MTFCA Forum

I’m making up my seat frame for my 1912 delivery car. The frame is supported by some inner bracing that is on the insides of the seat risers front and rear. The rear support piece is 7/8”thick x 1 1/4” hard maple. The front support piece is 3/4” thick by 1 1/4” hard maple. The pieces attach to the front and rear seat risers that are 1/2” thick hard maple. My question is should these pieces be screwed/nailed from the back sides or from the front of the seat risers?
Thanks guys

Personally, I'd want the screws to where they are not visible from the outside. Also, from seeing what happened on my dad's depot hack, after many years of jouncing on that part, the reinforcement wood collapsed in and allowed the seat bottoms to collapse with them (no glue). Thus, I would most definitely securely glue them in place and use either #10 or #12 wood screws to secure. The grain is going in the same direction, so there should be no worry about expansion or incompatibilities in the construction if glue is used...further there is no flexing here as would be with many of the other joints in your body, so that pretty much cinches it for me...

Do you intend to have a seat cushion retainer?
If so, start the covering wrap on the bottom, screw it on from the front, then finish the wrap and tack it into place.

: ^ )

Keith

KWTownsend wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 11, 2022 12:21 pm

Do you intend to have a seat cushion retainer?
If so, start the covering wrap on the bottom, screw it on from the front, then finish the wrap and tack it into place.

: ^ )

Keith

Keith, the seat cushion is just a cushion that does not have springs. It just sits on top of the seat lid. The lid sits flush inside the seat frame pieces.

Mike

I know exactly what kind of seat you will be using...having driven a number of tours in a Depot Hack with the same exact seats I can state with certainty that you will tire of foam seats after the first 150 miles. Consider working with an upholsterer NOW to work in some actual springs and actually ENJOY driving this thing rather than thinking "Oh, God...another 20 miles to go..." on your first tour.

Ok guys thanks for the suggestions…I glued it up and put in 5 screws on each side. I went ahead and did some test cuts on some scrap wood to get my measurements right for the seat frame. Looks good so far. The only thing I may change is the seat bottom/gas tank cover board. Plans called for 5/16 thick boards nailed to two horizontal strips 5/16 x 1”. Seems kinda flimsy… I may make one out of 1/2” thick and cut deeper rabbets.

I've said it before, but will say it again: the quality of your woodwork makes this series a pleasure to follow...well done.

Scott_Conger wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 11, 2022 10:18 pm

I've said it before, but will say it again: the quality of your woodwork makes this series a pleasure to follow...well done.

Thanks Scott! It’s a fun hobby and I enjoy it… I will say this build has stretched my woodworking skills. The key is to take your time and if you start making mistakes, take a break from it. I find I usually think about how I’m going to do a certain task and go over it several times before I make any cuts.

Mike, you are now at the point where you can consider setting the seat backrest back a bit to get a more comfortable driving position. My 1912 van is severely cramped. I built my 1917 shooting brake with the backrest set back an inch or two at the bottom, hinged it there and made the rake adjustable by 2". Easy to do and can be made to look period correct.

Allan from down under.

Alan

that is EXCELLENT advice and I should have thought of that when I mentioned seat springs. Riding position in my dad's Hack is horrendous, but typical of C cabs and hacks.

Mike: PAY ATTENTION to this advice!

Looks really good Mike. Will be a very nice car.

Scott_Conger wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 12, 2022 9:47 am

Alan

that is EXCELLENT advice and I should have thought of that when I mentioned seat springs. Riding position in my dad's Hack is horrendous, but typical of C cabs and hacks.

Mike: PAY ATTENTION to this advice!

Scott, I'll definitely be trying to incorporate some sort of cushion seat with springs. I have some ideas.

Allan wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 12, 2022 1:35 am

Mike, you are now at the point where you can consider setting the seat backrest back a bit to get a more comfortable driving position. My 1912 van is severely cramped. I built my 1917 shooting brake with the backrest set back an inch or two at the bottom, hinged it there and made the rake adjustable by 2". Easy to do and can be made to look period correct.

Allan from down under.

Allan I think you talked about that before, I guess I'm still not sure of how the whole set-up looks. The seat backrest on this delivery car consists of two 1" thick by 2" wide by 30" long maple boards. The backrest tapers from 2" at the top of the seat riser to 5/8" at the bottom which is a distance of 11 1/4" From the top of the seat riser to the top of the head rest it tapers from 2" to 7/8 which is a distance of 18 3/4".
The back section of the seat frame is flush with the pillar that is mounted to the rear seat riser. The back rest is mounted flush against the rear seat rise with two carriage bolts. One bolt goes through the widest 2" section through the seat riser 1/2" and seat bottom support 7/8" The second bolt is mounted lower and goes through a smaller tapered section and the seat riser. There is two notches cut in the rear seat frame piece to allow the backrest pieces to be mounted flush to the seat riser. In the pictures below the seat frame has not been notched yet and you can see the way the backrest sits.
I'm totally open to making this more comfortable to drive.