David

Today's progress

Wonderful job and very slick looking. Dave

Ok, Tooling is finished and the seat is now built.... Things should pick up a bit from here. Dave

Very fine work Roo. I like both versions but I do prefer the lighter one. I've found that most bikers prefer their seats dark. I've only had one that took a totally no dye seat from me... just some neetsfoot oil. Dave

It was simply a layout change. The linework will be covered by detailing the scales at a later time. Dave

The work continues

Hey Shirley, This was one of ..... maybe the first tattoo style seat that I ever did. It showed well at the IFoLG show in Columbus and now a customer in New York wants one for his new Sucker Punch bike. Glad to hear that you are getting out the tools again.... getting back into seats or going another direction this time? Hang in there things are bound to get better. Dave

Joel, The seat pan in this case is commercially available. This seat is going on a Sucker Punch motorcycle in New York and the brand of seat that Sucker Punch uses is West Eagle. West Eagle makes their pans available and also plain complete seats. They are steel. Dave Theobald

A new seat for a client in New York. Old artwork but it still looks pretty good. Dave

Johnny, welcome to the site and to the biggest problem that seat builders encounter. First black dye stinks, no matter what kind you use. It rubs off. So will most of the colors like the cordovan, red, blue, etc...... Still, Fiebings dye is the best. Oil or Alcohol based are about the same as far as I can tell..... Eco Flo belongs in the trash...best place for it. It is too fragile for bike seats. It will end up on the back of someone's jeans. Save the eco flo for coloring pictures that you hang on a wall, it doesn't belong on objects that you really use. The best thing to hold dye in place (it still isn't perfect) is Neat Lac. You want to apply it with a cloth, don't spray or brush it on....it can get super glossy that way. One coat, maybe two at the most is what to use. However, it can be pretty shiney, so I've been recommending that you try what the old timers used back before Neat Lac was on the market. It is a wood finish called Deft. It is available in gloss, satin and flat. Again apply with a cloth don't spray or brush; one maybe two coats at most. Rub it in until it looks almost dry after you are done. You want to get this stuff IN the leather not laying on top of the leather. If you get Deft or Neat Lac on too thick it can crack and actually peal off. I guess I should offer my appologies to Tandy here for hating their Eco Flo products..........nah they stink what can I say. This is of course just my personal opinion and should be taken for what you feel it is worth. There that was ALMOST an appology,.... right? Dave

I'll make it unanimous thus far. The Bianchi videos are great. Watch them over and over. Dave

1911 Operator, you might try to grab a copy of Packing Iron by Richard C. Rattenbury. It will give you a chance to look a real period tooling. Dave Theobald

I'm another one who is not into skulls, although I've done my share of them, if you are going to do skulls the anatomically correct ones are the only way to go. These are nicely done, well carved and beautifully shaded. Well done indeed. Dave Theobald

I'm sure many of you have heard of the Fantastic Leather Burnisher. They are on Ebay quite a bit. I just wanted to let you all know that the name of this machine is VERY appropriate. You won't believe how much time this thing will cut off of all your jobs. Not cheap but worth every penny. Just my humble opinion David Theobald

David, The price depends on the amount of work... Sucker Punch was charging $800 for my seats....which is a pretty outrageous mark up. Most of my seats sell in the $400-$500 range, but that is for a solo springer seat. If your customer wants a two up seat for a Road King, that has GOT to be a lot more. Your best bet is to add up the cost of materials and then decide what you want to make per hour. I've heard the term welt used mostly for shoe and boot construction, so tell me how it applies to a bike seat Thanks, Dave

Try loading the pic on the site, things will go much better then. Dave

Chuck is being very modest. If you would like to see the state of the art in Contemporary Gun Leather done it the period correct manner. Visit his site Wild Rose Trading Company. I always come away from there ready to start making western gun leather; only to have another order for a motorcycle seat appear in my email. Someday....... Dave Theobald

Those are really beautiful........great job and great Idea