David

Good tutorial Marlon, Great job. By the way I had trouble opening it this morning; but now it pops right open. There must have been a bit of a snag at the LW site this morning. Dave Theobald

That's a huge project Troy. Good luck with it. Thanks for checking out my seats. David Theobald

I think most folks using the wide lace are using kangaroo. Dave

Jammon, I hate to rain on your idea, but, seat pans aren't flat. You need a pan with the proper contour. It's easy to cover a flat board and get the leather to lay flat. The trick to learn is how to get it to lay flat on a contoured pan. And simply shaping the padding isn't going to get it done either. You really need the shaped padding on a contoured pan. Don't worry about the $50 so much, your first seat will probably never see a bike.....It took me 4 tries to make something that was decent. David Theobald

Beautiful Shirley, Very classic. I like it David Theobald

I'll try this one, for Chad, Chad try visiting some of the sites for manufacturers of Old School style rigid bikes. These seats are spring mounted not mounted to the frame like what you are used to seeing. Therefore an inch of padding is enough .... not the 4 or 5 inches that your bike has. There are many of these makers around....try Sucker Punch Sallys Detroit Brothers Flyright Choppers If you need more contact me Dave Theobald

It sounds like you all could benefit from a trip to the eye doc. I have a pair of glasses with a prescription for computer work.... the same could be done for leather work. All you need to know is how far the workpiece is from your eyes. In the meantime, check out some of the lighted headband magnifiers at MicroMark http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp That should get you there.... If I messed up the link, go to www.MicroMark.com and type in magnifier in the search box. Dave Theobald

Thanks Shirley, I got a call from them the day after it arrived at the shop.....The shop manager said it was supposed to be black! oops! LOL I told him, "I know, but it would have just looked so bad I couldn't do it!" ha ha just kidding....oh well, The shop manager said they were going to use it anyway. It is going on a very old school bike that is blue and cream colored so it should look great! Dave

Beautiful Shirley, And a worthy cause too. I hope it raises a ton of money. Dave

Very nicely done Shirley. Beautiful job on a very tough subject. I've seen many fabric patterns that I thought would make a great seat; but, never had the nerve to try one. Thanks for posting another great seat. Dave Theobald

Gee, lets make a list....lol 1. It ruins nice tooling. 2. It rubs off 3. Requires Neet Lac 4 Excessive fading. 5. Did I mention it rubs off? 6. Eventually looks like dark blue or grey. 7. Shows a lack of creativity. 8. Oh yeah, it rubs off. 9. any others? Ha ha......... gee I LOVE black. Roger, the seat looks wonderful....I like it a bunch. David Theobald

Shorts, Give some other leather suppliers a try. I use Wickett and Craig....I've always received good leather from them. Dave

Thanks for all the comments guys, David Theobald

Yes, Mad Max, the lettering is all cut and tooled freehand. This is a time comsuming seat for sure. Thanks for looking.... David Theobald

Came out really nice Roger, I love the fade colors. Beautiful job. David Theobald

Hey Roger, I worked on this one from 6am on Saturday morning until after midnight. I really do not care for these bike shop deadlines. It is what I deal with all the time. Dave

I finished the staining and antiquing this morning. I'll get it shipped off tomorrow Let me know what you think. David Theobald

I finished lacing this last evening so, here is the poker chip seat all laced up and ready to have the stain applied. It's getting there, I should have it finished today. David Theobald

Thanks for the comments guys, Roger, there is a lot of time in the tooling of this one. I gotta try to convince these guys that there should be cool graphics on a seat not a ton of lettering. This one is a read-a-seat. I even eliminated some of the lettering..... under Sucker Punch Sallys, they wanted "oldschool choppers". Thankfully there was not enough room Dave

Here is the seat all tied down and read to start the final lacing. Dave

Shirley, You wound me to the core, dear, the lettering is cut by hand....I don't even own the stamps. LOL just teasing you girl. Dave

The two color lacing is just called double loop bi color. The lacing at the front of the seat is an applique lacing. Dave

I had to try the bi color lacing....This seemed like the perfect seat because the design looked a bit like a poker chip or roulette wheel. Feel free to give opinions as always. Dave

A bit of personal experience.....when I restored my 1900's Brusnwick, I wanted to restore everything. The fellow who did my pockets talked me into new leather rather than try to restore what is there. Most of these tables have not been very well cared for over the years. Mine sat in a flooded basement of a police station for nearly a month in the great flood back in the 20's. Despite how good most of your leather may look, it probably needs to be replaced. Does yours say I Tann Nic Nic on the plaque? Those were the state of the art cushions back in the day!..... I Tann Nic Nic is Cincinnati spelled backwards of course. Just my humble opinion..... Dave Theobald

Ok Johanna, I'm makin' your birthday cake....one pan one utensil...... uhhh....... Do you want that cake scrambled or hard boiled? Dave