Bike/Unicycle - Custom Built Saddle

Hi folks - well just like it says on the tin, here is how I put together my wife's custom made saddle - also I am going to use the same method to build and cover a custom unicycle saddle when I am able, that is why at the start of this instructable some steps show a different seat but I thought I may as well make a start while I had the tools out.

Ok - contact adhesive - sharp knife - scissors - heavy duty stapler - a pen or pencil to draw around your shape or design something - saw for cutting the wood - sand paper/sander - bread knife for cutting the foam - - tea and biscuits.

So I got together some stuff - the missus wanted a colour to match her newly pimped white trike.

Picked up a white vinyl coat from a charity shop for a fiver and cut out the back and collar - saved the other  large pieces for other projects - - this was the only cost, everything else was scrap or junk.

Cut up an old mattress that was dumped in our bin area - this gave me some beautiful felt like material and some thin foam, but we ended up not using that as it was a bit too soft.

Someone had thrown away a child's wooden bed and mattress - cut off the waterproof cover, took out the foam (a good 3" thick) - after cutting my shapes, saved the rest - - - - - 

My wife's grown up son had changed his wardrobe - guess who got that - - meeeeee! - took it apart and used the wood for my base.

Had an old saddle around - the sprung type.

 

So - I cut out my pattern in wood - uni shape for me, a large pill shape for the wife - then did the same with the foam I had collected and got the missus to try out different combinations of stacking for the best comfort. When she was happy the wood was painted and the bracket was bolted on ( I was lucky as I could use all original bolts by countersinking them ).

The foam stack was stuck together and then stuck to the base - Had things been different I  would have put the bolts through from the back and stick/fixed them somehow so that the nuts were on the outside of the wood, meaning the bracket could be put on after the covering and the nuts tightened then.

The top of the seat was spread with more contact glue and left to tack off.

The coat was cut to a basic shape, large enough to cover the saddle.

The seat was placed upside down on the underside of the coat material  and basic fixing tacks where used to align position and the seam of the coat so it was it a middle, then corners tackled next.

After putting basic tacks into areas to give a pretty smooth finish and set up pleats I started proper tacking to develop shape and re enforce the material plus tidy up around the springs/front fixing.

After putting three runs of staples around the whole underside the final section was put into place.

While I was cutting up the coat I noticed the interesting shape of the collar and thought it might make a nice finishing detail and also cover some of the pleating required to cover the build, so I chopped it off too, but being careful to stay outside of the seams.

The collar was wrapped around the back of the seat,  with the natural curve placed around the spring section.

More staples and the jobs all done - - of I went to fit the beast.

My first saddle - went ok.

DZ