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Turns out it was a Piper twin engine from the 60's. I thought it was from the 80's based on the fabric color choice. Customer picked it up already, and I handed him the bolt that goes through the seatbelt assembly. He said he'd take care of it.
Thanks for your help!

I always tell people to bring me the seat, so that it becomes their problem to get it off. Never had a problem with this policy.

Thanks Gale,
I put on a mask and did them rather quickly. What you describe is exactly what they look like. It was just weird because I'd never seen black foam before.
But while I have your ear, let me ask you about the back seat. The seat connects to the back with three bolts, one close to each end, and one in the center. Getting it apart was a royal PITA, but getting them back together is proving impossible! There are metal tabs on both the seat and the back (which poke through the fabric and padding) that have to be aligned before you can put the bolt in. The center is proving to be the hardest to align because the seatbelt assembly has to go in between the four tabs which join the seat front and back. Now I have tiny hands, and managed to get the end bolts in, but just have no ideas for the center. Have you had any experience with this kind of seat?

Thanks Paul. I'm going to wear a mask and be quick about it.

Eeeewww!

The weirdest thing I ever found was a snap setter kit (both parts, the old fashioned kind that you need to hammer). It was inside the vinyl of a cushion from a 70's boat.

As far as gross, though, just the usual: bugs, bird poop, leaves, mold, etc.

Chris, it's not the fabric, it's where maybe a thin layer of foam would normally be on the hand grip itself, under the fabric. I did read that they still use asbestos in small amounts on aircraft brake linings, etc. So it would not be out of the realm of possibility that this is asbestos.
The customer ordered the fabric from a supplier who only sells FAA approved fabric, so I'm not worried about that part of it.
I've compared what I have to pictures of asbestos on the internet, and I'm 100% sure that it is.
So am I gonna get mesothelioma from this??

Hi guys,
I've got the interior of an old small airplane from the early 80s. When I took the old fabric off of the armrests (which came off of the doors of the plane), there was a material that I'd never seen before. It's black and fibrous but has a hard texture. I kind of think it may be asbestos? I've seen glimpses of it on home improvement shows and that's what it looks like.
How can I know for sure? I'm going to take a picture and upload it later.
Also, if it is, how safe is it to work on? The pieces are small; not really armrests but more like hand grips for the door.

Thanks.

Are you kidding? I already have a tent pitched in front of Best Buy. Kidding, of course, but my nephew in NC told me there were campers in tents in front of their Best Buy starting yesterday morning!

Bobbin, that thought occurred to me after I posted.  :-[

Bobbin, I get what you're saying, and I'm sure if someone had asked Sofadoc for permission to be on his roof his response would've been different (despite her being a louse about not giving him access from her house).
I'm all for the "turn the other cheek" mentality, but only up to a certain point. The temptation here to teach her the karma lesson must have been overwhelming.

Update: Boiling the welt really has made a huge difference! I haven't sewn it yet, but all the kink came right out of it after about 10 seconds in the water.

Thanks, all. I will follow all of your suggestions, and one I saw on a Sailrite video. The instructor on the video said to put the welt in a pot of boiling water for a few seconds to "relax" it. Can't hurt to try it, right?

Thanks Doc,
No, I never pre-sew in the interest of saving time. But I will try it now. Btw, should have mentioned that I'm using the foam core welt - do you think that might be contributing to the problem also?

So I'm doing these cabin cushions. The originals were covered in 1970's burnt orange chenille (top and boxing) and the bottom is vinyl.
The customer picked a microfiber fabric, and I figured I'd do the bottoms in vinyl. Sewed the welt to the top microfiber plate and the bottom vinyl plate, and while the vinyl piece looks fine, the welt has twisted on the microfiber plate and not it's won't lie flat and is misshapen.
How can I remedy this?
At first I thought it would straighten out once the boxing was sewn on, but when you compare the top to the bottom, they don't match at all (the microfiber appears shrunken), and I'm so afraid the corners will get twisted on the finished product.

Go to the posting site and upload your photo. Once you upload a photo, it will appear and below it will be codes. I use the one that says "Thumbnail for forums", and click on the copy to clipboard button next to it.
Then come back here, right click in the body of your message, and paste.
You can either type text before or after the code.
Hope I explained this ok.