Here are some photos highlighting the construction process for the new seat. I've never done any real upholstery before so I was really just winging it but the end product seemed to turn out ok. The seat itself is very comfortable and gives a certain regal (and ridiculous) look to the bike, which is pretty much what Steampunk is all about.
I found a great upholstery supply store http://www.brandtandwhitney.com/
that had everything I needed to get started. I used high-density 2" foam and durable brown vinyl for the fabric (leather was about $30 a square foot and with everything else I need to buy, I went for the cheaper option)
I used 1/2" plywood to fashion new bases for both the bottom and top cushions. I added holes in the wood which would be used for the pillowing effect. The foam was spray-mounted and carved to fit.
I cut pieces of vinyl, two for each cushion. One for the back and one for the top. The first step was to get the sizes about right. Then, using #17 guitar strings, I threaded the beads through the fabric, foam and wood and tightened them on the other side. This pulled the cushion in to that classic pillow look. Once that was done four times for each, I folded the top cushion tight and hammered the brads in one at a time with a leather-covered hammer. I took a guess at the spacing and left about a half-inch between them.
After going all the way around both, I had my finished cushions. I was concerned the vinyl would look too "fake" being uniform whereas leather has subtle texture changes, but the pleats break up the solid color quite well and the highlights have a really classy look.
The next step was to mount the cushions to the frame. This was actually extremely difficult. I had to use small l-brakets under the frame to ensure a good fit. You can see in this photo some strips of vinyl I sewed that are held on with pipe-clamps. These are purely for decoration and are meant to break up the solid line of the chrome piping. All the chrome here (including the clamps ) will be painted to look like brass.
Finally, the seat was mounted to the old seat mount. I ripped the foam off and had my friend Adam (who I think was a blacksmith in a previous life) heat and pound the thing flat, so that I could screw my new seat directly on to it. This allowed me to use the spring built in to the seat mount and the mount itself, which is strong enough to hold the weight.
It was a bit of work, but the seat is almost complete. I am in the process of finding linkages I can add for further support, but all in all this component is mostly done.
My major progress was on the floor runners. About 18 hours total for the pair was the total build time. Unfortunately I screwed up through the deck on my first one and had to recut it which took a lot of time but the next two went pretty quick. This photo shows me marking the pilot holes for the main side piece. I used cherry because it's a bit stronger than pine but still easily to work with and will stain nicely.
I'm no cabinet maker so up close I'm sure they are a bit off. This picture shows me guling up the insides. I'm hoping the glue and screws will be strong enough to withstand the vibrations and weight.
Here's the final runners. The big funny looking washers are 2 of about 10 of those things that I found in the gutter coming out of the theaters after seeing Terminator. You never know what you'll find out there! Here you can see the 1/4" recess that will hold the brass footplate. I've been researching, thanks to my friend Sam, electro-etching so I think I may try that and do my own brasswork for those. The last part will be finishing and sanding, but I'm going to leave that until the paint phase.
Also, I finally mounted the shocks linkages to the seat with a crossbeam and some custom metal mounts I made. The coolest part is the damn things flex when you lean back in the seat. They actually function! I'm not claiming to have anticipated that, but man is it sweet.
Also, the cardboard is good for working out the sizes of all the parts, which I've determined in my crude blueprint. I actually had to use some trig (what?! high school math?!) to determine the angles of the chamfer cuts but with a good chop saw I don't think it will be too dfficult.
In this sketch you can see how the box and the compass (both shown in photos below) will sit on the tank. The run/kill switch and lights on/off will be installed with old-looking amber lights while the wiring will come out both sides through brass elbow pipes. I haven't figured out how to mount the thing to the tank without punching holes in it, but one step at a time.
I sat on the seat for a while to feel how comfortable it is. My legs are a bit longer so after a while the built-in footboard felt a bit too cramped. My idea was to mount a second set of handle bars from the footboard underneath the tank to use as foot pegs. Placed far enough forward they should allow the pedals to still function but not interfere with the forks turning. I may be able to use the point at which the bars mount to the bracket to attach the control box at well, so it may be a good solution.
I found a great upholstery supply store http://www.brandtandwhitney.com/
I used 1/2" plywood to fashion new bases for both the bottom and top cushions. I added holes in the wood which would be used for the pillowing effect. The foam was spray-mounted and carved to fit.
I cut pieces of vinyl, two for each cushion. One for the back and one for the top. The first step was to get the sizes about right. Then, using #17 guitar strings, I threaded the beads through the fabric, foam and wood and tightened them on the other side. This pulled the cushion in to that classic pillow look. Once that was done four times for each, I folded the top cushion tight and hammered the brads in one at a time with a leather-covered hammer. I took a guess at the spacing and left about a half-inch between them.
After going all the way around both, I had my finished cushions. I was concerned the vinyl would look too "fake" being uniform whereas leather has subtle texture changes, but the pleats break up the solid color quite well and the highlights have a really classy look.
The next step was to mount the cushions to the frame. This was actually extremely difficult. I had to use small l-brakets under the frame to ensure a good fit. You can see in this photo some strips of vinyl I sewed that are held on with pipe-clamps. These are purely for decoration and are meant to break up the solid line of the chrome piping. All the chrome here (including the clamps ) will be painted to look like brass.
Finally, the seat was mounted to the old seat mount. I ripped the foam off and had my friend Adam (who I think was a blacksmith in a previous life) heat and pound the thing flat, so that I could screw my new seat directly on to it. This allowed me to use the spring built in to the seat mount and the mount itself, which is strong enough to hold the weight.
