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Seat back material

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maarten versteeg

Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 37
Location: San Antonio

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 9:10 am Post subject: Seat back material

Hello All,



A question, the seat-backs are not mentioned in the plan or builders guide

at all, what material should I use. I though about word, plywood, how

thick would be sufficient?

Any experience with suitable material, some other kind of board?



maarten,

plans building 601xl: N581SL

_________________
Maarten Versteeg
601XL scratch building wings

jaybannist(at)cs.com
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 9:41 am Post subject: Seat back material

Maarten,

 

 Here is what I did.  That's 1/4" plywood, aircraft grade, of course  (;>)  from the aircraft section at Lowe's.

 

 Jay

 

   

 

  

   

 

   

 

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larry(at)macsmachine.com
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 10:56 am Post subject: Seat back material

Hi Marten,

I did a plywood back insert for the seats with a 1/4-inch plywood 

finished both sides.

The thing I'd recommend with this kind of process is keeping the back as 

thin as possible.

I went with 2-inch total thickness and should have gone with a 1-inch 

back because taller

people do better with the extra inch back clearance. I could have shown 

the plywood slips

into an envelope sewn into the back and the retainer channel hangs out 

to grab the seat in place .

No other fasteners are needed. See the link below for pictures of how the

seat was done. Click on the picture to get a larger image.

www.macsmachine.com/html/seatupholstery.htm



Good luck,

Larry McFarland 601HDS at www.macsmachine.com



mversteeg wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   



 Hello All,



 A question, the seat-backs are not mentioned in the plan or builders 

 guide

 at all, what material should I use. I though about word, plywood, how

 thick would be sufficient?

 Any experience with suitable material, some other kind of board?



 maarten,

 plans building 601xl: N581SL

bryanmmartin

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 1018

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:33 am Post subject: Seat back material

I had some 3/16 plywood flooring laminate that I used for the seat backs. I used a piece of aluminum L riveted to these and bent down over the top of the baggage shelf lip to hold them in place, similar to the way Jay did his.



 	  Quote: 	
		   

 

 Hello All,

 

 A question, the seat-backs are not mentioned in the plan or builders guide

 at all, what material should I use. I though about word, plywood, how

 thick would be sufficient?

 Any experience with suitable material, some other kind of board?

 

 maarten,

 plans building 601xl: N581SL


	


-- 

Bryan Martin

N61BM, CH 601 XL,

RAM Subaru, Stratus redrive.

do not archive.

_________________
--
Bryan Martin
N61BM, CH 601 XL, Stratus Subaru.
do not archive.

PatrickW

Joined: 27 Oct 2006
Posts: 380
Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 12:44 pm Post subject: Re: Seat back material

Ditto here.  1/4" plywood.  I think it came from one of the Zenith crates, so it's "real" aviation quality...



Patrick

N63PZ

650-B/Corvair

pchap(at)primus.ca
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:12 pm Post subject: Seat back material

Since everyone is mentioning plywood, I'll mention the different (but 

not necessarily better) solution my dad and I tried, that's worked 

fine for years:



2 layers of fibreglass enclosing a core of 3/8" foam board



Weight for one seatback was about 1.25 lbs, while I calculated 3/8" 

plywood would weigh very roughly 2.5 lbs each. Others were mentioning 

using a lighter 1/4" plywood, where the fibreglass weight advantage 

would be much smaller.



So the fibreglass & foam method can save a little weight but clearly 

takes more time to build.

A bigger factor in seat weight is that of all the foam, particularly 

when using the heavy Confor foam.

Peter Chapman

Toronto, ON           601 HDS  /  912  /  C-GZDC

Juan Vega Jr

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 157

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:35 pm Post subject: Seat back material

mine is 1/8 inch.  



juan

--

pmaxpmax(at)HOTMAIL.COM
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:51 pm Post subject: Seat back material

My plane has two aluminum panels slightly larger than the opening with two L angles for stiffeners.  Three screws hang it from the luggage rack. It's light weight and works great.



Phil Maxson

601XL/Corvair

Northwest New Jersey

maarten versteeg

Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 37
Location: San Antonio

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 4:27 pm Post subject: Seat back material

Thanks, 1/4 inch plywood with aluminum clips seems the way to go,

I will try to keep the cover as thin as possible, I am only 6 foot 1 but

I have very short legs and hence a long back to I don't have too much

margin to play with.

This morning I also sat for the first time in my plane (and made the

required airplane noises). Even though I just has a tiny cushion on the

bottom the shape of the seat was quite comfortable so I may be able

to keep the foam thin.



    maarten,

    plans building 601xl: N581SL



-- 

Maarten Versteeg    Southwest Research Institute

Phone: (210)522-5029    P.O. Drawer 28510

Fax: (210)522-5499    San Antonio, TX 78228-0510

_________________
Maarten Versteeg
601XL scratch building wings

davgray(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 6:52 pm Post subject: Seat back material

You can go thinner than 1/4 inch.  Lowes aircraft isle has birch plywood 

that is either 1/8 or 3/16 and quite stiff and light.

I used this without regrets.  I made panels that slide in from the top down. 

A small section that rests on the center console is all that keeps it from 

sliding too far down while the other side rests against the outer side 

panels.

I also used this for the side panels coverd first in a thin sheet of dacron 

appolstery padding then the fabric attached on the backside with contact 

cement.  Velcro assists the side panels maintain their position.

I have a picture up at

http://picasaweb.google.com/Papawobo/Variations#

This works well but is not a beautiful as the refined leather interior that 

many have done.



Gary Ray



---

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