Largest Formed Tank Bib I've Done

[McJeep]

Having wanted to do just this style of bib for my VTX, but having zero wet forming experience, I too would very much like any details that you could share Bro. Did you form it right on the tank itself or have another to work with? Soooooo many questions - I really need to get some hands on with someone who can school me in wet forming.

C'mon - ya know that this bike is in need ;0) (wife thought I needed a tuff shot LOL)

Edited June 3, 2011 by McJeep

[Spinner]

Having wanted to do just this style of bib for my VTX, but having zero wet forming experience, I too would very much like any details that you could share Bro. Did you form it right on the tank itself or have another to work with? Soooooo many questions - I really need to get some hands on with someone who can school me in wet forming.

C'mon - ya know that this bike is in need ;0) (wife thought I needed a tuff shot LOL)

Hey McJeep,

Nice looking X ya got there. I actually own 7 different gas tanks (not including the ones on my bikes) that I use for the wet forming duties. On the 05+ 1800s I actually had to cut openings in the underside of the tanks to give myself somewhere to clamp the leather to. Those flangeless tanks can be a pain to wrap since there is simply nowhere to pin the leather down.

The biggest thing to keep in mind when wet forming the leather over the tank is to put a layer of felt or whatever backing material you plan on using on the tank before the wet form to ensure you maintain the space between the tank and leather. Since the backing material is applied last, if you don't 'plan' for this airspace when wet forming, the bib won't fit when finished. Check your PMs for more info.

Chris

[CanadianIce]

Gorgeous work! I love how it wraps around and flows with the seat!

How thick is the leather that you used? Do you have a tutorial on how to do this?

I just bought myself a little sporty and would love to do something like this to make her more "mine"... but am unsure on how to go about it. I've got some petite calf & goat tooling leather, it's really thin stuff (like 2oz). Would that be too thin?

[Spinner]

Gorgeous work! I love how it wraps around and flows with the seat!

How thick is the leather that you used? Do you have a tutorial on how to do this?

I just bought myself a little sporty and would love to do something like this to make her more "mine"... but am unsure on how to go about it. I've got some petite calf & goat tooling leather, it's really thin stuff (like 2oz). Would that be too thin?

Thanks for the compliments. The leather is Wickett & Craig 6 oz veg-tan. I use two different skivers to thin down the bottom 2-3 inches of the leather where it wraps around and under to about 4 oz. I like to use 6oz to give myself plenty of thickness to give the tooling some depth, the skived section is to simply make wet-forming easier around the bottom. I made up a tutorial a bit ago, here's the link so you can see the process: http://tech.bareasschoppers.com/resources/leatherworking-101/

Chris

[CanadianIce]

Thanks for the compliments. The leather is Wickett & Craig 6 oz veg-tan. I use two different skivers to thin down the bottom 2-3 inches of the leather where it wraps around and under to about 4 oz. I like to use 6oz to give myself plenty of thickness to give the tooling some depth, the skived section is to simply make wet-forming easier around the bottom. I made up a tutorial a bit ago, here's the link so you can see the process: http://tech.bareassc...herworking-101/

Chris

You are the best! That tutorial is awesome... I was struggling in my head on how to make the pattern, and you answered my questions. Love the suggestion for packing tape on the back of paper for the design. That's a great idea!

Thank-you so much for taking the time to create that tutorial!

[dtmmil]

Damn nice!!! I also have a question about the wet forming, when you do it, how do you do it? Do you use the raw leather, wet it down, mount it, let it dry, then dye and do your finishing? I want to make some covers for my air filters on my bike and was trying to figure out how. Thanks