the fact that our covers on the Drill Team were not very comfortable. As "8th & I Marine" stated, every marching marine kept plastic in the top of the cover to keep you from sweating through the cover. We also put tape in on the plastic so our covers would stick to our heads. This was just another way to avoid your cover from getting knocked off or blowing off in the wind. Most of us would have red impression marks on our foreheads by the time we took them off. Again, we built them for looks and staying power only, not comfort.

    I still have mine. If I get around to getting into storage, I'll pull it out and take some pictures for you if you wish.

    S/F


  11. #41
    that would be nice if you could take a photo of it.


  12. #42
    Give me 'til the weekend and I'll load it up.


  13. #43
    Quote Originally Posted by jms22 View Post
    You'd need a metal coat hanger, cut in half. It gets bent at a 90 degree angle and put across the top (basically making a V in the top of the cover) and bent around the screwposts at the bottom. Called a cheater bar.

    The metal strip on the halo gets flattened (with a hammer, or any blunt tool) then bent backwards (so the 'back' side of the halo is actually the part touching the cloth) at the same angle of the bill of the cover. Wrap the black part of the frame with electrical tape.

    Sometimes another halo (minus the front metal strip) is put in the cover to help it keep shape.

    Hard to explain, would be easier to show with pictures but I don't have access to my personal camera/computer/cover right now.
    I still have my dress blue cover from my time at 8th & I. Below are some photos of it showing the exterior as well as the interior construction, including the double halo and the coat hanger wire.

    Please forgive the discoloration and the age to the visor; the cover is almost 25 years old. It is the same one I am wearing in my avatar.

    Apparently I can only attach five files at a time so I will attach the rest in another post.

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  14. #44
    Here is the second set showing the double halo and the hanger wire.

    The last photo is of me at the War Memorial practicing for the 1989 NCO Parade, where I was the Adjutant. That's the same cover in this photo as well.

    Hope this helps.

    Semper Fi.

    EDIT: I had forgotten to mention in my first post that we also used thumbtacks behind the chin strap (see photo #4) to keep the cloth cover from creeping up and to keep it taut and straight.

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    Last edited by SergeantSlayton; 12-26-10 at 04:56 PM. Reason: Additional information

  15. #45

    Dress cover

    Thanks a lot! I appreciate your help very much!
    Semper Fi!


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