[119074]

My brother's seat material is starting to wear. He asked me what I know about reapholstering, and if I could give him a hand doing it. I had a better idea - I could make him a seat cover out of maille. He liked the idea and gave me creative license. I'm using stainless steel and two different 'weaves' - Dragonscale for the 'driver' and Half-Persian 6-in-1 for the passenger area.

Probably be at least another month before it's all done, 'cuz I've gotten pretty busy with 'life' stuff (and my fingers friggin' hurt!). Here's what I've got, so far.

Checking to make sure I've coverage for the 'driver' part of the seat.

Driver section is done. Passenger section is done enough to start connecting the two pieces together.

Here's a close up of the driver's, the Dragonscale weave. Used square wire here. Should keep him from sliding more than if I had used round wire.

And a close up of the passenger, the Half-Persian. In order to keep the symmetry, I had to reverse the pattern, which left me with that seam running down the middle. I think it works, though.

 

[Scorpiusb]

Now there's something you don't see EVER.... Wow!

 

[kingstrider]

Based on your name and avatar I'm guessing this comes easy to you. Any photos of your chain maile armor?

 

[119074]

I find a lot of the different weaves to be pretty easy. Stainless steel and titanium are tough to work with compared to other metals. As far as my armor - I made a shirt when I was in high school, as did some of my friends. Then we beat the crap out of each other, destroying our armor. What bits that remained, we used for testing - bow & arrow, .22, .38, .45. What we discovered, maille sucks for those.

Now I mostly do small projects (this seat is WAY bigger than anything I normally do). Jewelry is quick & easy to make, and make a decent buck too.

I do have a picture of woman's armor. Uh, well, a bikini...

 

[ere]

Cool stuff!

 

[bluzman]

My brother's seat material is starting to wear.

I hate it when that happens. :ahhhhh:

 

[119074]

I hate it when that happens. :ahhhhh:

Well, he's twice married. So, it's not too surprising there's a little wear. :rofl:

 

[GasGuzzler]

Cool stuff!

Actually it would be very hot in Texas.

 

[119074]

Actually it would be very hot in Texas.

Yeah. Only takes a short while in the sun to get hot. A few spritzes with a spray bottle of water will cool it down enough to sit on without getting branded.

 

[aflevine]

Definitely a distinctive design. Appreciating that chainmail is meant to turn an edge, a few questions. Are you planning to weld where the rings join? Are you planning to sew the chain down to leather or some durable cloth? I'd think that the wear on his old seat would identity the stress spots where this might be important.

 

[119074]

Definitely a distinctive design. Appreciating that chainmail is meant to turn an edge, a few questions. Are you planning to weld where the rings join? Are you planning to sew the chain down to leather or some durable cloth? I'd think that the wear on his old seat would identity the stress spots where this might be important.

I didn't weld the rings, don't think I'll need to. The round wire used on the passenger part is 16 gauge stainless, and the square wire on the rider part is a heavier gauge. Between the strength of the steel, and the density of the weaves, it should stay put - it's an easy fix to repair if a ring or three open up.

The plan is to use a heavy vinyl underneath and attach the maille to it using grommets to anchor it. The vinyl will then be pulled tight and staple to the bottom of the seat pan.