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The Chevy Truck Bench Seat

10K views 59 replies 8 participants last post by  Dusty82 
#1 ·
Ok, I got the seat out of the truck, and semi-stripped down to take to class tomorrow night. As promised, I started a project journal to chronicle my adventures in upholstering a seat for the first time. I won't say that I'll be doing it myself, because my instructor, Bob, and his assistant, Renee, will be helping me along the way. Bob has given me permission to take pictures in class as long as I don't disrupt things with it, so I'll be sure to take pictures of every step I can possibly take pictures of.

The project journal is here:

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/jou...858&action=view#The Chevy Bench Seat - Part 1

I invite your feedback. If anyone has any questions, comments, suggestions, words of warning, pats on the back, or demands for payment, please don't hesitate to post something here or shoot me a PM.
 
#4 ·
richard stewart 3rd said:
Hi Dusty,
What are your plans after school,
a home based upholstery shop?
My seat repairing skills stop when
I get the seats out.
Good luck, & don't forget the updates,
rich
I'll be updating the journal today. I had to put new batteries in my camera and finish what I started in school last week. I'm writing up the updates now.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do after school. I'd like to go to work for a shop and learn everything I can while doing this full time, but my skills will dictate that. If I'm not very good at it, I won't get a job doing it - I know that. I'm just beginning, and I need to get a lot more experience before I can even begin to think about full time employment in this field. I need a few years of experience before even considering opening my own shop - although I will admit the thought has crossed my mind.


horvath said:
I'm gonna enjoy this project journal -- thanks for posting.
I'm having fun doing it, Alan. My problem is that I tend to ramble, and I find myself wanting to post too much detail, and way, way too many pictures. It's tough to remember that I'm not posting this for people who know absolutely nothing about the subject. As it is, I still find myself instructing more than documenting. I don't mean to - it just comes out that way.

Believe me when I say that I don't meant to appear to be talking down to anyone. I'm doing all of this for the first time, and learning as I go.
 
#7 ·
You're doing fine , Dusty. Remember this about opening your own shop........almost everybody wants a show quality interior at a bargain basement price. The guys who have the money take their work to the big name shops and don't care about the price.
You are absolutely correct to learn as much as you can before trying to go out on your own.
 
#8 ·
Thanks Dan, Alan, and HB. I'll keep plugging away at it. Tonight we start on the seat foam, and I'll lay out the pattern and start cutting my fabric and vinyl. We'll see how that goes. I probably could have picked another fabric for my first project, but hey... I've always been one to jump into things hip deep, so...

I'm such a beginner at this, opening my own shop is basically nothing more than a pipe dream. I really need some experience under my belt, and the only way I'm going to get it is to get out there and do it. Full time employment in the field is a bit more realistic at this point, so I'm going to shoot for that before I start thinking about anything else.

I really value your opinions, guys, so if you see me about to do something wrong, please say so! If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions at all, please post them. I'm always eager to learn, and I discuss a lot of things I've read here with both Bob & Renee. I can't confirm it, but I think they might be lurkers here - hehehehehehe.
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the encouraging replies Alan & John! I'm actually having a ball doing this. I got a bit nervous about sewing the pleats, but as you can see by the journal, it really was no problem.

The weekly update to my project journal is almost done. There'll be one more update a bit later today. I didn't have time in class Tuesday to completely finish sewing the pleats in the seat back insert, so I have 5 more lines of stitching to run. Then I'll take pictures of the finished inserts and post the update. Look for it sometime this afternoon.

I did come across another tip in class, however. One of the students was having trouble controlling her machine - jackrabbit starting and such. To cure the problem, Bob went back into his office and came out with some of these little goodies. It's nothing more than a piece of scrap 2" foam, folded over on itself and taped to hold it in that shape, then wedged underneath the treadle of the machine.

I was a bit skeptical as to whether or not it would do anything, so he invited me to try it. I'm now a believer. The foam gave the treadle just enough resistance that it was easier to control how much juice you gave the clutch. It doesn't interfere with the pedal travel, and you can still "floor it," it just smoothes the treadle action out a bit.

I know Alan and I had a few issues with treadle control at first, so I thought I'd pass this along. If you're having problems with the machine wanting to take off on you all at once when you step on the treadle, give it a try.

Also remember to put a smaller pulley and belt on your motor to slow the machine down if you're having machine speed issues. I have a 3 ¼" pulley on my machine, and had a 3 ½" pulley on the motor. This setup used a 3/8" wide X 43" (3L430) belt. I changed over to a 2" pulley on the motor, and had to get a 3/8" wide X 41" belt (3L410.) I got both the pulley & belt at my local hardware store for less than $20.
 

