Seat tracks from a GM van are mounted to a set of custom fabricated brackets. One side
bolts trough a sole support and the other bolts to the side of the motor stringer.
(02-JUN-2008)
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Normally we'd build the seat frames with 3/4" marine grade plywood. We had several
leftover pieces of 1/4" plywood, so we chose to create a template, cut multiple pieces
and laminate 3 layers to the required thickness.
(02-JUN-2008)
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Rotating the 'C' shaped corner pieces 90 degrees for each layer produces a very
rigid rectangular frame free of fasteners.
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The 3 layers were epoxied and clamped.
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Here's the top layer after curing.
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Rubber webbing will ultimately suspend the seat foam. The webbing
slots were laid out on the stock. A 1/4" drill bit was used to drill the slot
end points. Most of the material was removed with a jigsaw.
(07-JUN-2008)
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Jigging a hand-held plunge router was too complex, so we mounted a 1/4" straight-cut
router bit in the drill press. Moving the stock back and forth while
lowering the router bit 1/8" at a time did the trick.
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Here's the finished piece. No, we won't be using regular lawn chair webbing ! We've
ordered a stretchy UV-resistant rubber webbing commonly used in the upholstery trade.
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Since we're trying to launch ASAP, a local upholstery shop will be commisionned to produce
removable slip-on cushions. They'll be fastened to the seats with straps and
snaps. More traditionnal full uphostery can be completed over the winter months.
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The second layer was built up from 4 laminations of 1/4" marine grade plywood. A
template similar to the one employed in the first layer was produced.
(21-JUN-2008)
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The second layer was epoxied to the first layer.
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We splurged on a 5"x6" industrial duty dual-swivel metal bandsaw. It walks through
1/4" steel or aluminum plate with ease. What a difference a tool makes !
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These aluminum corner plates will bolt to the seat rails.
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We fabricated a steel backing plate to which we've bolted the seat back tilt mechanism.
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Here's a close-up view of the tilt mechanism.
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One of many trial fits.
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The seat rails provide 6" of horizontal travel, 3" of vertical travel at the front
of the seat and reclining backrest.
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Front corners were radiused and the top edges were rounded-over before applying the
first coat of epoxy.
(22-JUN-2008)
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1/4" diameter holes were drilled through the 7 layers of plywood to retain the
aluminum seat mounting plates. 1/4"-20 stainless steel nuts were set into
1/2" counter-bore holes.
(02-JUL-2008)
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To prevent the bolts from bonding to the epoxy, the nuts were drawn down with
lightly-greased bolts and capped with an epoxy mixture consisting of West resin and
403 / 407 fillers.
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A passenger seat base was laminated over a buck built from scrap
1"x6" stock. Dimensions are 22" wide by 36" long.
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(04-JUL-2008)
Two coats of Nason Clear applied with an HVLP spray gun finish up the driver's seat.
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At the bottom of the photo, we see the passenger side seat base after routing
for webbing. At the top of the photo, we're laminating the bottom half
of the seat base.
(06-JUL-2008)
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The two pieces are epoxied and clamped.
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We could have built the passenger seat base supports from plywood, but
aluminun will last forever. Our new horizontal metal bandsaw made
quick work of cutting the 3/16" aluminum plate. Hope
to install the seat base over the weekend.
(31-JUL-2008)
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