Saddle Re-upholstery

For a while I've had a few saddles that lost their skin, since after all they lead a hard life. This project's been in the works for a whilie, but it didn't get off the ground until my friend Mark gave me a patch of goatskin I could use.

I used Lepage Contact Cement ($6), the non-solvent type, since it don't got tha stink (sorry I photographed the frog side of the tube).
The material is a thin leather, like you'd see gloves made with (I think that's where the term kid gloves comes from !).

Here's a step-by-step of the jobbie :



I cut the skin to size, I used the remnants of old covering as a guide (left pic). I glued up the main part of the saddle and stuck the skin on and pulled the ends (nose and tail) tight (centre pic). The material has to have some stretch to conform to the curve of the seat. Pulling it laterally didn't work. I pulled the excess leather at the nose into a point (right pic)



at the tail I pulled the leather back and glued it down (right pic). I used some masking tape to more or less hold it down (centre pic). I folded the corners in, and it actually looked not todally ass (right pic). It would be better to clamp the skin down, maybe with some clothes-pins, but I just let the glue go tacky (as in sticky, not as in a Liberace pantsuit) and that was enough to hold it in place.

and the final product:



The noticable mark is a crease in the leather that was there from being folded, but the result is acceptable. The skin is a bit loose tho', it would be nice if there was a way to prestretch the leather, so that it shrank and tightened up after it was glued. I guess the use of clamps would've helped in that dept.

It was ass cheap considering I only paid $6 for the tube of glue and 99 cent for the tape; esp. considering the saddle a San Marco Concor Light sells for at least $40.

I love this glue though, and the same way that to kid with a hammer, everything looks like a nail, I've hunting for other shit to glue.