The carpenter side of me was dying to get some lovin' on the motorcycle build. With a recently Restored Bandsaw and me being in need of seat...thought I'd make and mount a wooden saddle.
The process of actually making the seat was a combination of some old techniques I learned as a carpenter and lots of patience. The end result was a beautiful wooden seat that was surprisingly comfortable. I'll eventually brand it with some design (to be determined), and stain it to bring out the grain and protect it.
The mounting process began with making these little bungs on the lathe. These would be welded to the frame and hold the springs in place with cotter pins.
The springs I chose are just 2" tall to keep the low lines of the bike intact. Sounds good for now, but a few rides on these bumpy Houston streets may have me switching to some larger springs...we'll see. A side note: installing these springs can't be done with a normal wrench or socket; luckily I had one of those cheap, flat wrenches that came with non-assembled furniture or something...the wrench fit between the spring coils and fit the nut just right!
For the hinge mechanism I lucked out again and found some hard plastic bushings that came with some other furniture or mount or something (it's not hoarding if it's organized!). These will be perfect until I can get my hands on some brass or bronze.
So after a little more lathe work and making some brackets...here's the hinge assembly.
Here's a good "what not to do". I had thought I found a great place for the hinge assembly; hidden and out of the way. What I didn't think about was how to get the hinge bolt in and out...crap. That's why I tack...easily cut out and rewelded in the right spot.
No problems in the end, just a great looking seat. She's starting to look like a motorcycle finally and I'm dying to ride.
Next I will be the branding and staining stages. Here are some finishes I'm considering...kind of hard to tell but you get the idea.
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