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Multiples of seats, rails and Mounts. - 'Saddle'

With all aspects of the saddle approaching full resolution it became time to start thinking about options for assessment and what I would exhibite. I decided that I wanted to exhibit every species of surface veneer, and two saddles upside down to show components. This meant that I needed 8 completely finished saddles: Two Beech, Two Walnut #1, One Walunut #2, One oak #1, One oak #2 and one Sapelli.

This meant that I needed 8 seats, 8 sets of rails, and 8 sets of rubber mounts both front and back.

I begun by cutting out all the veneers and synthetic fiber-glass I needed, I cut enough veneers for two saddles to be formed out of each in the event that I encounted problems with forming such as breaking fibres etc. Forming repeatedly on the 'Corecell' foam has worked perfectly yeilding identical results each time. With the help of fellow workshop students I do a glue up a day and keep in running for a min of 12 hours over night.

To aid in the production of the Rubber mounts I created A second identical silicone mold. This meant that I was able to form two complete sets of mounts every 24 hours. The second reason for the extra mold was that due to the nature of the rubber and it often forming incorrectly I would be able to make enough so that I would have the pick of the bunch for the saddles. After further contact with Aldax I have purchased more colours and are now forming blue, red, green and black mounts providing a wider range for the consumer to pick from.

Two Silicone formers

I have cut and turned 8 sets of saddle rails. Although the ultimate goal was to create the rails from Titanium, Steel would be adequate for the display and show that the research had been done, they are prototypes after all. I have decided to finish them with a gun-metal-blue oxide that will protect the steel from blemishes and rust. After sanding back the steel it is cleaned with metholated spirits and buffed with the liquid. The rails are at the stage of bending and will be done in the next few days.

Rails cut and turned.

Gun metal finish

And at this time all of the saddles will be put together. Held in position with the Loctite rubberized adhesive I had found in clear. ready for assessment on Friday.

#saddle

More casting and Knead it. - 'Saddle'

Because I had created the rubber mounts using the saddles previous to the newest ones from the Corecell former I had to re make the knead-it form in the new saddle to ensure that the mounts would fit perfectly. Once again I pressed knead-it into the saddle and once cured, perfectly carved and sanded the rear and front mount to shape.

New rear mount

Nose mount

In the previous silicone former I used 55A polyurethane rubber to cast the mounts, however in such a small component I found that this rubber would be too soft for what I needed. After I cast the new component in Silicone and had a new former I used 75A density rubber which has yielded less sticky, harder results. After the first few attempts I resolved the former and have begun getting usable mounts, both front and back.

Multiples of mounts

#saddle

Making former 5.0 'Corecell' - 'Saddle'

I begun by using my previous former as a template and marked out a how many layers of 10mm 'Corecell' I needed to make the right sized former. I used a band-saw to cut out the layers. I then drilled holes at the nose and rear and used skewers to hold the layers together while there were glued and clamped up.

Former glued and clamped up, held in position with skewers.

Returning after the weekend I found the former completely glued and ready to be carved to shape. Using the vertical sander and the bandsaw once more i trimmed the glue off to leave me with the perfect external profile.

I marked a 2cm square grid over the entire form to help me maintain an accurate shape when carving. Because the corecell is a high density foam and is mauch harder than the previous formers I had to find other ways to shape the foam.

Using a Stanley knife, a hacksaw blade, cheese grater and angled grinder i was able to remove the bulk and carve the material down into its rough shape. I then used the cheese grater and sand paper to put clean up the surface. As the former was mate by laminating layers of foam together the former had glue lines through out. These glue lines were slightly harder than the foam which meant I had to be careful when carving near them, making sure I kept the surface regular. On the other hand the glue lines were extremely useful in helping mt keep the former symmetrical.

The shape of the former mirrored is predecessor however was more mindfull of the radius along the nose and the edges of the nose. The former was even carved with a lip down the sides to improve the bags forming ability to pull the veneers around and under the saddle.

