Mt very first seat from the pan up

[ValinorKings]

Some of y'all might have already seen this in the "Show Off" section, but I figured I'd put it where it belongs. For anyone to whom this is new, know this: This will NOT be used by anyone, it was just sort of a practice run to see if I could do it. Hence, no mounting hardware. So don't worry, haha.

Feel free to critique and/or question away!

-Seth

[McJeep]

Feel free to critique and/or question away!

-Seth

Nice work! :0) What width lace did you use and hole size and spacing please :0) I just used a basket weave to close up a sissy bar bag and 1/8th lace / 3/32 holes / 5 stitch per inch spacing proved to be verrrrrry labour intensive and hard on the hands (bad arthritis). I'd like to know a more manageable combination for structural lacing. Do you use some kind of needle when lace/stitching things together or a fid to open up the hole and then retighten the braid?

[tashabear]

Nice work! :0) What width lace did you use and hole size and spacing please :0) I just used a basket weave to close up a sissy bar bag and 1/8th lace / 3/32 holes / 5 stitch per inch spacing proved to be verrrrrry labour intensive and hard on the hands (bad arthritis). I'd like to know a more manageable combination for structural lacing. Do you use some kind of needle when lace/stitching things together or a fid to open up the hole and then retighten the braid?

You didn't use a needle for that bag you made? No wonder you were going mad by the end! I'm not the OP, but I love working Mexican basketweave. I use these lacing needles, this lacing chisel, 1/8" lace, and a lacing fid to open the holes up a bit. Once I get going, it actually goes very quickly, and is easier and more intuitive for me than other types of lacing, like double loop.

[McJeep]

You didn't use a needle for that bag you made? No wonder you were going mad by the end!

sent you a message so as not to hijack the thread

[Bobby hdflame]

-Seth,

Man, that looks great! Can't believe that was your first!

I am new to leatherwork and have been reading and looking a lot on here trying to learn. I currently am teaching myself upholstery and have done a couple of motorcycle seats, but I would really like to learn how to do this kind of stitching around the edge.

What is the stitching style called and where can I find info on how to do it? Do you sew the edge first, then stitch it in place or is the stitching the only thing holding it together?

Thanks, and again, GREAT LOOKING SEAT!

Bobby

[276ccm]

I love it, really cool work!

[TroyS]

Looks pretty darned good! Lacing looks really nice!

[byfbo]

the lace looks nice and tight! Looks good!

[David]

The only thing I would critique is those pans need some curvature to them....a flat solo seat like that will have you riding the rear fender in no time.

As far as lacing. I never use a needle. I also never us a lacing chisel. Those slits will rip out when some big dude biker bounces his 250lb carcass on it at 70 mph... for about 6 months. (This is especially true if you use kangaroo lace) Instead of slits use holes.....they are MUCH stronger and won't rip out.

Otherwise nice seat.... a very worthy first project.

Dave Theobald

Edited August 18, 2010 by David

[joker]

The only thing I would critique is those pans need some curvature to them....a flat solo seat like that will have you riding the rear fender in no time.

As far as lacing. I never use a needle. I also never us a lacing chisel. Those slits will rip out when some big dude biker bounces his 250lb carcass on it at 70 mph... for about 6 months. (This is especially true if you use kangaroo lace) Instead of slits use holes.....they are MUCH stronger and won't rip out.

Otherwise nice seat.... a very worthy first project.

Dave Theobald

I agree on the pan curve. When you bend them and they look about right, take them just alitte more. Ya really need a good butt bucket to keep from sliding off. The seat looks great!

Joker

[Bobby hdflame]

I agree on the pan curve. When you bend them and they look about right, take them just alitte more. Ya really need a good butt bucket to keep from sliding off. The seat looks great!

Joker

I still can't get over how good your seat looks for a first one! I can't wait to try out some tooling myself. First I gotta do a little more reading here so I can learn from you pros!

I would like to make some stuff for my motorcycle, a new seat being one of them. D

Since you guys are talking seat pans, Does anyone have any "How-To's" on making a seat pan out of metal? I've been thinking about using fiberglass, but have never used fiberglass either. Would I need some specialized tools for dishing out the seat, or could I just use something like a sandbag and round hammer? I want a bigger one, more old school type Harley Police seat, deep dished, and haven't had any luck finding just the pans online.

