Restored Sulky

[impulse]

I found a 1896 Sydney Brass sulky in a sad state, but complete, and set out to restore it. I'm actually showing off the leather upholstery here, but I did the entire restoration myself. This entailed stripping it down to the axles, sanding back everything usable, replacing timber bits, 7 coats of spray paint and finally the fine-line scroll work. The origonal brass came up a treat - this vehicle was the "Rolls Royce" of its day!

BTW guys - this is a woman's work and my first effort at this type of undertaking. Hope you like it.

Lois

[dirtclod]

Lois you did a real nice job on restoring it !! It looks great and you have done something to be proud of !!

[Northmount]

Absolutely beautiful!

A friend was given a light 2 horse buggy a couple years ago. Every bit of leather on it needs to be replaced. It sat in an old barn for many years, until the elderly lady gave it to the young man that was helping her with odd jobs. Now it sits in a garage waiting for someone to get around to it. A lot of the wood has dried out. Shrunk and cracked so will need a lot of replacement. Wheels are the worst. Restoring ancient things like this takes a lot of time and commitment.

Congratulations on a job well done.

CTG

[Cogs]

That is class. First class class. Nice work. I hope you are proud.

Bill

[bukitleather]

this is beautiful..and need a lot of hard work

well done job..

and I hope you are satisfy..

How long did you take to finish the restoration?

perhaps it could be better if you can hide the bits (that you use to merge the leather with the frame of the seat) by covering with another piece of leather.

hope you can under stand what I mean.

Amor

Edited February 29, 2012 by bukitleather

[impulse]

Thanks for your positive comments!

The project took me about 3 months of spasmodic work. Cost me about $2,000 for bits and pieces, but was gratified to be offered $17,000 for it at the first Harness Show that I attended.

Amor, I am not an upholsterer, so I don't quite get the suggestion you made - can you explain a little clearer please? The seat is adjustable back and forth on a brass slide, by winding the brass handle that is center/front - I can't interfere with this. I appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Lois

[Rohn]

Wow! That is a great restoration job. It looks beautiful.

[impulse]

Thanks Rohn

Lois

[tatehunt]

Really wonderful piece of history, and really GREAT job on the restoration!

[wvcraftsman]

That is fantastic impulse!!! I've restored a few horse drawn wagons/buggies, but nothing like that. WOW.

Where did you learn to upholster? That looks fantastic.

[impulse]

That is fantastic impulse!!! I've restored a few horse drawn wagons/buggies, but nothing like that. WOW.

Where did you learn to upholster? That looks fantastic.

Thanks for your approval. I pretty much try DIY with anything. This is my first attempt at upholstery - I tend to draw myself a plan, then work it out using paper or cheap fabric to make sure that my ideas will work. I had no sample to work from, so the button studded seat took a bit of trial and error.

There is no-one in my state that does fine scrolls and pin striping on the paint work, so I just practiced on scrap timber and found acrylic paint much more forgiving than enamel.

Here's a sample of this:

[PANTHER]

And you say this was your first time!!!!! WOW------ Bloody outstanding!! Fantastic job

Panther