Moderator bruce johnson Posted March 19, 2008 Moderator Report Posted March 19, 2008 Might as well brew another pot and add another related topic to Ryan's saddle. How does everybody do a padded inlaid seat? I have done one, and was having a heck of time finding the right foam. Most was too soft for what I was looking for, or my previous experience was that some broke down. Eventually that would leave a crater. I backed up and made a buildup of 3 layers of scrap chap leather, glued each layer and then edge sewed the pad. I used elephant for the seat, figuring two things. One was that it was durable, the other was that it came pre-wrinkled. I had watched a guy put in a padded seat who had done several. Demonstrations are doomed to failure, and his roo wrinkled. Mine came out pretty decent. Since then talking to several guys, no two are alike. Some guys use a thin backer and sandwich the padding, others stitch the seat cover in and cement the seat and pad down to the ground seat. Some guys use foam, others use a chap buildup. All techniques, tips, tricks, and trivia are welcome here. Quote Bruce Johnson Malachi 4:2 "the windshield's bigger than the mirror, somewhere west of Laramie" - Dave Stamey Vintage Refurbished And Selected New Leather Tools For Sale - www.brucejohnsonleather.com
Members Blake Posted March 19, 2008 Members Report Posted March 19, 2008 Hello Bruce I use a high density foam from a company called Rubatex. It is essentialy a very durable insulating foam used on commercial cooling and refrigeration equipment. It is rated for out door use and is UV resistant as well. Contact them and they will send you a sample sheet. I don't have the product number that I use right off the top of my head but I will look it up. I keep a couple of thicknesses up to 3/4" so I can use it with or without the plug as a few people like a bit more cushion. I have a lot of saddles still in use well over the twenty year mark with inlayed seats and all are holding up well. It is a great combination when used with English Veg tan Pig Skin which you can get from Seigals. Its a little pricey but comes in some good earth tones and is easy to work with. It cases pretty nice so it forms nicely over the plug and foam and wrinkling is not an issue. Blake Quote
Members Duke Posted March 19, 2008 Members Report Posted March 19, 2008 I have yet to make a saddle, since I am building up my experience tooling and repairing saddles, before I tackle making one, but a customer of mine, who routinely does inlaid seats says that he uses memory foam. not quite sure where he gets it from, although he said he has a good supplier. but it works good, and is very comfortable. Quote Duke When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me." ~Erma Bombeck
Ambassador Don101 Posted March 19, 2008 Ambassador Report Posted March 19, 2008 What happend to shearing dont they use that any more, in the books i read they used shearing erm are they out dated LOL, Don Quote
Moderator bruce johnson Posted March 19, 2008 Author Moderator Report Posted March 19, 2008 Blake, Thanks for the info. After I did that seat, I got some gray dense foam from Don Butler. He said it was AC foam (1/2"?) and he bought a pretty large quantity of it. Since then it has been slick seats, and haven't got to try it yet. I would like to get some a little thinner like maybe 3/16 or 1/4" for the barrel saddles and some of those type seats. Let me know a contact for Rubatex. The good thing is I haven't had to reseat a Dale Chavez couch cushion for a few years, just thought of that. Thanks for tip on the English veg pig. I haven't used that, but have used some pig suede on some of the padded seat repairs. Do you or how do you attach your inlaid seats to the seat? Quote Bruce Johnson Malachi 4:2 "the windshield's bigger than the mirror, somewhere west of Laramie" - Dave Stamey Vintage Refurbished And Selected New Leather Tools For Sale - www.brucejohnsonleather.com
Moderator bruce johnson Posted March 19, 2008 Author Moderator Report Posted March 19, 2008 What happend to shearing dont they use that any more, in the books i read they used shearing erm are they out dated LOL, Don Don, A few issues I see with the shearling padded seat. They tend to get lumpy sometimes as the fibers go one way or the other. Pretty tight quilting patterns help prevent that some, but that also makes hard lumps between the stitch lines. THe high spots tend to wear pretty quickly. As they are used more, the wool packs down, just like it does on the skirts. Also I have seen little tufts of wool working up through the needle holes from the quilting. A guy up the hill from us used to do those shearling seats. My first wife's saddle he made is quilted pretty heavily with fancy stitching. Much like sitting on a lumpy rock. It will eat on you after a a while. One of those things you just can't bring yourself to sell though. Quote Bruce Johnson Malachi 4:2 "the windshield's bigger than the mirror, somewhere west of Laramie" - Dave Stamey Vintage Refurbished And Selected New Leather Tools For Sale - www.brucejohnsonleather.com
