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55

That is very true.  You have to be in the trenches with them to get it done.
My guy that just left was with me 4+ years.  I hated to see him go.  He was one of my best upholsters, hands down. 
I am trying a guy out now, but Friday will be his last day.  He is working on 24 seat pads 17" x 58.5" x 2".  You will like this part, it took him almost  1 1/2 days just to cut all of the faces, boxings and zipper bands. 
Have another guy coming in on Friday for a interview.

I hate this part of the business..

I have been running an add on Craig's list the past 3 weeks and have only received 1 call.  Looked into placing an ad in our local paper, it appears they sub it out to another company that is not even local.
It appears the work force for upholsters is shrinking.

Welcome to the board.

If your servo motor can not at the needle positioner, then you will need to buy a new servo motor that will come with the positioner that will mount to wheel.  Then you can set it to end in the down or up position.  You can find then on the internet for about $120.

Nice job on the interior.  It looks better than factory upholstery. 
What type of boat is it?

I order  most of my sling material for these types of chairs through Tri vantage.   Yes,  we usually measure the frame width before we take them apart,  then add material for the spline and then deduct about a 1/4".  Then when you screw it all back together the sling will be nice and tight.

Usually the side rails that hold the fabric will have screws in them.  You loosen those to make it easier to slide the sewn fabric in place.  Then tighten the screws.

Went and looked at a new yacht for a broker.  One of the things the customer who is buying the boat wants is Sunbrella window cover. To be in two pieces.  In the pictures below you can see the two steps going up to the bridge.  There is a space between the back of the step and the window.  What I am having trouble figuring out is the best way to mount the sunbrella to the boat.  The cover will end at each far corner.  It will not cover the two side windows.
So far I have figured out is behind the steps is to use 2" velcro to hold the two halves together.   The real problem I can not figure out is how to hold the top of the cover in place.  The space between the top of the window and the underside of the bride floor is real tight.  

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The panels that I have done were made out 3/4" plywood.  The maintenance person for the building took them out of the elevator, picked them up, upholstered them and returned them.  They re-installed them.  Some were held in place by velcro and others by a track.

Update.
So we re-did both of the backs on the recliners in the black ultra leather.  Brought them back to tho customers house.  Slid the backs back on both chairs.  I thought they looked really good and matched pretty darn close.  I was trying to avoid having to redo the seats also.
The husband liked it, but wasn't sure.  I said fine.  Give it a couple of days and when your wife get home in the afternoon you can discuss it with her.   Last night around 8:30pm received an email from the wife saying that they are very please.
Case closed.  Moving on.

After the customer came out yesterday and saw the replacement material, she mentioned that it felt thinner than the original.  So what I am planning on doing is using Ultra leather, eliminating any possibility of this happening again. 

Have a call into the supplier to see if they will step up to the plate, but not planning on that happening.

Part of being in business.

About 3-4 times a month I will get calls from customers saying that the the leather on their new furniture is pealing.  I  usually need to let then know that it is not real leather, but a recycled leather or the material.

But know this problem has hit close to home.

http://s4.photobucket.com/user/scott_sandiego/Recliner/story

On 2/1/2013 we reupholstered 2 recliners in a recycled leather purchased at one of our suppliers.  Went out and looked at the chairs and sure enough at the head rest the material was starting to peal.  Never thought this would happen with any of the suppliers I purchase from.  Got on the phone with them and explained the problem.   They said they would send out more recycled leather so we could get the problem fixed.  But they said they would not cover my labor charges, to make the changes.  Get the material in and check the texture and color to what was put on the chairs, does not even come close.  Now I am on the hook on redoing both chairs.

I had this happen one other time about 15 years ago with a fabric, it started to ball up.  That company handled it the proper way.  They took care of supplying me with new fabric and also took care of the labor charges.

It sounds like a product called Ultra leather.  It has a very soft feel to stand and has a lot of stretch to it in one direction.  I use it a lot on yacht interiors and in residential.  It will not hold up in a commercial application.  But if this is what the contractor and designer are specifying, then there is nothing you can do to change it.  On the bright side, when it needs to be redone they will call you.  When I do restaurant seating I try to use Naugahyde when possible. 

You are correct  that the screen printer does need to use a solvent based ink. "NAZDAR GV SERIES GLOSS VINYL SCREEN INK" should do the job.  I would call a screen printing supply house to confirm with them what solvent based ink they would recommend to use on vinyl.  The ink should cost about $25 -$30 a quart.

You might try Keyston Brothers.  They carry chip board. 
You might also try using 1/8" - 1/4" Luan plywood from Home Depot.