Re-covering wheel rim

[nigel1]

Looks lile its time to replace the leather trim on the steering wheel rims.
Have seen the prepped one for sale on boatleather etc, but has anyone made one from scratch, how easy is to measure up and get all the holes punched in the right place, or, is it a case of better to buy one ready made, and save a lot of profanity.

[cabo_sailor]

Personally, I have a fair amount of patience but would not want to measure out and then punch a bazillion holes. I go for the ready made, they used a machine that is much faster than I would ever be. I'd be working on it for months and then would go out and buy one already punched.

Rich

[Mark Johnson]

My wife did ours from one of those pre-cut and pre hole punched kits. It was grey roughout. She cut it for length, wet it, and stitched it up with I think, a "Herringbone stitch". Turned out beautiful! (The cover is going on 15 years old now).

I have done a bit of leather work in the past, and unless money is REAL tight, I would buy the kit. It isn't the cutting out of the leather, it's the perfectly spaced, located, and punched holes! It fit PERFECTLY tight.

They come with twine, and instructions, which help as well. I forgot where we got ours, but they are common.

It's money well spent, IMO.

Mark

[SouWester 42]

I just finished replacing my leather yesterday with the kit from boatleather. The kit is well designed and pretty easy to follow (the you tube "how to" helps alot). Looks great.

I think you could do it from scratch, but unless you can really cut the edges straight, it could look less than professional. And dont forget lots of bandaids for your finger tips. Leather is tough, even with the holes prepunched.

[estarzinger]

Originally Posted by nigel1

but has anyone made one from scratch, how easy is to measure up and get all the holes punched in the right place, or, is it a case of better to buy one ready made,

Previously we used a pre-punched one. It would not be hard to punch one, just take some time. But can I suggest an alternative . . . we not have self-adhesive EVA (A type of foam). Its commonly used on wind surfer booms. It is very comfortable, does not weather/age as leather does, looks excellent, and is not very expensive. You just cut it precisely and stick on.

[speciald@ocens.]

There was a company at the Annapolis show the last couple of years that covers the wheel with plastic much like the stuff in which you dip tool handles. I've done the boat Leather route in the past; it takes along time to do it right.

[nigel1]

Thanks guys for all the info, buy the kit then, I do have the patience, and pretty good at stitching canvas, so pre-punched leather should be OK, or the GF can do it, keep her mind off from being sea sick, one advantage of having two wheels, the dis-advantage being twice the price to re-cover.
There's a place in Scotland which makes a similar kit to Boat Leather, but they don t have the foam.
If shipping prices from US are reasonable, I'll go with Boat Leather

[Jim Cate]

G'Day all,

HEre's another opinion. Some years ago when faced with this quandry, and being at a low point in cash flow I decided to go it from scratch. Went to a crafts shop, bought a cutting tool (handle with small razor-sharp wheel in the end) and a punch. The punch has four cutters... tiny sharp hollow tubes... and a steel handle like a chisel that you pound with a small mallet. When you use it, you set one cutter in the last hole, whack it and get three perfectly spaced new holes. Repeat 'till done. I then went to a place that sold leather and went through their off-cut barrel and found enough suitable leather to cover several wheels for only a few dollars. Did some experimenting with short lengths of material to get the width right, and then used the cutting wheel and a straight edge to cut out the long strips. Because of the size of the offcuts I had to use two pieces to reach clear around the wheel. Edge stitched the bits together using regular waxed sail twine and then stitched it onto the wheel using a herringbone stitch. Anyhow, the whole deal cost way less than the kits, and then I had the tools and enough leather left to do several additional wheels.

It isn't all that hard to do, the results looked just fine, and I have subsequently done some for other boats and replaced ours when required.

Good luck with it.

Cheers,
Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Morning Cove, NSW, Oz

[nigel1]

Thanks Jim, worth a thought, does this punch have a proper name so I can look one up?

Edit
Think I found it, googled 4 hole punch, is it something like this

http://www.ecrater.co.uk/p/5838770/t...l-diamond-hole

[thinwater]

I've had both leather covers and wheels wrapped with cotton/polyester line; I would choose line any day. It is cooler and warmer, though it may not last quite as long. White shows dirt, but no one said that other colors were not allowed. But this is not everyone's taste.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by nigel1

Thanks Jim, worth a thought, does this punch have a proper name so I can look one up?

Edit
Think I found it, googled 4 hole punch, is it something like this

TANDY LEATHER CRAFTOOL DIAMOND HOLE PUNCH 4 PRONG 1/8"

Yep, something like that, except that mine has hollow punches and makes round holes. The little "divots" of leather come out the tops of the hollow punches. They're like hole punches for making gaskets (but way smaller) if you are familiar with those.

Didn't mention before, but the smaller bits of left over leather make great chafing gear when sewn on dock lines, etc, and look very salty!

Cheers,

Jim