David

I make solo seats and don't use any glue on my seats. I don't wet mold either. David Theobald

I do use antique paste all the time on seats. I only use the alcohol based stains. On this seat I kept working back and forth from dark to light and medium colors. I used black, dark brown, medium brown, sheridan and buckskin dye; all by Fiebings. I show pics of the seat not because I think it is so terrific but to show the results when the dye is applied nearly dry on a cloth. I used sheriday antique paste when I was done to help blend all the colors. A final coat of leather balm with atom wax as the only finish. Dave

Jeff, I'm not exactly sure of plating, it apparently means a coating was added to the leather surface. This was probably due to its intended purpose. You didn't tell us what you used the leather for. I'd be interested to know that. Jacked leather refers to a process similar to glassing. It refers to drawing the edge of a piece of glass across the surface of the leather to compact the fibers of the hide and make the surface smooth. Check out Barry King's glassing tool. Jacking was a method of glassing an entire hide during production while glassing tools are used by hand on small pieces. This is my best guess on the terms plating and jacking. Dave

WOW pretty well sums it up! Truly amazing Dave

Thanks Roo Dave

Thanks for checking it out guys. Tom, you should not be jealous, it was a pita! Especially when you finally get the seat assembled and discover you missed beveling a cut! Dave

I recently had a customer send me a request for some art for their next seat. This is a repeat customer for me. I just finished assembling the seat.... color comes next. Dave Theobald

They look great Tim, very nice work indeed. Also congratulations on the LC&SJ cover. That was also a beautiful piece of work. Dave Theobald

Welcome from another Buckeye, you'll love the site Dave Theobald

There are a lot of better dyes out there than Eco Flo Dave

Thanks Hawg, Always good to get feedback from the Harley guys. Dave

ROGER, BUDDY, welcome back, glad to see you're pounding on leather again. Nice stuff and keep on posting. Dave

Thanks all, The comments always mean so much. Dave

Here's the first bike from Jeff Cochran's new shop. Speed King Jeff Cochran Solo.

Thanks for checking this out, I just thought a few folks might want to see where those signature seats ended up. Dave

Very nicely done. I like this a lot. Keep up the great work Dave

I really like both your seats Troy. Your take on that second seat in much nicer. Cleaner tooling too. I assume there is going to be an inlay of some sort in the center? Keep that stitching nice and flat on the leather. I've been hearing that some lacing where you sit gets pretty uncomfortable after a few miles. Dave

Hey guys, Here is the final product for the seat I called Signature Seat #3. Scroll to the photo and watch the slide show. Check out the link: http://www.chopcult....8-fxs-solo.html Thanks for looking Dave Theobald

nicely done, you should be proud of that. David

I use both Lexol and Neatsfoot Oil. When I'm tooling I put Lexol in my spray bottle to case the leather, I sure makes the swivel knife cut easier and need less stropping. When I'm finished with tooling, and the leather is dry. I use neatsfoot before the application of dye to the leather. I let it sit overnight before applying the dye. Dave

I can't show you my first project. That was a checkbook cover. I decided to assist the drying process with an oven..... It ended up looking like a potato chip..... ANYWAY. My first bike seat is also lost to history (trash can). But my fourth try ended up on a motorcycle so that's where I'll start. Also showing my LAST seat for Jeff Cochran. I'll throw in the clown seat too as it was my last seat out the door.

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

Beautiful Mark, Nicely done. Dave

Wonderfully clean work Bruce. Nice crisp lettering. Nicely done all around. Dave