TECH Sew at home upholsrety hot rod

Got the old rod up an running,still a few little things,but there always is,part of the fun. Will be buffing out the paint an then put the name on "Déjà vu".
Here's a shot or two of how its looking now,later I may be able to post a video.

 

My first try sewing vinyl with a home machine. Lots of broke needles using my great grandmothers Kenmore knee paddle machine. I know she was looking down at me and shaking her head.

 

Thanks Buddy,n Looks real nice "bonzo-1"
Going to give a try on making a folding top,I'll do a tech on this coming up.

 

found a few photos of my seat work,I had not posted before
This is bottom of seat.
There out of any order,but the #1 is putting an extra layer of foam at the end so it gets a better shape. #2 is pulling the side into place to see if I can staple it yet.
#3 is after gluing about 1/2in. truned under to the black,I'm then gluing with some contact the blacl panel into the right place on the yellow prepleated=will hold in place as I sew that line.
#4 the black n yellow are already together,an the foam is spary tached to the wood seat frame,so line it all up an pull it around to staple{ a few test to be sure it's good,then staple about every 1in. or so,checking fit as you go.
Note[trick] the hole in wood frame under drivers ass,this lets my butt set lower and I can if need-be add padding under seat for long trips/there is about a 1in. low spot in floor at the same point as that hole and lines up with it.

 

I needed a handy pocket,so made a alum"U" shape of about .060 X 1/2in. to have something to glue to and used the band off a clean pair of Friut of the Loom as a gather at the top,screwed it to my right side kickpanel.

 

Great job, I did my Tudor's seats and side panels over the winter and they came out ok, not as nice as your's though. The whole job ended up easer than I thought, just had to get started on it. Oh, I have a "hand-me-down" 1957 Singer machine.

 

I've got an industrial sized upholstry machine (that's what my mom and her mom say it was) that was passed down from the family. I'd have to get the details on it's specifics, but would there be any Interest on the HAMB for such a machine? - if i remember it looks alot like a big version of those old black enameled cast iron Singers that drop into hidden cabinets, except not fancy and it's got an electric motor underneath.- rick.

 

69fury,I see adds from time to time for used sewing machines,they seem to sell OK if the add has the right info in it ,plus low cost! One good selling point is that it works,you tested it,an if it was a "A"slipper foot or "B" walking foot type,the later is the better one to have=[walking foot].
I did this above tech on how I got away with using a slipper foot an prob's I over came,but all of it would of been EZer with "Walking Foot"machine. Not every one has the $ for exactly the sewing machine needed,but you can still do stuff with a little extra work.

 

One time I watched a guy doing body work with a carpenters claw-hammer...I thought .." it'l look like crap ,'cause hes using the wrong tool"...Hah ! .. job turned out ripple-free,straight as an arrow..
My point is.. Here's this guy who takes a "home-type" sewing machine, figured out its limits and makes a knockout interior..and learned a ton of stuff doing it...Plus, if somebody asks, he can say " I did it myself.."... I'm sure if he turns "pro" or gets the money ,he'd surely invest in an industrial machine..but he did a great job with what resources he had..

Way to go ,Dana.!!!...great tech and it proves once again ..hotrodders are the most inventive,resourceful ,and creative folks on the planet...

 

Great contribution, Dana... Lots of ingenious methods to stretch that vinyl, invisibly seam it, and attach it... Very distinct, and affordable. Thanks!

 

Thanks Mike,as you enjoyed this upholstery at home,you may like to also see a tech I did on home made folding tops ;http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hotrod-folding-top-a-how-too-do-it-tech.857951/

 

Dana, you rock and my Hot Rod Hero!!!!
That top looks sooooo nice...


....and guess what I just bought and showed up on my door step yesterday.....

do the words walking foot mean anything to ya?

Your lil A looks awesome! Thanks for all your inspiration.

 

great work. i'll be watching for updates.

 

I hate to rain on your parade, but "walking foot" is not an attachment for a sewing machine. Walking foot is a generic term for alternating presser feet. In order to have alternating presser feet, the sewing machine needs to have three vertical shafts, one that holds the needle, and the other two each hold half of the foot. (see picture) When one side of the foot is down, the other side of the foot is up, they "alternate" so that something is always holding the work down to the table. The only way to have a "walking foot" is for the machine to be built with those three shafts, you can't add an attachment to make your machine something it isn't.

Also, industrial machines have compound feed, (drop feed and needle feed) that work together while most home machines only have needle feed. Can you sew an interior with a home machine? Sure, but you will be limited by the thickness of what you are sewing because the foot won't lift as high on a home machine. The more thickness, the less the home machine can sew, both because there's not enough room under the foot, and there is only needle feed pulling the work through the machine. When there is too much thickness, your stitches won't be uniform in size.