Members JRedding Posted March 19, 2008 Members Report Posted March 19, 2008 I use very dense foam in my inlaid seats, I've used several types and brands over the years. The thought on the dense foam is it's predictable to work, doesn't change over time, and I can quilt it without it becoming the lumpy rock Bruce mentions. To me an inlaid cushion is mostly cosmetic and I'm really not concerned with it feeling padded, I beleive a well shaped seat is the key and all the padding you can stuff into one can't make poor groundwork ride well. To put one in I start with a slightly oversize piece and bevel the edges back until when put in place it bulges up through the cutout to just slightly below seat level around the outside edge, enough below seat level when the seat material itself is added it brings it to level , so it transitions from seat to cushion as smoothly as possible. I add a piece of two ounce belt lining scrap on the bottom side after the cushion is sewn in and skive the edges out well just in case someday it has to be disassembled the foam itself isn't glued to the groundseat and has to be destroyed to lift the entire seat out. Quote
Members Tosch Posted March 19, 2008 Members Report Posted March 19, 2008 I have come across Verlane's way to do it: https://www.siegelofca.com/view_verlane.asp?id=178 Tosch Quote
Members greg gomersall Posted March 19, 2008 Members Report Posted March 19, 2008 The bulk of my inlays are done in water buffalo but I have also used (in decreasing order of popularity) stingray, pigskin, alligator , kangaroo and ostrich. I get my foam from MacMaster-Carr. It is a black quick recovery foam which is available in different thicknesses and in firmness ratings from 1 thru 10. I like my inlays on the firm side so I use an 8. I have used some different foams over the years and found the white and grey foams I had tried packed down over time, so far this stuff seems great. I have even tried a few experiments on it pushing the limits of its recoverabilty to date which it has passed supurbely. After I cut the shape of the inlay out of the skirting I turn the seat over and using a french edger I take a 1/2" wide strip of skirting out along the edge of the seat all the way around the inlay hole the THICKNESS of the inlay leather so that everything will lay flush. I do not use a light piece under the inlay in case of future removal. My toughts on this are even if you skive the edges of this you are still altering the profile of the groundseat you spent hours shaping. I form my inlay, glue it in, sew it, then glue the foam in and glue the entire seat in. Greg Quote
Members RyanCope Posted March 19, 2008 Members Report Posted March 19, 2008 The bulk of my inlays are done in water buffalo but I have also used (in decreasing order of popularity) stingray, pigskin, alligator , kangaroo and ostrich. I get my foam from MacMaster-Carr. It is a black quick recovery foam which is available in different thicknesses and in firmness ratings from 1 thru 10. I like my inlays on the firm side so I use an 8. I have used some different foams over the years and found the white and grey foams I had tried packed down over time, so far this stuff seems great. I have even tried a few experiments on it pushing the limits of its recoverabilty to date which it has passed supurbely.After I cut the shape of the inlay out of the skirting I turn the seat over and using a french edger I take a 1/2" wide strip of skirting out along the edge of the seat all the way around the inlay hole the THICKNESS of the inlay leather so that everything will lay flush. I do not use a light piece under the inlay in case of future removal. My toughts on this are even if you skive the edges of this you are still altering the profile of the groundseat you spent hours shaping. I form my inlay, glue it in, sew it, then glue the foam in and glue the entire seat in. Greg Greg, Do you glue your foam directly to the ground seat? Ryan Cope Quote
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