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[BIG]

I seem to get too many things going at once, and without a big shop to work in, things get cluttered quick! :o  I gotta build me a shop! ;D

Oh, don't worry. The shop you build will soon be just as cluttered! I have a 'huge' shop and I'm constantly losing the battle against clutter!

Peppy,

One things for sure, no matter how big you build the building, it's never BIG enough! :(

Good start on the site.  I'll bookmark to check later.

Hey guys, and gals!  I need some guidance on pricing a boat seat job.  There are two single bucket seats, one single low back seat, and a couple of pedestal seats that I forgot to take pictures of.  I have absolutely no idea of how much to charge for this job since it's my first boat.

Just recovering all the seats back to original is the plan.  The guy had his driver seat blow out while towing it down the road and scuffed it up pretty good.  He originally talked to me about just replacing the wooden bottom that had rotted and was the cause of it blowing out.  Now he's looking at recovering everything so it'll match! 

I want to give him a price for just the one driver seat, then a price for the whole job.  I know prices vary by region, but I'd appreciate some advice so I have a starting point.  I have 2 local shops that I might be able t o get a quote from but I haven't contacted them yet.  I just went and looked at the job this morning, so nobody will be open till Monday.

One other thing, any recommendations on vinyl that would work good in this application?  Anybody have any favorites in a mid range price that will compare to the original material?

Here's some pics.

The first pics are the seat that blew out.






This is what's left of the 1/2" plywood base.  It also had vinyl covering it.


The other seats.  In the first picture you can see one of the pedestal seats turned upside down behind the built in seats.  There are two of them and I think they had a bottom with a flip up separate back.  I'll have to go and have another look to be sure.

Real nice Bobby! But man! Looking at your other pictures you really need to clean off your bench! ;)

I seem to get too many things going at once, and without a big shop to work in, things get cluttered quick! :o  I gotta build me a shop! ;D

Here's a picture of my first "Paying" motorcycle seat...only my second total, the first one I did was for me.  I'm aspiring to Saddleman's French seams! :D  Course now that he's got his dual needle fancy machine, that'll be hard to do.  Let me know what you think.



This is off of a sport bike that a guy at work painted.  They wanted a bike with wood look.  The bike looked pretty good, but the paint on the seat didn't last long.




The before and after.

Really looks great! I'd be more than happy making any of those!

I hear what your saying with the heat gun. I used to view it as cheating, not sure why. Now I use it any time I'm feeling a little lazy. Same with thin plastic over the foam. A very helpfull tool to get everything tight and looking good. Heat guns won't make miracles happen, but they sure make it easier. I was sold on my steamer till it broke, now I only have  a heat gun. I liked the steamer more since it was less likely to melt the vinyl and it had the bonus of 'poofing' up the foam. But hey, even a hot ray of sunlight helps.

I think any tool we can use to increase the look and quality of the finished product is fine and doesn't show a lack of ability, but rather that you're concerned more about putting out a top end finished product.

A heat gun will definitely NOT make chicken salad out of chicken $h*t, but it can help smooth out an unruly piece of vinyl.

I've seen old timers sew stuff up and never use a pin or staple or seam tape or anything to hold material in place while sewing.  I thought if you used any of that stuff it would become a crutch that you relied on. 

In another thread, I remember June saying she didn't mind using a staple gun, that it was just another tool to help get the desired results.  I thought, that makes sense, and ordered a staple gun.  Now, I don't always use the stapler, but when I need it to make the job easier, I don't hesitate to use it.  Same with the heat gun.

Looking at some of the work I've seen from other shops...they'd do good to use a stapler once in a while!  ::)

Stumpy, your work looks great!  I've seen shops that have been in business for a long time that doesn't put out the quality you're already doing.  Don't be scared to use whatever it takes to put out quality work, whether it's a steamer or stapler!

I think the more we sew, the easier it gets to achieve good results without using things like a heat gun, but when it's needed, I don't see that as not having done it right the first time. ;D

I have a local shop that I stop by on occasion.  Your work already looks better than much of what I see that comes out of their shop, and they've been doing it for several years!

Like Loren said, you seem to be a natural!  Keep it up, and keep sharing your work.

Is it the big metal contraption with the foot pump? And the wheel that compresses the sides? If so, I sat mine out by the curb years ago.

Just curious what you're using now?

I used one at a local shop and loved it.  I'd like to have one myself!

Marc,

Welcome to the forum!  I sent you a reply through your website.

hi bobby , thanks for the comments , i have been using the heat gun on the wrinkles when ive smoothed the seats out for the customer to collect. the black wide cushion the guy wanted a old used effect on the seat so it didnt look too new in his van. . i will post more pics when i can figure out how to make them bigger , i use photobox and a hosting forum on rods n sods website. cheers ade

With the quality of work in the pictures you had posted, I figured you had probably already been using a heat gun. ;D  You're doing some excellent work for part time!

What kind of work are you doing that requires 12" ......

Size does matter.... ;D

The blade holder keeps the blades ridgid.  I use the 12" blade saw for carving on motorbike seats.  I do not have the foot plate on mine.   

Hey Loren,

As I was hitting post on that last reply, FedEx pulled up with my new to me Bosch Foam Saw!  I plugged it in and everything seems to work fine.

I have no manual for it, so I'm heading over to Bosch's website in search of one.

I read on one eBay listing that the seller had taken it apart to clean out all of the foam dust from inside of it.  They showed pictures of the before and after.  Do you think I should take it apart for a good cleaning?  Do you lubricate yours with anything?  Silicone, maybe?

What kind of work are you doing that requires 12" blades?
I always operated on the theory that you  want blades that are only a little longer than you need. For example, if you're cutting 6" foam with 12" blades, it seems like the blades would be a little wobbly.
I use 8" blades, since 6" is the thickest foam that I cut.
Maybe I'm thinking this all wrong?

I knew  Loren had one and does the type of work that I bought mine for, so I emailed him to ask his advice before purchasing a new 12" blade and guide..  I see he's already answered. ;D

Mine came with the foot, although I'll probably use it more without it.  I would love to have invested in a new cutter, but just  couldn't justify that much money right now.

["Pulley 613, 2" OD, $6.50 in stock."]

Gregg @ Keystone -  since I see you're a Highlead dealer maybe you can recommend a particular pulley size for the motor (smaller) as I want to slow the machine down for better control. I'm getting the hang of this thing but slower would definitely be better. Its got the clutch motor setup, got any ideas?
Thanks ,Evan

The best thing I could recommend would be to spend $155 bucks (or there abouts) and buy the servo motor from Gregg.  All problems solved, total control, quiet operation, only use power while it's sewing.

Just my 2 cents, but I bet others would say the same.  Once you've tried a servo, you'll wonder why you ever tried to struggle to control that clutch motor.

"Pulley 613, 2" OD, $6.50 in stock."

.......or spend $6.50 and try the pulley. :D

Gregg @ Keystone -  since I see you're a Highlead dealer maybe you can recommend a particular pulley size for the motor (smaller) as I want to slow the machine down for better control. I'm getting the hang of this thing but slower would definitely be better. Its got the clutch motor setup, got any ideas?
Thanks ,Evan

The best thing I could recommend would be to spend $155 bucks (or there abouts) and buy the servo motor from Gregg.  All problems solved, total control, quiet operation, only use power while it's sewing.

Just my 2 cents, but I bet others would say the same.  Once you've tried a servo, you'll wonder why you ever tried to struggle to control that clutch motor.

I ordered new 12" blades and guide for mine.  I noticed that the cutting teeth are not directional like a jigsaw.