My First Chopper Seat

[badLoveLeather]

Well it was only a matter of time. I've been riding for the past 13 years and my leather knowledge has been hungering. My friend Fries wanted a seat for his old Iron Head Shovel. So he told me what kind of skull and cross bones he wanted and left the rest up to me.

The seat pan is a Bar Industries pan and its kind small. I've learned a lot from you guys on here already so this was easier at some points and harder on others. I definitely learned a lot and will do the next seat different.

So, here are some progressive photos.

Any feedback or constructive criticism would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks,

Travis Poole

Bad Love Leather

[MADMAX22]

That looks really good. The carving is nice and clean and the lacing looks superb.

Good job.

[TroyS]

Yo Travis! That's a very cool seat. I Love the tooling. I love the lacing! Not a bad first attempt at all! Did you wet-form your leather to the seat?

[David]

Well it was only a matter of time. I've been riding for the past 13 years and my leather knowledge has been hungering. My friend Fries wanted a seat for his old Iron Head Shovel. So he told me what kind of skull and cross bones he wanted and left the rest up to me.

The seat pan is a Bar Industries pan and its kind small. I've learned a lot from you guys on here already so this was easier at some points and harder on others. I definitely learned a lot and will do the next seat different.

So, here are some progressive photos.

Any feedback or constructive criticism would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks,

Travis Poole

Bad Love Leather

That's a good first seat, and a lot better than my first one. I would recommend that you rivet the back to the pan first, then lace the front to it. On the lacing I would also suggest that you use round holes instead of slits. You'll find the holes are much less likely to tear out. The slits concentrate all the stress at the ends of each slit. The holes distribute the stress more evenly and reduce tear out. Other than those suggestions, good first seat.

Dave

[LAROC]

Really nice looking seat.

I haven't tried any Braid work yet and am still trying to figure the 'how to' with it and so I liked seeing your progressive pics.

Was it done using 3 strands of leather?

Also interested in the point David made about using Holes instead of Slits.

I recently saw a seat which had slits and it looked very tidy with the lacing running through and thought I might try that next time.

Not so sure now especially as I intend to use a wider lace, although I'm Continually learning.

[badLoveLeather]

Did not wet mold this one.

Let me tell you guys the T.Poole method of doing things:

I'm a Bull in a China shop. Its funny to me but I usually barrel into these projects saying to myself "Yea, I can do that......." and most of the time they come out OK. I have some good leather working skills that have helped me along. I got halfway through this one and was completely frustrated and then looked here and saw Davids kick butt tutorial and felt all stupid. BUT I manned through it and learned a lot and I think that Fries will love his seat.

I will also get an air driven rivet gun as the cheapo one I got from Harbor Freight fought me the whole way.

David, I will definitely learn from your mastery.

When doing this braid its one piece. I generally work with pieces that are about 2ft long and I seam. I used quarter inch cowhide and it was really difficult to work with. Next time I'm using Kangaro that I will hand cut. AND I probably will follow Davids directions.

Funny. I thought the carve and tool were gonna be the things to devil me the most on this project. They were easier for me than expected. This is really the first big thing I've tooled.

[leatheroo]

very nice seat, great lacing

[David]

Really nice looking seat.

I haven't tried any Braid work yet and am still trying to figure the 'how to' with it and so I liked seeing your progressive pics.

Was it done using 3 strands of leather?

Also interested in the point David made about using Holes instead of Slits.

I recently saw a seat which had slits and it looked very tidy with the lacing running through and thought I might try that next time.

Not so sure now especially as I intend to use a wider lace, although I'm Continually learning.

LAROC

The seats are done with a single strand. Look for the booklet at Tandy called How to Lace.

The braid in question is called Mexican Round Braid or Basket Weave.

Dave

[LAROC]

Thanks for the advice David.