Completed former.

The first test on the former provided good results however with only minor problems with the profile such as a slight bump down the edge or a section that wasn't quit symmetrical. After forming 3 four saddles and modifying the former between each one I completely resolved the former. saddle number four I sanded and mounted to some rails and test roade it to make sure there wasn't anything obvious that I had missed.

It was the most comfortable saddle yet.

#saddle

Saddle testing by local cyclists - 'saddle'

After I had completed the four perfectly Identical saddles and mounted them to hand made rails and botched rubber bung mounts I endeavored to have them test ridden by 4 local cyclists. I got in contact with the Ride Shop in Braddon and gave one to their head mechanic, a Canberra professional Cyclist. I contacted a second mechanic at Ride 365 in Belconnen and I gave the second 2 to two local, ANU fixed gear cyclists.

The cyclists had the saddles for a week and after that time I received feedback on them. All four had amazing things to say about the saddle. They were surprised how comfortable the seat was, how light it was, and how the rubber bungs absorbed a large amount of the vibrations from the road. One cyclist provided written documentation of each ride he went on and said that the onyl problem he had with teh saddle was that the nose was slightly long which meant that the body sometimes made contact with it when riding out of the saddle, and the sides were slightly wide which resulted in the inside of his legs rubbing on them slightly.

With this level of positive feedback I felt that I had reached a point with the saddle that I was finally happy with. It was now time to make a longer lasting former out of the 'Corecell' foam I had bought from Sydney. The former would resolve the minor issues brought up by the cyclists and create the perfect saddle profile that could be replicated more than a handful of times.

#saddle

Forming rubber Mounts In silicone former - 'Saddle'

With the former ready to go I mixed up a batch of 55A polyurethane rubber with a cheery red tint and very slowly poured the mix into the formers. The rubber flowed through the form correctly and could be seen appearing at the second dowel hole (or purge hole) meaning that all of the air had been pushed through.

After 24 hours I pulled the rubber out of the former to find I had a near perfect mount. The only exception being that all of the air bubbles had not completely drawn out of the mix resulting in a bubble in the center (or the highest point in the mold), I new that this could be resolved by simply cutting a hole in the silicone to allow said air bubbles to draw too the surface.

underside of first mount with 1 fill hole removed

close up of air bubble

Unfortunately the same air bubble had occurred when forming the nose mount so I cut into that silicone former to relieve the bubbles also. The other minor problem with the formed mount was that it still had a sticky surface to touch. This could be put down to it being the first use of the former or an incorrect mix ratio of rubber to catalyst, however, either way I felt confident in it being resolved.

Nose mount with air bubble

After altering the former I formed another 3 mounts in red. The second mount was completely sticky free. However although the 3rd and fourth mounts were near perfectly formed in terms of air bubbles and shape, they were sticky like the first one meaning the stickiness was not caused by the leaching of chemicals from the silicone as first thought but more likely to be in the stages of mixing, whether it be an incorrect ratio, to many air bubbles or a poor mix. I would look at baking the mounts as Aldax had suggested to complete the curing process in the hope that it would remove the stickiness.

Regardless of the few probblems with the mounts I was excited to see that when placed under the saddle the mounts fit perfectly and looked amazing!

#saddle

Forming Knead-it mounts - 'saddle'

Having created the perfect mount shape by hand carving and sanding the knead-it block it was time to form the piece in Silicone so that I was able to then cast polyurethane rubber in the silicone mold and gain the perfect mount.

I begun by using my Loctite glue to adhire two 5mm dowels and a third support skewer to the underside of the mount. The fill and purge points were located on the underside of the mount so that when the mount was formed I would be able to cut away any excess material with out altering the external profile of the completed piece.

