Leather Saddle from Scratch

[Gdcast]

Hi guys! This is a photo reference of how I made the saddle for this bike:

Raw leather piece from store:

Mold made of wood:

At this stage you soak the leather in water for 24 hours and then:

Leave it to dry inside, for a day or two till it's firm.
Then you trim it to shape:

You can put some detail to it if you want to,

And apply some tint to it

Hope you like it and make your own leather saddle,
Cheers!

 

[kingfish254]

WOW!!!!
How thick is the leather that you had to use!
Way cool!

 

[RustySprockets]

Nice work! I wanted to try this, using a FoodSaver vacuum sealer to pull the moistened leather tight against the wooden buck while it dries. Not sure that would happen inside the bag.

 

[Gdcast]

Thanks for the comments guys!
Well the leather is about 4 millimeters thick, and that being said I'm not sure if the vacuum sealer will be strong enough to tighten it. Maybe if you leave it soaking for a couple more days?
I think is worth a try tough...

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I've seen vacuum sealer used to redo a seat, but that was thinner leather, which was to be glued to a foam seat. It had a "releif" slot through the middle, and it really worked well for that application. I'll try to find a link...
Edit: nope, no luck. I look at way too many bike pages.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Hahahaha! Two weeks later, guess what I found? The link to the seat covering "How To" that uses vacuum sealer to fit the cover!
https://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/recovering-vintage-saddle-leather-1120315.html

 

[horsefarmer]

Looks interesting but don't see details re: vacuum sealer, just a zip lock bag.
Former employer made composite aircraft parts with vacuum and bags.
https://www.westsystem.com/wp-content/uploads/VacuumBag-7th-Ed.pdf

 

[MattiThundrrr]

This picture:

Literally a vacuum. In a sealed bag. Therefore, vacuum sealer. Let's not open the discussion on the definition of Rat Rod vacuum sealer!

 

[us56456712]

Make a pan from an old saddle or use the plastic or metal base from an old saddle. Make a mold of the pan with some old exercise mat padding with a little thin open cell foam over that. Put plastic wrap over the padding. Hold the pad tightly in place on the pan with duct tape. Use drywall plaster (cheap) and make up enough to fill a container that your pan will fit into. Clamp the pan into the wet plaster and let it dry. Then take off the padding and place the heavy wet leather on the pan and clamp it and let it dry.

Use recliner chair springs from the dump and various old English saddle parts to weld up saddle springs and seat post mount.

Glue and attach any necessary padding and leather pan cover. Use copper rivets for trim and to pull down and hold the space on the right rear.

Attach to a bike and ride.