Thread: Followed Me Home II

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The more I look at that pocket I think that I'll mark the outline on my door panels, pop them in place and drill 3 or 4 holes for trim clips for the pocket, then cut out the outline of the pocket. I can assemble the pocket on that small panel, install it on the door, and then install the upholstered door panel over it, giving a bit of depth difference. Worst case I make new door panels!

Got my glue, and finally got my old Craftsman siphon spray gun cleaned out. My local trimmer had told me that he just left glue in his gun, ready for the next project, but I think his next project didn't span 10 years..... I had a spongey hockey puck of glue in the can, but finally got the last of the residue with a cup or so of lacquer thinner left to soak. The spray paths were clear, so I resprayed the vinyl on the kick panel an the difference was amazing! Using the "right stuff" makes a big difference. The picture picks up the location of the clips, which isn't apparent when you see it. I'm happy with it.
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After confirming the glue I spent the afternoon getting my Rec Room area set up as an interior shop space. Covered the pool table with visqueen, a piece of thin plywood, and moved my garage compressor down to feed the spray gun. Had to smile thinking about what my wife, Susan would have said, coming home to find a compressor in the Rec Room! Not in a hurry, but things are coming together to get these panels done!
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Good idea Roger as I'm afraid by this time tomorrow both you and I will covered in snow. March can't get here fast enough.

Originally Posted by NTFDAY

Good idea Roger as I'm afraid by this time tomorrow both you and I will covered in snow. March can't get here fast enough.

Yep, the temp is going to fall later today here, then by Tuesday they say upper 40's. I'm in the shop today laying out the 3 walnut trim pieces I need to cut out so the panels can be drilled to align them.
End of day update.
So I got the pieces cut out and nearly ready for finishing. I had a piece of walnut that has a nice swirl pattern on the back side of a knot, so I decided to mimic the gauge cluster shape with a twist. All 3 panels are drilled for wood screws, with corresponding pilot holes.
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I thought I could make a paper pattern for the door pockets, and found that to be the wrong approach! After wasting the better part of at least two days I decided to cut a piece of material, lay out the tucks, and let the rest work out as needed. I won't go into the crap I went through to get the machine to sew a clean line, but I appreciate the need for proper setup!

I decided rather than cutting out a door panel I would make a prototype with a piece of scrap. From the paper patterns I decided to try 3 pleats with 1" exposure which would add 1/2" to the length at rest. I laid out the slots for the elastic and cut them out before stitching the top of the pocket.
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With the top folded over and stitched I measured the total width of the top edge and cut back the inside of the tube to let the elastic wrap the backer panel.
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To give the elastic room to pull into place I cut a small relief on both sides of the backing panel.
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I glued a piece of material on the backer panel, but the pocket section I just stapled into place for the prototype so I can take the elastic out for the finals. Here's the base pocket insert prototype.
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And this is the prototype on the door panel with the walnut accent piece above. I think it'll work OK for my needs.
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Now to cut the door panels and get after the real thing!!

Looks really good, it's fun to see you build this

Your very talented!

I'm enjoying watching this, too, Roger. Also, I'm learning. What kind of sewing machine are you using?

Originally Posted by J. Robinson

I'm enjoying watching this, too, Roger. Also, I'm learning. What kind of sewing machine are you using?

Thanks Jim. I picked up a Yamata FYv5318 Industrial machine with table a few years ago. The guy had bought it at a GoodGuys show where Ron Mangus was demonstrating. He had never got it working, and advertised it on CraigsList or something. I think I paid $300 for it and discovered that he'd lost the tensioning screw from the bobbin. The local shop in the city asked "Why would you buy that junk?", but then he took my bobbin away and came back with the needed screw in place.... It was still difficult to use, as it's intended for production work on fabrics where they want to fly, while I wanted to crawl. I bought a new motor with a variable speed dial, but if I cranked it too low it popped the GFI. Reading more I found that guys put on a speed reducer pulley setup. Rather than that I bought a 10" pulley to replace the driven wheel at the machine, drilled it out to the needed shaft size and with a new belt I achieved the same thing.
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https://studio.youtube.com/video/uw7a8rg1LKk/edit
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It had been several years since I'd used it, and I went to the local fabric store and bought a big spool of maroon thread to match my material. BIG mistake!! It was serger thread, much too light for this machine but it took me a day or two to figure that out.... After adjusting everything I could adjust I was still getting a massive tangle of thread on the bottom side of my test pieces so I decided to load up some heavier black thread. Ba-Da-Bing, Ba-Da-Boom it cranked out perfect stitches so I decided black top stitches on maroon would be just fine!

Ingenious. It's logical thinking; but still ingenious.

Originally Posted by johnboy

ingenious. It's logical thinking; but still ingenious.

:lol::lol::lol:

Your determination to make it work is impressive. I bought a sewing machine a few years ago but every time I've tried to use it I just can sew straight, not so easy to do.

OK! So you have an industrial machine with a "walking foot". That's what I wondered. Many years ago my wife (an accomplished seamstress and theater costumer) stitched the interior for my C-cab delivery. By the time she was done, her 2-year-old Singer was shot. That interior cost me a new sewing machine, but it was still cheaper than paying an upholsterer. That was in 1979.

Now, 42+ years later she has 3 high-tech sewing machines, a serger, and an embroidery machine, but she won't touch my upholstery with any of those machines...

Originally Posted by J. Robinson

OK! So you have an industrial machine with a "walking foot". That's what I wondered. Many years ago my wife (an accomplished seamstress and theater costumer) stitched the interior for my C-cab delivery. By the time she was done, her 2-year-old Singer was shot. That interior cost me a new sewing machine, but it was still cheaper than paying an upholsterer. That was in 1979.

Now, 42+ years later she has 3 high-tech sewing machines, a serger, and an embroidery machine, but she won't touch my upholstery with any of those machines...

Yep, sewing the thick material is tough on a regular machine, and the "foot" can chew up the surface if you're not really careful. One thing about slowing the machine down with reduction pulleys is it boosts the torque, and they can push through several layers even at a crawl. Gotta admire those guys who lay down a straight line next to a seam, where any deviation is obvious.

One door panel mounted, and the other one is done other than mounting the wood trim and popping the two pieces in place.
Like everything you do yourself any flaws are glaring mistakes, but it'll do for now.
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