Do it yourself leather yoke

[MooneyPTG]

I've thought of that. Can you post photos?

sorry for the delay. The top left  is my ptt switch velcrode

[Andy95W]

Where do you get that?  About how much does it cost?

[MoonFlyer68]

For those that have actually cut and sewn the leather on, what thickness do you recommend?  Cowhide, lambskin, or other?

This looks like a really cool project and it seems I have lots of time on my hands.

PS. I have the 201 style yokes

[PTK]

A top quality full grain full grain, aniline dyed leather. I used Spinneybeck.

[MoonFlyer68]

35 minutes ago, PTK said:

A top quality full grain full grain, aniline dyed leather. I used Spinneybeck.

Thanks, I will check them out.

[aviatoreb]

On 10/7/2015 at 9:14 PM, MooneyPTG said:

sorry for the delay. The top left  is my ptt switch velcrode

Just saw this picture - 5 years late.

Cinelli cork bike handlebar wrap - nice!

I did the same for a few years before I got it all leather wrapped.  Bike bar tape, esp the cork stuff, is quite an acceptable and inexpensive way to go.

But I see on the left side that it is wrapped backwards.  Generally you start at the top and wrap downward so the spine of overlapping bits is pointing down and you don't fray-partially unwrap it by handling it over time.  I.e., you start at the top, and wrap downward and the last wrap circle would be at the bottom.  Its a small thing but it turns out and wears much nicer.

[Browncbr1]

9 hours ago, MilitaryAV8R said:

For those that have actually cut and sewn the leather on, what thickness do you recommend?  Cowhide, lambskin, or other?

This looks like a really cool project and it seems I have lots of time on my hands.

PS. I have the 201 style yokes

.5-.6 aniline or semi-aniline cow

[MoonFlyer68]

11 hours ago, PTK said:

A top quality full grain full grain, aniline dyed leather. I used Spinneybeck.

I was looking very close at your yokes you did trying to gauge the best way to attack the odd shapes involved.  You wouldn't happen to have a picture of the back side or bottom would you? Even better, would be if you had patterns you could share.

[Hank]

9 hours ago, Browncbr1 said:

.5-.6 aniline or semi-aniline cow

  All I have is veg tan. Plus tan leftovers from my car seats, no idea on the process used. Need to check the size of a piece of unknown black scrap I have.

Any idea how much is required to do both yokes?

[Browncbr1]

42 minutes ago, Hank said:

  All I have is veg tan. Plus tan leftovers from my car seats, no idea on the process used. Need to check the size of a piece of unknown black scrap I have.

Any idea how much is required to do both yokes?

That’s ok, you can probably make do with that as long as there is enough stretch.  You just can’t use very stiff stuff like bicaste or heavily coated, which sometimes is used in automotive.    The yokes don’t require much at all.  I used leftover scraps from my interior project.  To estimate how much, you can cover the yokes in masking tape and draw where your seam lines will go, then peal off, cut and try to lay flat on poster board, then smooth lines, then cut out.    This will get you close to the ballpark of a pattern starting point, but you will need to use some hide to work out the pattern as you go..   sew it together as best you can and adjust pattern where needed...   finally, you’ll have to measure precisely the distance along all curves of mating pattern panels so they sew together correctly without warp. 

[PTK]

14 hours ago, MilitaryAV8R said:

I was looking very close at your yokes you did trying to gauge the best way to attack the odd shapes involved.  You wouldn't happen to have a picture of the back side or bottom would you? Even better, would be if you had patterns you could share.

The leather cuts and stitching I did live. No precut patterns. I did not cover the back of the horizontal parts of the yokes to allow for wiring. Especially pilot yoke with wire bundle of autopilot controls. The vertical handles are covered fully. 

[Oldguy]

15 hours ago, MilitaryAV8R said:

I was looking very close at your yokes you did trying to gauge the best way to attack the odd shapes involved.  You wouldn't happen to have a picture of the back side or bottom would you? Even better, would be if you had patterns you could share.

I think I remember it may have been @DonMuncy who wrapped his yokes in blue painters tape and then cut it off with a razor blade to create patterns. Cut where you want to do the sewing, and the pieces should match up well.

Or I might not remember it correctly at all! But I am sure someone used this as their way to create their leather yoke pattern.

[M20F-1968]

Something to consider about working with leather:

I am presently working of a project to make a new Johnson Bar Boot.  In the process I learned that goat hides more than sheep hides are more stretchy.  They tend to stretch in one direction, usually across their width more than length.  This is good when trying to wrap the yokes because the give in the leather will allow stretching it against irregular shapes.  You really need to order some samples and know how the specific hides feel in terms of softness, stretchiness, suppleness, thickness, etc...  When making your pattern, you can cut it so the leather will be a little bit tight.  I have a couple of goat hides about 0.048" thick that stretch about 1" or more over a 10" range.

John Breda

 

[DonMuncy]

When making mine, I bought phony leather (Naugahyde?), started wrapping and cutting, refitting, and re-cutting, until they fit, made patterns and then cut the leather.