 

Go ahead and bash me for buying a chinese knock off of a light weight machine as well Dan....


This is hopefully an improvement over whats behind my new Rex (maybe it will, maybe it wont), and you missed the entire point of Dana's thread, and his can do with what you have, and what you can afford attitude.

Neither he nor I ever would claim to be trimmers, but we will do our best with what we have. His threads and attitude is what made me decide to take my chances on the Rex.

 

Now where exactly did I bash anybody in what I posted? All I was trying to do is explain what limitations a home machine has when sewing thicker fabric and foam. I was trying to prevent people from running out and buying a "walking foot" attachment, when it doesn't exist, and explained why an industrial machine is different from a home machine. I didn't criticize Dana or you or anybody else that wants to do their own upholstery, and I completely understand what Dana's threads are about. If you go over to Hotrodder's.com you will see dozens of tutorials I have posted, all with the idea of teaching people who want to do their own upholstery how to do it like a professional would do it. I'm not familiar with your Rex machine, but it will probably do whatever you want to do with your interior. I don't look down my nose at other people's budgets or equipment.

 

On here seems like all the time and somehow have missed this thread. Interesting.

 

This is what I'm playing with the last few days.

 

ANDEREGG TRIBUTE ;That REX looks like it will do a great job on homegrown hotrod stuff for sure,wished I'd had the $ to of gone that way too!. DanTwoLakes really dose do some awsome pro info over on his site.
I pointed out at the start of my tech that this was all about making do with what I had,to help anyone that wanted to know a very low $ way,plus some tricks that could help a lot,even with a better sewing machine. Have fun hotrodders

 

I thought my industrial Singer from the 30's would be great to do my own interior. It's a beast of an upholsterer-but not a walking foot model and it's got a simple foot operated clutch that connects the motor underneath to the machine- so it's either off or full speed- not something i want to try as a first timer with a car interior-no way to slow her down. -rick

 

That Rex has a foot speedcontrol I beleve, Just like my housewife one dose and that helps a lot{you can run slow],we need that for us that are learning. Also I do hand crank the wheel on the end of sewingmachine with out foot power on when ever I'm running around a corner or a place that is hard to do,so each stitch can be were I want it. Takes more time but the control of hand cranking the wheel is way better.
I did try one from a dress shop that was as 69fury talked about,I even try slowing it down with def pulleys,but just too fast no matter what I did to it,so gave it back to my buddy who was nice enought to let me try,he dose not sew ether,but had got it from his mother yesrs ago.
The REX shown is a good for our hobbie,its sold under a few def names but you can tell by looking the one are same with def names on them. The arm opening is same as my Kenmore on most of those,but they do make some with 9in. vs 7in, that 9in. is a little EZer to get more of your sewing through under the arm,but cost about a extra $130 over the $300 type like that REX ;http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alphasew-Po...072?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5672f75848
I put that link in case someone wants to see the longer arm machine of that type.
Hope that helps !

 

interesting. I will look into this. and thanks.

 

Heres my machine, well used, but sews like a house on fire...

 

Good information here.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Just a update,happy to let you'all know both these hot rods are still in good shape ,the upholstery has held up well now too being run hard an even getting rained on a few times every year.
I still have not done any side window curtains,that I had a plan to do for my old 28A roadster.plus replacing it's really old Tonneau cover never happened=The folding top worked better then I thought it would,so no need.

 

Cool thread and some real craftsmanship my friend Nobody was born doing it, everybody had to learn. I think you missed your calling

 

Thanks.
Frankly,not something I'd want to do for others as a biz,but it was a way of saving $$$$ and having the fun of doing it my self,plus passing some skills to my son Lance,hope I saved some others,some bucks too !
I enjoy building cars too much,designed an build more race cars then I can count,all of them won races . That and driving them is my fav. Pretty much same with hot rods before,inbetween and after the race cars.

 

everything ive done has been on a singer i got from goodwill. does seat covers nicely, just gotta get used to its limitations. i saw a walking foot machine at goodwill a while back but i paid 15 bucks for my singer and they wanted 90 for this thing that looked like it was from the 40s...i didnt gamble on it. i did this trad tuck n roll on the singer. no expert, this thread and youtube helped me a lot. saving me big bucks!!

 

Wish I had two more hands so I could give this thread four thumbs up.

 

The problem being that nobody wants to do anything with their hands anymore. I've always been amazed by what i can do. Those things bring me happiness and satisfaction, and occasionally financial gratification lol. It's not a sin to point at something and say "i did that". Much more satisfying that pointing at something and saying "i paid somebody to do that for me". There's no skill in writing the check. I have to say that from your pictures you're better than most Mr. Barlow. Hammer down my friend, hope to see ya on the road