billymac814

I did several test pieces using the different color dyes and different mixtures. The tan is darker than I would have expected but the saddle tan seems nice. I also got an airbrush tonight so I'll be practicing with that as well. I didn't experience the dark brown antique making everything very dark though. In fact it didn't do much of anything except darken the cuts on my scrap pieces. I used 1 coat of tan kote first and let it dry. I'm going to do some more testing with or without that although I don't want it dark so it's not really a bad thing. Also can I mix both the oil and spirit dye with alcohol to thin it? I don't remember how I ended up with two different kinds. Thanks again.

I have checked out deviantart.com I like that site because you can usually contact the artist which makes it easier to get permission. I've done a whole lot of google searching and it's tough to really figure out where the art came from. In fact the picture I used on my first seat I found on google but later seen it on deviant and it had a note from the artist saying it was not ok to use, at this point the seat was done and gone so nothing I can do about it except be more careful next time. I read somewhere that a 3d copy isn't the same anyway so wouldn't be an infraction but I don't want to rely on that method. I guess if I use multiple pieces and combine them then it's not as bad. I guess Id just feel better doing it on the up and up. I'll check out the I stock photo too. Thanks everyone.

Hello everyone, I was wondering where those of you who can't draw find artwork to carve into leather? I've pretty much accepted the fact I can't draw to good which leaves me to depend on others to do it for me. I would mainly want artwork that would be appropriate for chopper seats. My seats will also end up for sale so I don't want to just find a picture on the Internet and use it without permission or payment. I've considered talking to some local tattoo artists and seeing if I could build a working relationship with someone. What is a resononable price to pay for a picture? I don't want to keep doing the same one over and over so Id only be using it once which really limits how much I could spend on it. I'm sure the price would vary depending on a lot of factors. Is there a better way I haven't thought of? I also thought about one of those tattoo sites where you pay to purchase it but I don't know if that is ok even if I pay for it since it won't end up a tattoo. I've seen on another seatmakers website that she charges extra if she provides the artwork, that would cover getting someone to do it. Also what if a customer sends the artwork over and I have no idea if they drew it or just got it from google or whatever. Is the resposibility mine then to make sure it's not copyrighted somewhere? It seems impossible to find out unless it's a popular piece. Also Ive seen a lot of people doing old tattoo flash like saylor Jerry stuff. Is that ok? I know he hasn't been dead long enough. I'll gladly take any and all suggestions. Thanks Billy McCabe.

David, thanks for the advice, I always like looking at your seats and tutorials, I probably couldn't have completed this without them. I really don't want the seat very dark, what color do you recommend? I thought everyone seemed to use a darker color. As for the sno-seal, I don't have to use it, I just have it, in fact if I don't need it for waterproofing it I would rather not. How do you lace without a needle? I didn't use one for the decrorative lacing but the basketweave is really tight to even get a needle pushed through. Am I doing something wrong with the pattern? The edges of my leathers basically meet together at the edges. Should the holes actually be laying together like they would on a wallet? I hope that is clear. Id like to see a side shot of your seat when the leathers are tied together. I would entertain the idea of not using a needle if I could figure that one out. Do you use anything to push it through? That's probably enough questions. Thanks again for all your posts. Billy McCabe. quote name='David' date='26 April 2010 - 12:26 PM' timestamp='1272299190' post='152528'] I do it a little differently from MadMax. When the seat is assembled like yours is. I apply neatsfoot oil and let it sit over night. Then I dye the seat usually with an airbrush. I use spirit dye, just because I've never used the oil based stuff. When it is dry, i wet the seat with water and apply the antique paste. final finish is leather balm with atom wax. I don't know why you would want to add sno seal too. I'd use one or the other. If you don't want the seat dark, used some color other than the dark brown antique paste. It will add color to the entire seat. When I lace, I don't use a needle... that's just how I do it. Hope this helps Dave