Also, where's a good source for neoprene rubber to use for seat foam?

Thanks for any advice,

Bobby

[David]

I still can't get over how good your seat looks for a first one! I can't wait to try out some tooling myself. First I gotta do a little more reading here so I can learn from you pros!

I would like to make some stuff for my motorcycle, a new seat being one of them. D

Since you guys are talking seat pans, Does anyone have any "How-To's" on making a seat pan out of metal? I've been thinking about using fiberglass, but have never used fiberglass either. Would I need some specialized tools for dishing out the seat, or could I just use something like a sandbag and round hammer? I want a bigger one, more old school type Harley Police seat, deep dished, and haven't had any luck finding just the pans online.

Also, where's a good source for neoprene rubber to use for seat foam?

Thanks for any advice,

Bobby

Hey Bobby,

Nothing wrong with making your own pan, but why go to all that effort....They take an awful lot of time to cut bend drill and powdercoat, when you can buy a great one for $60 or less. Neoprene.... I use Foam and More in Troy, MI.

If you want an old style pogo style seat pan look up Spitfire Customs..... Ask for Bill Schalk Sr.

Dave

[Bobby hdflame]

Hey Bobby,

Nothing wrong with making your own pan, but why go to all that effort....They take an awful lot of time to cut bend drill and powdercoat, when you can buy a great one for $60 or less. Neoprene.... I use Foam and More in Troy, MI.

If you want an old style pogo style seat pan look up Spitfire Customs..... Ask for Bill Schalk Sr.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks a BUNCH! That's exactly the kind of pans I'm looking for. And for that price, there's no way I'd try to make one from metal or fiberglass. Where do you get seat hardware from for those pans?

Can you recommend a book or video where I can learn how to do the different kind of stitching around the seat edges and in the middle. From what I can see, most of the stitching around the edges looks functional, but some in the middle is just stitching for looks only.

BTW, I looked at your site and you do awesome work!

Thanks for the info, I'll go check out the foam site now.

Bobby

[David]

Dave,

Thanks a BUNCH! That's exactly the kind of pans I'm looking for. And for that price, there's no way I'd try to make one from metal or fiberglass. Where do you get seat hardware from for those pans?

Can you recommend a book or video where I can learn how to do the different kind of stitching around the seat edges and in the middle. From what I can see, most of the stitching around the edges looks functional, but some in the middle is just stitching for looks only.

BTW, I looked at your site and you do awesome work!

Thanks for the info, I'll go check out the foam site now.

Bobby

Thanks for the nice words Bobby, for seat hardware, without a doubt the best comes from Fabricator Kevin. You can probably get the pan from him too. As far as a book for the lacing that's the easy one. Check out Tandy Leather. They have a booklet it's about $5-$6 called How to Lace.

Good luck with your seat.

Dave

[Bobby hdflame]

Thanks for the nice words Bobby, for seat hardware, without a doubt the best comes from Fabricator Kevin. You can probably get the pan from him too. As far as a book for the lacing that's the easy one. Check out Tandy Leather. They have a booklet it's about $5-$6 called How to Lace.

Good luck with your seat.

Dave

Thanks for the reply. I'm filling out the paperwork for wholesale pricing at Tandy at this moment!

Do you have any contact info for Fabricator Kevin?

Thanks a bunch!

Bobby

[rickeyfro]

fabkevin@comcast.net 586-291-4798 www.fabkevin.com

Thanks for the reply. I'm filling out the paperwork for wholesale pricing at Tandy at this moment!

Do you have any contact info for Fabricator Kevin?

Thanks a bunch!

Bobby

[David]

Thanks for the reply. I'm filling out the paperwork for wholesale pricing at Tandy at this moment!

Do you have any contact info for Fabricator Kevin?

Thanks a bunch!

Bobby

Here is Kevin's web site.

http://www.fabkevin.com/home.htm

Dave

[Kustomizer]

Great Looking Seat!