Seat Padding And Shaping

[UKRay]

I have a customer who wants a single seat made. He has shown me a seat pan made from stainless steel but wants me to make the filler/padding and a leather seat cover. He has agreed to go with closed cell foam - laminated camping mat layers seem the easiest option as the full thickness stuff is hard to find in the UK.

Given that the seat has to fit snugly to the rest of the bike, I wondered if I ought to ask the customer to do the foam work but realised that this could potentially make the job more complicated - do you generally make up the padding or does your customer usually supply a seat pan ready padded for you to cover?

My main questions are:

Should the foam be stuck to the seat pan and built up in situ?

How do I laminate the layers - what glues should I use? -

How should I shape the foam when the layers are in place.

I saw that some makers use a Stanley Surform for shaping - is this common?

Thanks for your help,

Ray

[David]

I have a customer who wants a single seat made. He has shown me a seat pan made from stainless steel but wants me to make the filler/padding and a leather seat cover. He has agreed to go with closed cell foam - laminated camping mat layers seem the easiest option as the full thickness stuff is hard to find in the UK.

Given that the seat has to fit snugly to the rest of the bike, I wondered if I ought to ask the customer to do the foam work but realised that this could potentially make the job more complicated - do you generally make up the padding or does your customer usually supply a seat pan ready padded for you to cover?

My main questions are:

Should the foam be stuck to the seat pan and built up in situ?

How do I laminate the layers - what glues should I use? -

How should I shape the foam when the layers are in place.

I saw that some makers use a Stanley Surform for shaping - is this common?

Thanks for your help,

Ray

Ray,

I can't answer all your questions, but I can get a few.

Should the foam be stuck to the seat pan..... yes.

I don't use layers. I build solo seats and use one thin sheet of foam 3/4" thick.

I shape with an electric meat cutting knife. The surform will probably make a mess of closed cell foam.

Dave

[UKRay]

Ray,

I can't answer all your questions, but I can get a few.

Should the foam be stuck to the seat pan..... yes.

I don't use layers. I build solo seats and use one thin sheet of foam 3/4" thick.

I shape with an electric meat cutting knife. The surform will probably make a mess of closed cell foam.

Dave

Many thanks, Dave.

Having looked at the amazing seats you and the other guys build. I'm keen to give it a go. What advice would you give someone starting out making bike seats? It seems that I may not be asking the right questions! LOL

I guess the pattern, like every other pattern, is just a process of trial and error until you learn how to do it right but are there any tips you can give me about fitting a seat to a seat pan? Do you start out with a basic pattern or do you cut a new design for each seat?

BTW - I have finally found a local source for super thick closed cell foam so I'm now hunting an electric carving knife on eBay!

Ray

[JohnD]

Ray,

I use a closed cell, neoprene foam (like mouse pad foam). Most of my seats are 1/2" thick, but sometimes I'm asked to make cushier ones. For these, I stack the foam in layers, using 3m spray adhesive. I use a Black&Decker turkey knife to cut the basic shape, then use a surform to make the final shape. Be careful of the direction you work, because the surform can tear chunks out. It does make a mess, so have the shop vac ready.

After shaping the foam, I usually do a test fit on the bike and make any adjustments to the shape. If the bike isn't in our shop, I have the customer check the shape to make sure it's what they want before covering it. Make your patterns for the cover from the finished padded seat.

Some things to consider: If the seat is to be frame mounted make sure the pan is made with the proper allowances for the thickness of the leather and felt (I usually cover the bottom of the seat with felt), otherwise the mounts and such may not line up.

If the seat is to be tooled, make sure you mark a centerline or at least some reference marks on both the seat and the under side of the leather to aid in centering your design. Once the glue grabs, you'll have a hard time pulling it apart without ruining the padding at least.

Don't forget to checkout Beeza's tut: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=8277 tons of good info.

Good luck with the seat, have fun. I hope this helps.

John

[MADMAX22]

Also you can use one of those really course wood files, the kind with the bigger teeth that allmost look like little half circle blades. Thats what I have used to do the final forming with around the edges. They are relatively cheap also.

[UKRay]

Thanks for the good advice, folks.

I have managed to source 20mm thick, closed cell polyethelene foam and wondered what glue would be best to stick this to the seat pan. I have all the usual leatherworking contact adhesives but do I need something special? I'm slightly concerned that the wrong glue could react with the foam in some way - maybe make it brittle over time. Has anyone got any experience of this?

Ray

[outcast]

3m 90 will work well.

[bustedlifter]

Small innertubes make THE best padding. Ride on a cushion of air, no foam to compress.

[outcast]

Small innertubes make THE best padding. Ride on a cushion of air, no foam to compress.

Where can we get such an innertube as that. I'd like to give it a try.

[MADMAX22]

Usually hardware stores or even walmart. Usually those little guys are for cart tires, wheelbarrows things like that.

[HarleyPete]

In the UK we can get a hard foam that is used for orthopaedic padding and seating. I think it is known as M60 foam and can be bought from good upholstering suppliers. it can be filed or shaped with a sureform.I use a 1/2 to 3/4 re constituted foam that is a bit firmer then a cover of M60 then shape to requirements. If you want more help send a PM and I will give you my number.

Pete Smallwood, Irlam M44

[bustedlifter]

Where can we get such an innertube as that. I'd like to give it a try.

That's a 200-50 inner tube used in Razor scooter tires. You can get them from the Razor Scooter Store or Razorama. The smallest tube I can get locally is a 280/250-4 but it is quite a bit wider than the Razor tube.

[8ball]

Hi there

Im in the Uk and am too just starting on seats.

I work with shoe repairs and will be using what they call in the trade 'micra' it comes in loads of thickness's and can be easly shaped using a sanding wheel attatched to a drill, or if you have a nice shoes repairer (like me ) they mit let you use there finishing machine you can get a super smooth finish and bonding the layers is real easy with neoprene glue, used for leather soles and rubber soles on shoes .

hope this helps and hope to get into a Uk network of leather works

great site

cheers shaun

Edited March 29, 2010 by 8ball