Rockworthy

Hmm I'm having a lot more trouble with the measuring and the marking than I thought I would have. You see, the ball needs to be held perfectly, and I mean perfectly, to within a fraction of a millimeter straight vertical. If you deviate even a hair, when I mark the ball sides it gets all crooked. In other words marking the ball all the way around the equator is impossible so far. It's as if I would have to mount the ball on a spindle and spin it, in order to make a straight line right down the exact equator.

Yeah it's the shape and weight of the billiard ball that is desirable to me, and the feel of leather. So many people have an "8-ball" shifter that it's just been done to death and doesn't seem very creative to me. Where's this Stohlman's book you're talking about?

Thanks

Hmm... that seems like it would work but if I mark the pool ball directly, that won't work because you have to have some extra leather to pull the leather down onto the ball with, which will cover up the marks I make on the ball.

I've been to 2 fabric stores, 2 craft stores and 2 leather craft specialty stores and not one of them has had the thread. Isn't that weird? You'd think it would be common and easy to find, seeing as how it is found in EVERY nice vehicle, motorcycle, boat, upholstery or whatever. The search goes on... Maybe I need to find some kind of upholstery supply store.

Hello! Okay I admit it, I'm a super new-guy. I really want to wrap my steering wheel, shift boot and shift knob with leather, and I've been reading and studying all over this forum and some others for a while, so I decided to get started with the knob. It's a billiard ball that I drilled and tapped a hole into. When I fit the leather onto the ball I realized it needed to get stretched a whole lot in order to get into that hemispherical shape I want. I want to have two hemispheres of leather that I can then stitch together with some thick, white polyester thread. My question is this: what do I do from this point to get my hemispherical pieces? Should I glue it down to the ball and then "eyeball" about half way down and cut it with a hobby knife? Should I not glue it, but cut it off about half way and place it flat on the table and make another round piece of leather the same size? Ideally I want to be able to mark the underside with carefully measured marks and then make holes with an awl before stitching. I want to be as precise as possible for this whole project. What would you guys do? Thanks in advance!

I'm covering my steering wheel and shift boot and knob with thick, soft leather. No matter which fabric store I go to, none of them have the right kind of thread I want: I want that nice, thick thread that stands out visually. That kind of thread you see on the exposed stitching and seams in expensive automobiles. The leather working shop in town didn't even have it. All they had was this grimey, dirty, heavily waxed thread that looked like crap. I like it when you can actually see the twists in the thread. I believe it's called "top stitch" thread. I'm only doing hand stitching right now, no machine. Anyone know a good place to get it or what type is best? Also, to those of you out there who have hand stitched upholstery a lot, what kind of needles do I want? I have some needles but they're kind of small, only about 2" long so they're kinda hard to handle. It looks like the needles people are using on YouTube are much bigger and longer than mine. (Do I have needle envy? lol) I'll bet the ones designed for hand stitching leather have that nice 3-sided point... Can someone recommend a brand they like?

Thank you I'll check that out

Awesome thanks! That's a great idea using tape to mask, so that I can just go crazy with the stuff and apply it quickly and evenly. Thanks for the tips, great advice about the thinner to keep it fresh and at the right consistency. Do you have a type or brand of thinner that you suggest for this?

That's very interesting and I never thought of that. I don't have a drill press though, but I know someone who does... this technique brings a bunch of similar ideas to mind. Thanks man.

Do you know exactly what this crazy little spur thing is called? If I know what it's called I can go and search for it

Hello forum! I am a new guy at upholstery but I find this a fascinating craft. I really, REALLY want to learn how to make my own custom steering wheel covers, shift knobs and shift boots. I found a super high-end auto upholstery shop that has pictures of some of their work. What kind of leather is this in the picture and where can I get it? http://www.advancedleatherworkshop.com/AstonPics/VanquishSteerWheel.jpg See how soft, thick and smooth it is? I want. I WANT.

Hello again, I have another total noob question: I want to hand stitch a steering wheel cover onto my car. I have been researching how to do this for quite some time, but there is so many little details it's hard to get all the information in one place. So: Once I have my pattern for the leather I'm using and I cut out my piece of leather, I want to make holes with my awl along the seams before stitching. However, how do I make perfect holes the perfect distance apart, in a perfectly straight line? Is there some kind of tool that can mark the spots for the awl, so that I don't have to just "eyeball it"? This is all by hand, mind you, I don't have a machine.

Hello fellow forumers. I was wondering if any of you know a way to make using cement out of a tube less messy. I have some Barge cement which comes in a plain old blue tube, and the tube opening is just a huge hole that: #1 Likes to spurt out way too much cement at a time. #2 There are always little, sticky, filaments of glue that attach themselves to everything and get all over the place. Is there another type of cement-dispensing type of little contraption that I could put the cement in to, that would give me much better control of it while I'm using it? For instance a squeese container with a needle and cap, so that I can just get a little bit at a time...

Nice, thanks for the info, and I happen to have some Barge cement already. The kind in the blue tube. When I wait for it to dry and then stick it down, do I need to wait 24 hours or something for it to be strong enough to start sewing, or can I start after like 20 minutes or something?