Thanks that cleared some things up. I had a pretty good idea just wasn't sure if I cleaned before oil and oil before dye and I wasn't sure about the resist for antique. Do I put the resist over the entire project carving and all? I don't understand how it only goes in to the carving unless it has to do with either it being cut or just letting it in the crevices longer. Also if I use the leather balm w atom wax can I use sno seal after that? It seems like it would seal it up and not allow anything in but I have a feeling that's not the case. I'll definatley practice I want it to turn out good. Although I practiced last time and I thought I had it down but I was testing on small pieces and when I went to do the much larger seat it got splotchy. I wanna play around with the color too, I don't want it real dark. I'm gonna order another pan and make one for my bike similar to this but with a more detailed carving, I got a few more stamps and I think I know some of the things I was doing wrong. I also got a perma lock needle this time and it helped tremendously, I was suprised how hard I could pull on it without it pulling out, it took a while to figure out how to cut it right but much better than the hook type ones that I kept breaking. My hands are really sore today though after working all weekend lacing. I'll get better pictures when I finish it. I remember beeza(I think) telling someone on the chopper forum that it would be more expensive to make your own seat, I had no idea! I've spent a small fortune so far and I'm far from done. But I found something I like doing, hopefully I can make recoup some money. Thanks again, sorry for the long post. Billy McCabe.

I just finished my seat and need to now do the dye, antique, finish..... I wasn't to happy with how the last one came out and I've read every post on here trying to get a good method but I'm unsure of the order. So how would you finish this with these products? What I have; denatured alcohol neatsfoot oil fiebings spirit dye(tan) fiebings oil dye (saddle tan) tan kote feibings dark brown antique paste IMG_0991.JPG fiebings leather balm with atom wax. Sno-seal. I don't have to use everything but that's what I have. Im planning on getting an airbrush too. The seat is made with 8-10 oz Wickett & Craig leather and the lacing is 1/4 roo w/ 1/8 holes and the applique lacing is 1/8 roo.

I've seen the kickers. They are alright, but I was trying to think of something different. I think you nailed it with the seat. Removable isn't really needed since I'm usually carrying a pistol. Although I seen everyones comments about the legal issues and although I doubt it would be a problem Id rather not draw any more attention to my bike than needed because if I did get pulled over for it they'd probably give me a hard time for everything else too like no turn signals or horn or inspection. I started on my second seat now then I'm going to make one for my bike. I'm doing some decorative lacing on this one to practice and getting an airbrush to see if I have better results with the finish.

Nice little twist there, I didn't see the bottom coming. Rickyfro, I liked yours too when I seen it a while ago when I seen it I've been trying to think of a way to incoporate brass knuckles, I mean a paperweight, on my bike for a while now.

Thanks guys. I've read and reread everything on paul's site, and should be starting another as soon as my stuff comes in. The Mexican round braid is time consuming but it really does look good. I read that Dave doesn't use a needle, I went through about 6 of the split kind ones, Id like to find a better way than that but I don't see how it could be done without??

I really thought about it since it is nicer than the cheap eBay seat I have now, but i made it for practice and the skull really isn't what I want on mine. I ordered another pan and the new leather so I'll make another one. Id also like to do a little more decorative lacing on mine. I also spent most of the day reading Paul Burnetts site and hopefully learned a lot about carving and tooling. I think I learned I need more tools too. I read somewhere on here that Christian from Xian leather only bevels his work, is that the case? Or did I mis understand. I checked out his site and that's what it kinda looks like and it looks great even though it's a different style than most.

Thanks for the info, I'll check out Paul's website, I definately need work on the tooling. I made this seat for practice so it's not going on my bike, it very well could take me two years to get one. I really thought Id screw it up more than I did so as a whole I was pleased it got finished. I'm excited to get the W&C, I was going to get H.O. Until I found out W&C is about 30 min away from me. Maybe I'll use up some more of the Tandy leather and practice tooling this weekend while I wait for more supplies to come.

Hello everybody, Long time lurker first time poster. This is my first seat and first real project other than the starter kit things. Any comments good or bad welcome. I had a bit of trouble with the liquids on this, mainly on the back side (luckily). I used Tandy leather and Kangaroo Lace. I ordered some Wickett& Craig leather so I'm looking forward to using good stuff. I've only been working on leather for a couple months, I got into it to make a seat for my bike but now I can't stop. Thank you to everyone, I couldn't have completed this without this site and especially David T. for all the information he has shared on this forum. Hopefully my pictures work on this. [/img] [/img] [/img] well looks like my pictures are too big. I'll have to see about fixing that Heres the back side.