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#14 ·
Dusty: I have been following your project journal, and I have a couple comments. When I sew pleats (channels) in an insert that big, I always start in the middle and go out to one end, and then do the same thing the other way. Yes, that means rolling up the fabric to get it under the machine at first, but starting in the middle and working out seems to keep the pleats very uniform with no chance to bunch in the middle. The second comment is that you can start sewing with the needle up if you hold onto the top and bottom thread while you sew the first couple of stitches. This will keep the thread from bunching up just like turning the hand wheel to put the needle into the fabric as you start sewing will. You're doing fine. Taking your time is the best course of action.
 
#15 ·
Thanks for the positive comments, Alan & Dan! (Oh, and this is still the non-gloating section, Alan - LOL!)

The final updates for this week are posted. I'll remember your tip about starting to pleat from the center then working my way out on large inserts, Dan - I'll certainly be doing a lot more of these. I really hadn't thought about the possibility of the fabric coming loose from the scrim and gathering/bunching in the middle. Maybe I'm just lucky it didn't happen to me this time. I'll remember next time. Do you think I should edit the Project Journal to reflect this?

As far as starting to sew with the needle up by holding onto the threads is concerned, I asked Bob about that when Renee said something to another student about it. He got that wry smile of his on his face and said, "Yeah, you can do it that way if you want to. If you want her to come flying over here in a big hurry, that's the way to do it."

I guess that's a major pet peeve of hers, so, discretion being the better part of valor, I'll keep her happy (and stay on her good side) by starting to sew with the needle in the down position. I DO appreciate the reinforcement though. I knew I was right about this, and it's good to get confirmation from a pro.
 
#16 ·
I guess my point is that this shouldn't be a big deal. I like to do it that way because I can move the work around a little if I'm slightly off to begin with.......I'm not locked in by where the needle starts out. Her way guarantees that the thread won't bunch up. But go ahead, be a little girl about it and let her have her way. LOL
 
#17 ·
DanTwoLakes said:
But go ahead, be a little girl about it and let her have her way. LOL
OH MAN! Thirty seconds in the penalty box for that one! Sheesh! No respect! LOL

Rodney was right...

Remember, I may be asking her for a job next semester. I'm trying to impress her with my upholstering skills. Remember when you used to try to impress women?

Ok, we're even - LOL :p
 
#18 ·
Dusty82 said:
The final updates for this week are posted. I'll remember your tip about starting to pleat from the center then working my way out on large inserts, Dan - I'll certainly be doing a lot more of these. I really hadn't thought about the possibility of the fabric coming loose from the scrim and gathering/bunching in the middle. Maybe I'm just lucky it didn't happen to me this time. I'll remember next time. Do you think I should edit the Project Journal to reflect this?
This is your project journal that should reflect how you did the work, and if it works out O.K. is doesn't matter. My point is that starting from the center seems to be a bullet proof way to make sure nothing happens. If you want to add that tip to your journal that might be a good idea. If you want another good tip to eliminate a lot of the math and measuring, send me a regular e-mail.
 
#19 ·
Weekly updates to the project journal are posted, and last week's entries were edited to reflect Dan's tips to me. Dan also sent me the Seat-a-lator I needed to fix the seat bottom frame, (Thank you again Dan!) and I detailed the installation. Installing it couldn't have been simpler.

Tuesday's class will entail cutting out the rotted out portion of my seat bottom foam and replacing it, then building up the driver's side bolster to better match the passenger's side. While that's drying, I'll do some sewing on the seat covers - most likely the seat bottom first.

As usual, any tips, tricks, comments, complaints, threats of violence, or demands for payment are welcome.
 
#23 ·
When I work on a seat with a seat-a-lator, or a seat with springs for that matter, I add one more step to what Dusty did. I put a piece of seat decking over the seat-a-lator or springs so the seat-a-lator or springs won't cut into the foam. If you look at the inside of the foam, you will see that it gets cut by the seat-a-lator or the springs. A piece of seat decking prevents that.
 
#26 · (Edited)
The seat-a-lator's original intention was to lay over furniture springs and keep cotton batting from being forced through the springs as the furniture was sat on. That was the normal seat construction of its day. Its purpose was to isolate the springs from the next layer above it, and prevent damage to that layer. In a couch or chair, the next layer above is the seat and seat cushions. In a car seat, the next layer above is the seat foam. Now days that type of construction is basically non existent. La-Z-Boy is the only manufacturer I know of who still uses seat-a-lators in their seat construction and their use of it is redundant. They cover their springs with a layer of synthetic fabric and put a seat-a-lator on top of that under their seat foam. (which doesn't work, by the way.)
Somewhere along the line, the seat-a-lator (also called permalator or flexalator, depending on what company manufactured it) was suspended from helical springs as a cheap alternative to actual springs. As time passed, newer synthetic products appeared to replace the seat-a-lator over springs with cotton batting on top of that,with a one piece layer called seat decking. Seat decking comes in many different forms and thicknesses. I will take pictures of some different kinds of seat decking and post them tomorrow.
Aren't you glad you asked!
 
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