Wheel Recovered

Talulah

Talulah

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27 Feb 2004
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Occasionaly the question comes up about where to get the wheel recovered. I just had ours done by Keith Taylor (01489 577304) following a recommendation by somebody else on this forum.
Excellent results at a very reasonable price.
No connection but very pleased with the result.
 
thanks for the recommendation have been thinking about it for the start on next season, could you give me an idea of price you paid, my wheel is 36inch dia
 
we did a DIY job: bought the leather on ebay, cut it in two half-wheel strips, and sewed it on. The sewing takes time, but the cost was in the region of £25 including thread (I used waxed sail thread). Very pleased with the result.:)
 
sounds interesting did you buy the leather in a long strip. do you need to punch holes in the leather to start with or will a needle go through the leather okay.
 
I learnt that leather is bought and sold in whole hides (!) therefore it would take a "heck of an animal" to be large enough to do the diameter of a large wheel (hence we did it in two parts). I think ours was some sort of "kid" and was dyed blue. I then cut the strip myself to the right size to match the diameter of the tube on the wheel rim. This means I have quite a bit left over, in smaller pieces, and I use(d) them for doing other small leather work.
I "punched" the holes myself at home: the easiest way was doing this with a very small drill bit (1mm diameter)... and ended up making some holes in the kitchen table /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif... opps. I'll be better next time round - I recommend you do it on a sacrificial board. The big job is stitching it on the wheel I actually did it on passage while my son was helming... it was calm and we were motoring!

I gleaned most of the ideas from the companies selling kits for doing this (cited above) they have good instructions on their websites. Be careful when you do the stitching not to pull too much each individual stitch as you might tear the leather if this is thin. Also note that the leather does stretch quite a bit, so I did not cut the length until I did the stitcing on the wheel itself. I don't know how long it will last (I also made a wheel cover in acrylic material to protect it when not in use), but it looks and feels good.
 
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I think Osen Covers of Plymouth were going to start doing kits as well.

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Osen have changed their name to Ocean Canvas.
top people, highly recommended for sprayhoods etc.
 
I seem to recall that Libby Purves mentioned re-covering a wheel in her column (some time back). I think the "top tip" was do it with the leather wet - presumably it shrinks tight as it dries? Any thoughts on this from my learned friends?
 
Cost of recovering was £100. This included getting the spats done. The leather is glued to the wheel as well as sewed. The seams come together with the ends folded over and hammered flat. Looks great.
Keith Taylor has also worked on HM Victory making the hammocks!
 
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