Jimbob

Cool, glad u can use the info....put ur tools in place, ur mind on spot and play some little Walter, Muddy and Howling Wolf....maybe a little B.B....that odd da get u in the mood...it does me!! Greetings and give me a PM if u need more detail info... Jimbob

Jon OK, lets see if I can help a bit...no pro but done a few seats myself... First u need to decide what purpose the seat has to have...a hard ass chopper bar hopper seat....flat and unable to ride more the 50 miles?! Or a near factory seat, lowered...shaved and altered with different foam, gel pad or simply styled for looks. If you go for a flat rolled metal seat pan, then u mostly will be limited with foam hight and comfort....also the skirt material (sides ) need to be riveted on the pan ( can be glued but not opimum way to do.... If you get a factory seat ( recomeded for first try..) then u will most likely have a fiberglass pan and can staple (upholstery staples) the skirts and other parts of the lower leather seat. Pattern making is most simple on a rolled flat seat pan, pattern making and eventually wet forming on a near factory or custom seat is much more iffy... Also will u be sewing to attach the skirts or just braiding the parts together will make a difference..... Now to the foam....woohhaaaa...there is tons of different opinions, foams and ways to do this....lots of folks here do simple Neophrene on a flat rolled seat pan, not comfy, hot as heck in summer and not good when pressure points build up after 300 miles or so...haha..... a custom made or altered factory seat gives u more options here....dense foam on the bottom ( the yellow foam from the factory is no gud...) but will work as base to build on....then use pressure point ankers, like insert memory foam ( I dont like it ) or gel pads...( love it ) on top of this will be a layer of lesser dense foam for mobility of ur hind end...then flanks build in for stability and set back.....lastly will be a layer of very soft foam not more then 1/4 to 1/2 incg for smothing things out... Lots of work, lots of effort and much more seat hight then the old Neophrene pad.... Now ur top seat piece can be a solid 5/6 oz piece of veg tan, tolled, printed on or tattooed on ( yeahh so cool !!) The skirts need to be more formable and in some cases wet formable.....so a 2/3 oz serves me well, lots of people go more depending on there skills and needs and seat designs. If you want to go fancy, u can mix and match veg tan with tooling and upholstery chrome tan for looks ( will be my next project...) Some people glue the top seat part onto the foam some dont, if you have a weird shape u might need to do buttons or loops/clips to hold down a section into the seat foam ( no wrinkels allowed...haha ) on custom or near factory seats. Braiding is done for looks and for flexibility of seat to skirt design, also will rubb ur inner legs raw when going long miles...hehe... A sort of cross stitch braid is better and more flat for comfort but not as strong....I have done flat cross braiding and sewing...works well, looks good too. I think, the pan u will get mostly will dictate ur overall design and comfort/looks.....lots of folks here do rolled flat metal seat pans for a low seat and cool look, There is actually no limit in how u put one together and almost no wrong way.....EXEPT>>> it has to be done safe, the rider has only this anker point and the handle bars to stay on doing 90 miles an hour!!!! There are guys they use small innertubes as seat cushening inside there seats...( how cool is that...hehee..) My little advise is, get a low profile old torn smack around left over yard sale factory seat....no matter what brand...and take off vinyl ( juuuckkk,,, keep skirts and top for pattern and shave the smackens out of this seat, alter the seat hight and play with it....make nice top cover and play with different skirt patterns and looks..... U will get the hang of a real seat for real riding, then go and get metal seat pans and go for the looks and style, they can be just as work intensive and elaborate ....not rocket sience.....a seat is a seat. Me not a pro, still learning a lot and cant spell worth a hoot...haha....but always when I do a new seat I get this itching....>> what can I do better and how can I make it cooler then the last seat..... After all, it is not the destination, its the ride what counts..... I have no clue if this helped u any but I hope u getting it on soon...it is so much fun!!....lets make a seat.... OOhhhh...and when u have time look at Xian leather seats on the web...that's my god of all seat makers....Chris is awesome!!! Good luck Jimbob

Hmmmm, if I wouldnt know it for shure I would say you been practicing,,,,,I can see you going down the road in a big rig....having a slab of granite on ur knees and while u watch the road on the interstate hammering and tooling away!!...haha No seriously, very nice work, good details and by all means not a beginner anymore....keep it up and keep us posted....good luck to you!! Jimbob

Thanks Bob.....been a long nite at work....did not catch ur means right away...haha..... Will try laquer thinner first.... Thanks again... James

Bob you mentioned "both" of these products and stated laquer thinner.....what would be the other product....or did you mean acetone?? Thank you for helping... James Exactly my problem.....way to much to thick....tried to put it on with sheep wool, as you told me....worked great!!!

NO SUX here...brother....clean, neat and great color!!!!! Nice, ...now step forward and say : I did well!" Jimbob

Just told leatherguru about my new idea...like to find me a torn Wing chair and recover with fine tan collored upholstery leather..... Is the procedure the same as fabric upholstery...? Just wondered where to start....any links out there would be great. I love leather furniture and would like to add inserts of tooled veg tan on sides or bottom panels...maybe Navajo style...with Conchos....uhhhh, ahhhhh....hmmmmmm.!! Let me know if ya all have any ideas... Thanks so much.... Jimbob

You make us all look bad...haha....very fine craftsmanship....as I said before..... I am trying to get a bit into furniture....like to find me an old Wing chair....and upholster with fine leather....ohhhh we'll see... Greetings James

I am wondering how can I remove a coat of neat-lac from veg tan leather...the coating has crackelt and dirt or grease has seeped under it...I think...I have now dirty looking spiderweb like cracks on the leather...assuming the neat lac wrinkelt on me..... Is there a safe way to remove some of that neat-lac??? Fiebings deglazer and also Acetone I have been told....? Anybody ever tried that!?? Please let me know if I can save this leather item... Thanks so much James

Hey, I love that one....inside red and the outside black...real cool...the way u done the braiding is sharp too....nice work....Kpt. Jack Sparrow would be proud!! Jimbob

Hey, I like it....huhhh what u gonna do about that....?? It is never a failure when u try, it is one when u give up......u wanna see some of that stuff I did many moons ago...u better sit down and have a bucket handy...haha...but I tried again, and again and then some more...and now, today...guess what....I am still a rookie and still trying to get perfect!!! It is not the destination what makes it such a great ride...it is the journey itself.....!! So go and try again, again and then again....u will like the way this works.....because u will get better!! Now, back to the bench and lets do some work!! Greetings Jimbob

Ach du meine Guete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, that is impressive....no, that is awesome....real cool...can I borrow this for my next speeding ticket traffic stop with the local law....it would scare the knobbies out of that deputy...heheheeee..... Wll done!! Jimbob

Lets see......maybe we can help that...haha... This one is in the dry but not on the seat.....hope it shows a bit better...not my design, but I did alter it a lot and added things.....the guy loves it and ordered a matching wallet....pfffff.....when can I do a seat with flowers...hahahaaa.... Greetings

Here is the carving on a new seat......El-Diablo....since my Spanish is almost none existent, I hope this means >>Me Santa Claus<<...or so...hehehee... Greetings Jimbob

That is laser printed...this image is floating around at club chopper and has info about it there...neat trick,,,,but I love carving.....but still a good effort to pinch new life into the chopper seat comunity!! Aloha james This is laser printed, that image is floating around on club chopper.com....neat trick, but I love carving my leather....still cool effort to bring new life into the seat community!! Aloha Jimbob