Got's me a Cat-Weazle.

The picture below is of the underside of the Kett's seat-base section.
The centre section is comprised of a double layer of phifertex folded up into an oblong tube.
There is an additional section sewn onto the leading face that was once elasticated and is pocketed to fit over the horns of the seat frame.
At each side of this panel are/were a pair of elasticated loops made from upholstery webbing.
The elastic has long since stopped responding and the seat is just a very saggy mess that allows one's posterior to "bottom" out on the frame [see what I did there?].

I will take some measurements and then set about making a replacement from Phifertex and upholstery webbing.
It truly cannot be worse than this. :)

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DannyC said:
The elastic has long since stopped responding
Click to expand...
Elastic was an unfortunate choice, on their part - It will always break down, usually sooner than later :(
Polyester webbing would be the best - Nylon web is very strong and will work fine, but will eventually stiffen up with sun exposure.
Polypropylene webbing will also work OK, takes UV exposure fine, would be cheaper, maybe easier to find, but just not as strong.
 
undertoad said:
Elastic was an unfortunate choice, on their part - It will always break down, usually sooner than later :(
Polyester webbing would be the best - Nylon web is very strong and will work fine, but will eventually stiffen up with sun exposure.
Polypropylene webbing will also work OK, takes UV exposure fine, would be cheaper, maybe easier to find, but just not as strong.
Click to expand...
I take your point. However, I imagine they wanted the seat to have some "spring" in it and to be fair this is probably 22 years old so it has done pretty well.
 
I'm sure that's exactly what they were thinking, and I'm also pretty sure the elastic was pretty much toast, by the time you got it.
You'll probably find that the seat has enough give with regular webbing - You just lace it tighter or looser, to fit your "contours".
Even better, that the seat has 2 sections, you can adjust separately, for different anatomical sections ;)
 
I have a "Baldric" [ aka a cunning plan ].
I am going to sew myself a 2-ply oblong panel of phifertex and ensure that the short sides are folded over upon themselves to be 4-ply.
Inserted in that 4-ply fold at either end will be a section of 4 or 5mm silver steel rod.
A "Hot Soldering iron tip" will make some lace-holes at intervals so the steel rods can be drawn together by some 500# 7-strand paracord laces.
This removes any requirement for "elastic" items. A "Bum-friendly" pad can be placed on top of this platform if required.

Comments/critique are very welcome.
 
DannyC said:
the steel rods can be drawn together by some 500# 7-strand paracord laces.
Click to expand...
Tensioning the seat mesh with rods through the edges / hems will work great - It'll really spread out the pull, and give nice even tension.
Also, since you have 2 sections, lacing it won't be too tedious. I'd think that 4mm rod will work fine for that, no need for heavier.
If it's not stainless, spray some paint on it, so your sweaty anatomy won't quickly rust it. :oops:
My seat is so curvy, that I couldn't really use the rod method. AND, it's all one piece, so lacing it is a real procedure -
Lace it up, pull up the slack, pull up more slack, repeat, repeat, etc...:confused:
 
I got the Phifertex out today and set out the basic shape.
I have made it 2-layer with an additional folded front seam that is 4 layer as that is where the most stress will be.
It is made like a long tube-sock and then I will fold both ends back over themselves and double sew that.
The pockets for the metal rods will be formed at the very ends of the fold.
Stainless rods are ordered and expected next week.


image.png
 
There may be a subtle flaw to my plan. :eek:
There are seat cross-rails preventing an end-to-end steel rod at each side, the panel has to have a gap.
The way they overcame this in the original was to make the front 2 & 3/8" on each side a tubular pocket to slip over the "horn" of the seat side rail on each side. This is something that I can easily replicate I believe; or, I can just slit the panel and stitch round that slit and cut the steels into 2 pieces on each side. Whichever it is, it's going to get done and firm seating will be enjoyed once more. :)
 
I think that as long as you use the longest bars you can for each section, it should work, even if they're multiple pieces.
The idea is just to spread out the tension over as wide an area as you can - I'm sure it'll work out fine.
I couldn't use bars like that, and so just sewed on webbing tabs, spacing them around the cross braces, and it laced up nicely.
 
I dragged the little £/$120 "gimp-suit-maker" out of the bottom garden shed and loaded it up with gimp-stitching thread,
The result is not particularly pretty, but I think it will do the job.

Here is the overall "tube-sock" of Phifertex. There is a folded-over 4 x ply long front edge and just a folder over once long rear edge.
image.png


Pretty it is not. I'm a novice sewing contraption user and it's only a cheap Chinese shoe-patcher manual sewing machine.

BUT, I think it will be just as strong as the original, if not stronger. I need the steel rods ASAP to move forwards really.
I shall however place it on the seat frame and pretend it is done. :)
.... like this.
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The new seat mesh is on. :)
This morning I sewed the pockets for the stainless rods.
I started trying to fit it to the trike at about 12 and it has taken me 4 hours to lace it up.

I may have made a mesh [sic] of it.
It isn't as rock hard as I thought it might be and I struggled to draw the lacing super-tight.
At the moment the lacing is only held by a non-slip double-hitch knot.
According to the internet, Paracord has up to 30% "give/stretch" so I think it is a good idea to let it settle and then re-tighten later.
Is it an improvement on the previous arrangement? Yes, definitely.

I do have enough cloth left to replace the back panel too! :)

image.png
 
DannyC said:
The new seat mesh is on. :)
This morning I sewed the pockets for the stainless rods.
I started trying to fit it to the trike at about 12 and it has taken me 4 hours to lace it up.
Click to expand...
Wow dedication indeed
DannyC said:
I may have made a mesh [sic] of it.
It isn't as rock hard as I thought it might be and I struggled to draw the lacing super-tight.
At the moment the lacing is only held by a non-slip double-hitch knot.
Click to expand...
Would it have helped if there had been 2 people ?
Could we have a go on the camp site ?
DannyC said:
According to the internet, Paracord has up to 30% "give/stretch" so I think it is a good idea to let it settle and then re-tighten later.
Is it an improvement on the previous arrangement? Yes, definitely.
Click to expand...
have you asked Goggles AI how much of a lardy ar*e it takes to get 30% stretch ?
DannyC said:
I do have enough cloth left to replace the back panel too!
Click to expand...
Not having a sewing machine I used 10mm bungee cord and laced both the top and bottom of mine with it , it looked uncomfortable and it seemed like that for about 10 minutes of every ride then you forgot all about it and got on with the job.

image001.jpg
So my Kett can be seen on the right with a bungee seat back , I am the geezer on the left in the picture .
Also of interest the geezer on the right has sold me the Kett on the left , the first time I went to the Netherlands I used that trike !
chris-kett-DSCF2041.jpg

I carried far to much stuff in those days , still we live and learn.

Ain't it a small world.....

Paul
ps a single wheeled trailer is NOT a good idea behind a delta trike
 
stormbird said:
Would it have helped if there had been 2 people ?
Could we have a go on the camp site ?
Click to expand...
Yes, another pair of hands leveraging against the seat frame would have helped.
I am happy that it is very much firmer than the old seat, but maybe it can be improved still further.
 
I like the group shot, Paul - But it was too bad they made you guys park around the back, like that :confused:
But, I suppose they had an image to uphold ...... ;)
 
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