Rebuilding a vintage seat

A few weeks ago I posted a thread about a vintage treasure hunt. One of the finds was a cool old seat which had seen better days. It was bent, had no upholstery and was sitting very much out of place on a 24" girls bike. Another find was a 51 Schwinn cantilever bike with a springer missing parts I decided the seat would be just right for the 51. I took the seat apart so that I could remove most of the rust with a wire wheel, then gave it a coat of paint. I also put it in the vice and straightened up the support frame. Today while waiting for paint to dry on the springer forks for the 51 I upholstered the seat. This is how I went about it for this seat. I've done others in harness leather and the approach is different. Another time I'll show how to do that.
So I cut out two layers of foam and attached them to the seat itself using contact cement. To use this kind of adhesive effectively you need to apply cement to both surfaces being bonded and leave each alone until it sets up enough to be tacky. The press them together and it is amazing how well it holds. Good stuff and the only kind of glue for this job. So, one layer at a time I adhered the foam to the seat. Then I cut out the elk hide a little big and again used contact cement on the main part of the seat... not the edges. Once that was set up I applied cement to both seat and the edge of the leather for about one quarter of the perimeter. Once pressed together I used cloths pins to keep it that way.
(Cont.)

So you continue on around the seat a section at a time, allowing the last section to dry pretty well... say fifteen minutes or so. Don't rush things. The key to success with this is the contact cement and doing just one section at a time. Now trim off some of the excess leather and attach the undercarriage. You're done. Now that wasn't such a big deal was it? And look at the results! Who'd a thunk it? So this is how I do it on this kind of seat and with a thinner leather. Leather from an old jacket is a good source. So what would you have to pay for a new seat that is leather, looks retro and is comfortable? A lot more than I paid. Free seat, some contact cement, a little bit of spray paint and some leather. A few bucks. You can do this, too.
SB

Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I think it's just right for that bike. Hard to believe both the seat and bike were rescued from the dump and have been sitting under tarps ever since for the past fifteen years. The bike is almost 60 years old and I think the seat is of similar vintage. Redoing a seat is much easier to do than most people realize.
SB

I'm not sure what kind it is. I got a gallon of it through my friend Henry the shoemaker. Barges maybe. I think so. He used to sell it to me when I ran the Indian Education program for the local school district. Besides being the Indian advocate I taught children about their own culture including traditional crafts. For my own moccasins I departed from tradition and stitched rubber soles to the leather soles for traction and longevity. Henry wasn't supposed to sell it to the public, but he was my friend and knew I would be careful with it. Pretty toxic, I guess. The container was damaged in my truck fire and I salvaged what I could of it in another container. And I can't ask my friend since he was killed in Mexico this past winter. Be well in spirit, Henry.
I think that any good contact cement will work for this. Ventilation is a good idea no matter what kind you use.
SB

Pictured below is a seat from a 1952 Schwinn ladies bike. It may look like trash, but it isn't. Note that this seat has a plate underneath. Once the undercarriage with the springs, etc. has been removed by undoing the nuts (use penetrating oil on them first) there are two tabs which have to be bent back so that you can remove the plate. Then go ahead and recover the seat the same as the one earlier in this thread. This type of seat is typical of Schwinns from this time period. They are very heavy and sturdy seats...

The first photo shows those tabs which need to be bent up to remove the plate and when the seat is done and reassembled they need to be bent back down. So what looked like trash now looks good. Some rust removed, a bit of paint to freshen things up, some nice black elk hide and with two layers of rubber foam we now have a very comfortable seat. This seat will go on a 1949 Panther.
SB

Tinsmith said:

SB, Great job on the seat. I have been considering recovering the seat off the 50's Schwinn girls bike I have canabilized for the worksman modification. It's like the last one you showed pictures of. Gonna be in Atlanta next month for a few days for a wedding and there is a leather supply store near my daughters house. I'm gonna hit 'em up for some seat material and give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration! Dan

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Good to hear you're going for it, Dan. One suggestion in picking out a leather is to kind of test it by seeing if it has any stretch. Some leathers do and some don't. To go around those curves and look good you need some stretch. I like the elk hide, but that might not be available in that part of the world. Deer hide will work but is less durable. Goat would be excellent. Cow hide can be on the stiff side depending on how it is tanned. Ostrich is supposed to be good, although I've never used it. Ask your leather guy what he has that would be good for your purposes... look good, supple enough to stretch some and durable since it is going to be a saddle. He'll have something. If not I can cut a piece and send it to you. Or when I'm out there in Maryland I could help, but I doubt you'll need any help. You'll be surprised how easy this actually is.
SB

ChopperDave,
Thanks for the tips. I came upon the way I do it by doing it poorly and then doing it better and not really knowing how. This is what has worked for me using that particular kind of leather which is durable and supple, so it fortunately can be stretched pretty well while dry. I'm sure it would be better yet stretched wet. I did a lot of leather work mostly doing moccasins, mukluks, medicine bags and stuff like that. Some harness work, horse tack. I don't really know much about it other than what I've learned teaching myself by doing. Trial and error is a good teacher. Success is sweet reward. It is cruel to kill those cute little baby naguas anyway, so leather is best from animals being taken for other reasons. I won't use Moose (a great leather) because their numbers are declining. Elk, deer, and cowhide are plentiful.
SB