Seat Process Photos

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.