I then glued the dowels to the bottom of the forming mold and once set, filled it with Silicone to the point of being covered by approx 5 mm of silicone. After 24 hours the silicone was cured. I removed the silicone from the forming mold and with a stanley knife cut between the three support dowels down into the silicone and along the underside surface of the knead-it form. I had to slice through the silicone so that I was able to remove the mount without breaking it. The silicone has almost 100% memory and as such returned to its original position.

The exact same process was completed for the nose mount.

#saddle

Initial tests of knead it, pressed into the underside of saddle and then filled and sanded.

#saddle

Refining rubber mount shape - 'Saddle'

Although the rubber mount I had made using the foam form worked and I gained a large amount of knowledge from it, there was a lot of refining that needed to be done. After getting in contact with a member of staff that had done a large amount of forming I picked up a product called Knead-It. I had explained to him that although I was able to get the foam to a shape that I was happy with it wanted to float when covered with silicone and produced poor surface results as it had to be covered in sticky tape. He suggested knead-it as it is a two part knead-able fast setting epoxy. The product gives me the ability to knead the material until it was mixed and then press it into the underside of the saddle while shaping it into a rough over-sized version of the mount. When the epoxy has set after an hour, It is possible to cut, sand, file and chisel the block into the desired shape. It was also possible to sand finish the mount to a High polish. Initial test went well and i quickly moved onto making the real thing.

#saddle

Four perfect rails for four perfect saddles - 'Saddle'

As I had come to the stage where I had resolved the seat I felt it was time for other people to test it in order to provide feedback and make any final alterations. In order to get accurate results I wanted to create 4 identical saddles (that used different surface veneers only so I could tell which saddle was which) This meant that I would have to make four identical sets of rails by hand.

I begun by buying and cutting more 8mm mild steel round bar material into 400 mm lengths. I marked out the 50 mm sections and turned them with out any problems. I then marked out the places to bend the steel in order to turn them into saddle rails. To maintain consistency I bent the four rails in identical stages. the first stage of bending is to start from the outside.

After bending all the rails from the outside in I had four rails that were completely bent along one axis. It was now time to complete the bending process and the rails by bending the last bends along the second axis.

Unfortunately due to a rush i was unable to take any images of the completed rails before they were mounted to the saddles!

#saddle

Manufacturing rails - 'Saddle'

After purchasing four meters of 8mm mild steel round bar I docked 400 mm lengths using a hacksaw and used the pedestal grinder. As I had never used a metal lathe before I asked a fellow student to show me how to use it, I mounted a test piece in the self centering chuck and after some initial guidance practiced turning small sections of the 8mmm steel down to 7mm.

Practicing went well and after changing the cutting bit I found I could get a good result. I marked two sections of 50mm on each rail, these two sections would come parallel when the rails are bent to shape. Turning the 50 mm sections worked well, however I could only turn 5 mm at a time (due to the flex in the bar) to maintain a clean cut. I found that if the bar was not perfectly straight the cutting bit would cut poorly. I also turned a small section in the middle in the hope that it would aid in bending the material at its smallest radii.

After the turning I was ready to try and bend the bars into the saddles rails.

When trying to make the tightest bend of the rails - the one that bends it in half, I decided to aid in the bending I would use a small propane torch. Although heating the steel made it easier to bend because I had altered the rail by turning it down the rail snapped. I decided to see if it were possible to bend the hole 8mm bar in half and only if that was possible would I continue. I was able to bend the bar, and after finding an 8mm scrap of stainless steel bar and bending it in half just as easily I decided to continue with making four identical rails for four identical saddles.

#saddle

Further testing of Polyurethane rubber - 'Saddle'

After the first few rounds of experimentation with the rubber, I decided it was time to look into tints to alter the colour of the mounts. Without a tint the rubber was a burnt orange translucent colour. On the Aldax website I found a range of different coloured pigments to tint the rubber and decided to investigate a cherry red and a black pigment. They described them as being deep/rich opaque colours, however I was skeptical.

Sketch of rough design

First shape

shape two

final shape.

