crwsctrl

Scott, Thanks for the input that helps a lot . This seat is going to be a solo saddle. I made the seat pan out of fiberglass so that I could have something more form fitted to the frame. I plan to just do a seat with top and sides. The bottom of the pan is just going to have a heavy fabric and some rubber grommets at contact points on the frame. You bring up another thought... I had not thought about wet forming the leather to the seat. I plan on using 6oz on the top and then 4-5oz on the sides. As this being my first seat I was following one of the tutuorials by Paul Cox (for those interested: http://www.bikernet.com/garage/coxseat.asp ) where once the seat is dyed and stitched he then used an adhesive to attach the leather the foam and the riveted it down. I was thinking of getting a good fit and then using the rivets and adhesive to "cinch" down the leather. The seat is fairly basic in curves and lines, no dramatic or large pitches in the foam. Would I be wrong in assuming that by soaking the leather then it becomes more workable when fitting it over the leather and then as it dries it will shrink some pulling it tighter to the seat? Thanks, Randy

Hello to the group! I have to say I have been scanning this forum for a few weeks and the feedback and knowledge here has been invaluable. I am getting ready to build my first custom seat and before diving all the way in I was hoping to get a few tips from some that have traveled this road before. I build a custom seat pan out of fiberglass following some great tutorials from bikernet.com and I am getting ready to start attaching the foam and then working with my leather. Some of the questions I had revolve around the leather and this is where I was hoping to get some tips. When lacing the leather, how much overlap should I allow for from the top to the sides or should there be any? I assumed that I should overlap the leather by 1/4 or more but I wanted to see what most did. I plan on burnishing the edges to give finished look with beeswax and dremel polishing wheel. For those that burnish any tips or other techniques used? As I layout the hole pattern I was originally thinking of doing this with a seamstress tape measure and marking every 1/8 to 1/4". Is this the best approach or should I look at using a wheel to mark the pattern? This of course drops right into the next series of questions regarding the lacing. I have seen tips for punching out the leather holes and then tips on using an Awl to make holes. I realize the difference between pushing leather back vs. removing. I am on the fence now between which techniques to use. What is the consensus on making the holes for the leather laces? Also regarding the holes, how much space do you allow between the edge of the leather and the holes itself? In most of the images I have seen it looks like about 1/4 inch but I was curious is there was a rule of thumb? I purchased a lacing book written by Al Stohlman and there are some great lacing patterns in this book. One pattern that I was also interested in was one I saw posted on the forum titled a Mexican braid? I have looked around but I have been unable to find this lace pattern. Does anyone have any other suggestions/instructions on a nice looking lace pattern for a seat? And finally ( whew) with regards to dying the leather and sealing it. I want to apply a dark (if not burnt( brown dye to the seat for a rich dark look. What is a good dye brand to look at using for a seat and when it comes to sealing the leather what might you suggest as a good sealant? I know these are a ton of questions and I really do appreciate any tips or suggestions the forum has. I'll post some pics in the near future as soon as I start making some progress. All the best. Randy

Great Advice! Thanks so much for the tips! All the best. Randy

TinyL, Can you give any pointers for the rivets? What size did you use? Did you lace the top and sides together first and then rivet or reverse? For the lacing what type of lace pattern is that and any suggestion on the hole spacing and size. Also with the lacing itself. Did you overlap the leather (seat top over side) and if so how much overlap did you allow for? Yeah you guessed it... I am getting ready to try to make my first seat as well... so any tips would be greatly appreciated. Great job, I can't wait to see others. Regards, Randy