Secondary Leather/Keeping Costs Reasonable

[livewire516]

I've been making Roorkee Chairs, also known as Safari Chairs, or Safaristols. They have armrests that are made of two long straps of 8 oz thick veg tan, 1.75 inch (45 mm) in width. There are also 5 straps that are underneath the chair that are each 3/4 inches wide.

None of these parts are all that visible, nor are they touch points in daily use of the chair. I plan to make the entire chair out of Wickett & Craig English Bridle. Can anyone recommend a utility leather that I should keep stocked in the shop to serve as a secondary leather in places where strength matters but appearances don't? I primarily work in wood and I generally depend on pine, poplar, or plywood for parts that aren't visible or touched to keep costs reasonable, and save my nickles for premium wood where it counts.

I look forward to hearing the community's suggestions!

Here's a mock-up of the chair made out of Tandy's not-finest.

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by livewire516

[chuck123wapati]

maybe some other natural fiber type stuff like cotton webbing in the hidden areas. 

[fredk]

Maybe use regular upholsters' canvas webbing across the frame under the leather seat ?

[Spyros]

For leather strong enough to sit on and not stretch to buggery it has to be 3-4mm veg tan, ideally something like bridle/skirting/latigo or something like that, but you're right it's never cheap.

Shop around in the usual suspects for offers, but also see if you can find some lesser known local tannery that sells direct, that's usually where the best prices are.  And go straight to their saddlery leathers and see if they have any seconds with smudges or small marks, buy them natural and dye them.  You could also look for kangaroo which is fairly cheap and crazy strong, but I'm not sure what sizes you need.  Kangaroo is always small hides.  I believe these guys ship internationally (and quickly):

https://www.austanners.com.au/product-page/seconds-deluxe-kangaroo-in-matt-natural-5-8mm

that's like USD$35 per hide, but every hide is only 7-8 sqf.  

[livewire516]

On 11/22/2021 at 12:02 PM, chuck123wapati said:

maybe some other natural fiber type stuff like cotton webbing in the hidden areas. 

 

On 11/22/2021 at 4:28 PM, fredk said:

Maybe use regular upholsters' canvas webbing across the frame under the leather seat ?

These are both great ideas; I have been thinking similarly. I actually plan to make some of these chairs primarily out of canvas, so I have already purchased good heavyweight duck cloth. I'm struggling to find the pictures online, but I've also seen Roorkee Chairs secured/tensioned underneath with a criss-cross of either rope or lace. The historical examples I've seen are just simply punched holes, but they obviously stretch, so I probably would fit them with grommets for durability.

On 11/23/2021 at 2:29 AM, Spyros said:

For leather strong enough to sit on and not stretch to buggery it has to be 3-4mm veg tan, ideally something like bridle/skirting/latigo or something like that, but you're right it's never cheap... go straight to their saddlery leathers and see if they have any seconds with smudges or small marks, buy them natural and dye them.  You could also look for kangaroo which is fairly cheap and crazy strong, but I'm not sure what sizes you need.  Kangaroo is always small hides.  I believe these guys ship internationally (and quickly):

https://www.austanners.com.au/product-page/seconds-deluxe-kangaroo-in-matt-natural-5-8mm

that's like USD$35 per hide, but every hide is only 7-8 sqf.  

Being based on the USA East Coast, I've never given much thought to Kangaroo. Very interesting - I'll definitely check it out!

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I must say, sling chairs are definitely tough in leather: they need to have some stretch to be comfortable, but I'm trying to keep the rate at which it sags to a minimum. My first attempt at this chair (pictured in the original post), has a perfect impression of my bony butt lol. That's definitely not what I'm going for. That being said, back then I didn't understand how best to pick and orient pieces out of the hide.

I'll also mention that the other method I'm strongly considering, is joining smaller pieces rather than making each component out of one large panel. It would also permit me to play with making good use of remnant hides and perhaps even playing with contrasting colors. I haven't practiced the French seam, but I would expect it to add visual interest to this chair as well.

Thanks for everyone's input!!