Re-re-Upholstery Project

[MattiThundrrr]

Winter blahs have set in. I haven't ridden in weeks (months?). Stuck in the doldrums on my MBBO project. Time to get moving on something else in an attempt to save my mind. Brought in the old saddle I took off my Nishiki for a second attempt

I covered it in denim after the success of the one I did for Wonky Donkey, eventually ended up on GFA, but this one didn't work out as well.

Held together primarily with duct tape and dreams, mainly dreams in some areas. Also attempting to address some comfort issues; the original padding is like fifty years old, not providing as much support as it should, and there was an uncomfortable lump causing pressure in an area not conducive to date night cruise activities. Let's see what kind of a mess I can make.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Before I peeled back the cover, I traced a few key lines with the sharpie.

Also marked the location of the retaining clips built in the underside of the saddle. What's the point of a prototype if you don't gather as much information as possible?
Gross chunky old foam retained to be used as template for new yoga mat foam

The blue stuff is more dense, and in better shape. Going to use three layers of blue to make the main thing, see if I want to add pads later to match the old sit bones

*Not to worry, I got myself a new yoga mat, practice uninterrupted. My stuff is aligned

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Scrape, scour, spray, scrub. Got it cleaner than it needs to be. You know you're a ratter when you wonder if the rust is too pretty to cover.

Then you look at those spiky bolt tops and start cutting and gluing the padding materials

All glued up and ready to go. I'll trace the old pad onto the new and trim away.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Here's where I got to today:

Traced and then trimmed. The small Wiss scissors weren't up to the task of chopping through three layers, so I went through the whole arsenal, except for the kitchen snips. Didn't want to glue up food prep equipment. Surprised that the Wiltshire crafting scissors and the Wiss shears didn't cut it either. Not surprised that the multi tool was junk, a little surprised at how well the cheapo emergency scissors did the task. They're the ones that you use to trim a penny, pulled them out of the camping toolbox.

The bottom became the top because of the way I did the cutting, it's beveled.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Did a quick test fit, still feeling that prominent lump right where I don't want it, so I did some tracing and made a template for a couple of cheek pads

I'll get em trimmed up and stuck on there next time.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Cut em out, going to need to bevel the the underside of the front to get them to sit flat, and the top to smooth out the corners.
Also need to trim a bit here and there to get the fit I want.

Pro tip: trim the thumb off your glove so you don't have to keep taking it off for pictures.

Countless hours spent trimming and adjusting and retrying and it's all stuff no one will ever see. I

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Remember to take a break folks. I kinda forgot that the Rat Lab is a smaller space than GarageMahal. Don't know if it's the marker or the glue, but I gotta get outside. I'm done with the pad, just need to glue it to the steel. I don't have a fabric picked out yet, but it's definitely not denim this time. We'll see what the thrift store has to offer. I'm hoping for brown leather if I want this to work on Duck Norris. Black is second choice.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

@ingola has offered me this welder's apron, I think he said it was deer hide.

Those are his toes

 

[ingola]

The smock works great ages well and is stupid durable and I get them for free from work. We use them to cover porcelain to smash. There also waterproof and available.

 

[ingola]

I avoid faux leather and vinyl they wear really gross and flake. Burlap is nice but gets smelly over time. Old feed bags work great. I like the leather because it covers everything great durable and ages fantastic plus you always have enough to make matching grips

 

[MattiThundrrr]

available

...and cheap. My kind of gurl.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

matching grips

Could be a future procrastination project.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

The calligraphy on that carved block is beautiful.

 

[Pauliemon]

I bought a cheap seat at the bike shop and used the cover. It was around $30, of course now it's $50! Forget what I said, carry on.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

The calligraphy on that carved block is beautiful.

Lol it is a typo, my wife collaborated with an artist who had a sign shop, was supposed to say "Breathe". I grabbed it from the scrap pile, reminds me to take a breath and double check my work.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

ya I was wondering if it was supposed to read Breathe, but regardless, the letterform is still beautiful.

 

[Indyjps]

Old swim trunks

 

[Indyjps]

Old lawn chair

 

[Indyjps]

Pleather from a curb couch, half done and ran outta staples, need to finish

 

[Indyjps]

Upholstery air stapler makes all the difference, hand stapler stapler doesn't have the power and can't use short staples.