Tinsmith's saddle how to...

Tinsmith said:
Ain't we lucky Curt? Dan
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Yes very lucky! I have realy learnd a lot form these fourms all the things people can do its amazing to have such talent. And each one done a little different but all end up doing the same thing. RIDE. RIDE............Curt
 
Thanks Silver B for that tutorial.
You make it look so easy but anyone who has ever tried to hand stitch will tell you that keeping the stitch consistant is a challenge and takes talent and patients. I have an old stitching awl that I've used for small jobs where the stitch is short or hidden and it is a time consuming tedious operation.

I found a tool that helps guide the stitching. It's a small pointed wheel that looks like a miniature spur. You run it along the stitch line and it makes little indentations in the leather to help keep the stitches even and aligned. It helped me make better looking stitches.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and talent with us.
Tom
 
Thanks for the kind words, you guys. Tom, I've seen the tool you mentioned, but never bought one. Actually I don't mind if the stitches look hand done since they are. In this age of machine made and mass production, something made by hand is different and special. At least that's how I see it.

Since this thread is now a sticky and will be seen by others later on who are doing a search, I'd like to draw attention to yet another approach by forum member WhoZaWhat which I like very much.
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=36691&page=4
Posts 36 and 37 give a nice pictorial how to with great results.
SB
 
My dad has a leather shop, we don't do many custom stuff anymore. He has a bunch of turn of the century sewing machines that are perfect for stuff like this. You did a pretty good job without a machine. We just did a seat for my dad's friend who bought one of the kit motors. He put it on a 1960 Coast King all chrome bike. The seat is an electric blue color. I'll post some pictures of it when I get around to it!
 
BROWNRIDER said:
Would deer hide be more difficult to use in comparison to elk hide?
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I don't imagine it would be harder to use than elk hide, but I don't know how well it would wear. The little I have used deer hide the skins have used were on the thin side, great for garments and things like medicine bags. But for things like moccasins and mukluks the Elk hide is thicker and more durable, so that's what I had on hand. I like the look of Elk hide, but if you have deer hide, what's to lose in trying it? You can always do it again some time in the future if the deer hide wears out.
SB
 
Nice job man . Take some Gum Tragacanth ..or spit lol ... rub it onto the edge and take a plastic spoon and rub it real quick back and forth . It will seal it better . Or you can Braid it .
silverbear said:
Now carefully trim off the excess leather with a razor knife and clean up the edge with sandpaper or the dremel tool to get a smooth edge. It's done. If you look closely you can see some irregularity in the stitching... it is obvious this saddle was hand made. It should last a long time, as long as the bike lasts and long after Tinsmith and Silverbear have left this earth.
So here's your saddle, Bud.
SB
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Thank you, Chain. Gum Tragacanth I don't know about. Spit is handy and familiar. I don't understand about the braiding. I just re-read this thread... seems like a long time ago. Just a few days ago I tried upholstering a banana seat with grey Naugahyde. Turned out crappy since it does not stretch well and I'll re-do it with black elk hide, my favorite.
SB
 
Cool man keep at it !!This Is braiding , I did it for a custom builder .
silverbear said:
Thank you, Chain. Gum Tragacanth I don't know about. Spit is handy and familiar. I don't understand about the braiding. I just re-read this thread... seems like a long time ago. Just a few days ago I tried upholstering a banana seat with grey Naugahyde. Turned out crappy since it does not stretch well and I'll re-do it with black elk hide, my favorite.
SB
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Excellent work! You're the one who should be doing a tutorial. Seriously, I think people would be interested to see how you do your saddles. The more information available, the better.
SB
 
Putting extra brackets to adapt to the kinda bars (sissy bars) used on banana seats for bikes. I made my banana seat have a top cover with more foam, but it is not as wide as that mini bike seat. I am going to see about creating extra metal further back on the banana seat to get the extra padding there adjacent on each side, but leaving the forward section as narrow. That is so I can stand up on foot pegs while trail riding. Note I ridded of pedals from the get go on my bike as it is registered for off road only legal. Unless I get a lot of private land for paved, I have an issue with needing a good seat well padded.

My thread:
http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=55349

2Doors Thread:
on very nice home made seat! http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=51371 and the last page all with nice trim! http://motorbicycling.com/showthread.php?t=51371&page=3

The picture in this post a temp with tape holding it on, it uses two types of foam to get desired cushion.
 

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