wet forming?

[Scary Leatherworks]

now that my bike seat is carved and almost ready to be put on (see pic's in mc&biker gear under 1st seat attempt) when I have to wet the leather to form it to the seat do I wet the whole seat sides and top? If I do will this cause the carving to stretch?

[JohnD]

How hard would it be to form the top without wetting?

I would think that the tooling would lift if you re-wet the top. I'm not an expert but I have made a few seats and I've never found it necessary to wet the top to get it to form to the seat. I do use spray adhesive, though. I spray the top of the seat and the back of the leather and let it set a bit then I line it all up and press it together, kind of working it to the shape of the seat.

I do wet the crap out of the sides and after getiing the first couple rivets in I pull and form the sides as I rivet around the bottom. After the rivets are all in, I trim all the folds and wrinkles from the bottom and use a bone folder or whatever to smooth and flatten out the bottom.

I hope this helps, like I said I'm not an expert but this is what has worked for me. Hopefully someone else with a little more insight might chime in.

John