- Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:43 pm
#14321
Very helpful @John . I appreciate your guidance.
This being the third boat I've done over the years, I feel like I'm getting better at the stitching, but not really any faster (yet). I'm a few years away from retirement at the day job and considering if this might be a good line of part-time work afterwards (or not).
I guess I'd have to balance my speed and what I'd want to earn ($$$) to come up with a marketable rate. Probably price things by the job, not the hour, which I think you recommend in some other posts on the subject of pricing. As I get more time on my hands, I might try taking 1 or 2 boat upholstery jobs just to see how it works out.
As for my current project, I don't mind going slowly because I want it to look like factory quality (or better) and last a long time. (I was just a bit concerned about price vs. time if I had to do this type of work for a living). John, as you recommended, I did take the seats out of the boat all at once and was disassembling them and de-stitching the skins. But . . . I felt I was getting a little ahead of myself, seeing that there were not a lot of alignment marks in the panels. So, I decided to take things - one cushion at a time - until I get more into a rhythm.
I am using just a screw driver to pry out the staples, which works pretty well on these seats since the backing boards are HDPE and not wood. In my previous boat project, the bases were wood and I recall using a 1/4" wide chisel to get under the staples. I do have a small assortment of upholstery tools, but I am finding that regular tools work well for some things.
I find that I am still making a few mistakes along the way, and learning to hide them as best I can. On the dark gray sidewall trim pieces that I just made, I somehow came up short on material when cutting the pattern out and did not have enough material to properly close up the pointed end of the pieces. (Example below) The piece looks OK, but not great.
. .
So, I've ordered some 1/32" thick stainless steel to make a metal end cap that would cover the last inch (or 2) of the piece. I'm just hoping I can think ahead enough and triple-check my measuring to avoid too many mishaps. I think at the factory the upholstery people know where and how to tug and stretch the vinyl to get the right fit, but those 'secrets' are not ready apparent when making new skins. So, I'm finding that I have to make some assumptions on where the factory folks may have stretched the original fabric to make things fit right and try to replicate the process.
I am also finding that I do better if I staple the new panels together at the outer edge of the selvage so that the alignment stays true while I am stitching. This or course adds time stapling and then either removing the staples or cutting off the excess selvage after the pieces are sewn together. I have seen some people use staples on corners/curves prior to stitching, but I think I'm doing a bit of overkill so as not to loose alignment of the fabric panels.
Anyway, thanks for reading (to all those who have read this far) . . . this boat is about double of my last boat project (2 years ago) and I think it is a bit overwhelming at this point. I'll keep chipping away at it !
This being the third boat I've done over the years, I feel like I'm getting better at the stitching, but not really any faster (yet). I'm a few years away from retirement at the day job and considering if this might be a good line of part-time work afterwards (or not).
I guess I'd have to balance my speed and what I'd want to earn ($$$) to come up with a marketable rate. Probably price things by the job, not the hour, which I think you recommend in some other posts on the subject of pricing. As I get more time on my hands, I might try taking 1 or 2 boat upholstery jobs just to see how it works out.
As for my current project, I don't mind going slowly because I want it to look like factory quality (or better) and last a long time. (I was just a bit concerned about price vs. time if I had to do this type of work for a living). John, as you recommended, I did take the seats out of the boat all at once and was disassembling them and de-stitching the skins. But . . . I felt I was getting a little ahead of myself, seeing that there were not a lot of alignment marks in the panels. So, I decided to take things - one cushion at a time - until I get more into a rhythm.
I am using just a screw driver to pry out the staples, which works pretty well on these seats since the backing boards are HDPE and not wood. In my previous boat project, the bases were wood and I recall using a 1/4" wide chisel to get under the staples. I do have a small assortment of upholstery tools, but I am finding that regular tools work well for some things.
I find that I am still making a few mistakes along the way, and learning to hide them as best I can. On the dark gray sidewall trim pieces that I just made, I somehow came up short on material when cutting the pattern out and did not have enough material to properly close up the pointed end of the pieces. (Example below) The piece looks OK, but not great.
. .
So, I've ordered some 1/32" thick stainless steel to make a metal end cap that would cover the last inch (or 2) of the piece. I'm just hoping I can think ahead enough and triple-check my measuring to avoid too many mishaps. I think at the factory the upholstery people know where and how to tug and stretch the vinyl to get the right fit, but those 'secrets' are not ready apparent when making new skins. So, I'm finding that I have to make some assumptions on where the factory folks may have stretched the original fabric to make things fit right and try to replicate the process.
I am also finding that I do better if I staple the new panels together at the outer edge of the selvage so that the alignment stays true while I am stitching. This or course adds time stapling and then either removing the staples or cutting off the excess selvage after the pieces are sewn together. I have seen some people use staples on corners/curves prior to stitching, but I think I'm doing a bit of overkill so as not to loose alignment of the fabric panels.
Anyway, thanks for reading (to all those who have read this far) . . . this boat is about double of my last boat project (2 years ago) and I think it is a bit overwhelming at this point. I'll keep chipping away at it !
Regards,
TedP
Consew 206RB-4
TedP
Consew 206RB-4