Fortunately first test yielded superb results. both the black and red produced an amazingly deep colour and in fact altered the viscosity of the mix making it easier to pour and minimizing the bubbles.

Preparing for casting.

First cast using black tinted polyurethane.

First rubber mount.

It was time to start experimenting with shapes of mounts. Using the same construction foam as the former and a knife I carved a large triangular shape to match the saddle. However, I kept whittling it down untill I found a more refined shape that echoed that of the profile of the former.

#saddle

Forming rubber mounts initital tests.

Casting Rubber Mounts - 'Saddle'

Earlier in the year I spoke with a fellow honours student regarding the possibility of casting components out of rubber. Her suggestion was to get in contact with a Melbourne based company that dealt with the sale and distribution of forming products - Aldax.com.au After an initial email filling them in on what I was trying to achieve, they recommended using silicone moulds to cast polyurethane rubber. They suggested 3 differnet densities of rubber, 35A - soft, 55A - Medium and 75A - car tyre hard. I ordered 1 batch of each density and a batch of silicon to make sure I could accurately experiment with each rubber.

As soon as the package arrived I put together a basic cup former to create a silicone mold and test the range of rubbers. Initial tests showed that the Silicone formed the rubber well and it was easy to remove from the mold, however, the rubber maintained a sticky surface. All three densities had a level of sticky-ness however 75A had the least residue. An interesting discovery was that left over rubber poured into a plastic cup did not have the same residue meaning that the sticky surface was as a result of the silicone not allowing the rubber to cure.

After further contact with Aldax they suggested that the residue is normal however to reduce the effect baking the rubber in an oven or leaving it on a heater after removing it from the mould would help complete the curing process

#Saddle

Alterations of former 4.0.... Showing the modified edges, the re-gluing of the new nose and the removal of the tape from the fore seat.

#Saddle

Alteration to former 4.0 - 'Saddle'

After finishing saddle 4.1 I finished it with the same spray on lacquer and test rode it. I realized that there were still some minor alterations that had to be made to the former in order to improve the ergonomics of the saddle. I noted that the fore-seat area was slightly wide, the nose looked rounded and beak-ish, and the edges weren't formed vertical enough and as such would rub on the legs.

To fix the large fore-seat area I removed the tape from the former and carved away more foam. Removing the materials made the saddle more curved in the hope that it would decrease the friction between the legs and the saddle. To fix the nose I cut it off.... and using the nose from former 3.0 as inspiration I carved a new nose that was flatter along the top and looked more tubular. To further reduce the friction between the nose edges and the legs I removed material from the edge of the former to allow the veneers to form further under the seat creating a more rounded edge. With the saddle re-tapped the altered former 4.0 was ready to try again.

#Saddle

Rail progress - 'Saddle'

After the complete failure that was trying to find steel for the rails and even someone with the expertise to make them. It came the time to start thinking outside the box on what the options were. The only thing we could think of that was actually possible was to turn the lengths of steel down to 7mm on the lathe, a hard task that may yield poor results but possible if the set up is right. After working through a handful of ideas using jigs and particular cutters and motions we almost had it all figured out. Until I questioned something...

Why does the rail have to be 7mm in diameter?... Answer: Because the clamps that hold the rails to the seat post are universally 7mm. So why not just make the rails 7mm where they are clamped?

What I would do is still turn down the 8mm steel rails but rather than turn the whole length down, just turn down the 3 inches that are held in the clamps. By doing it this way I would be saving myself a large amount of stuffing around on the lathe and although the rails would be strong and heavy ( in fact weak in comparison at the point of clamp-age) it was possible and would do the job, I began to realize that although it was not a perfect scenario for producing saddles I did not actually have to make rails that were mass producible and out of the best material at this stage of my research. I may choose to look at it later down the track, but what is important at the moment is getting the rails designed and made to the point where they work with the saddle and the rubber mounts and can be ridden on.

#saddle

Branding, Splinter, EACdesign - 'Saddle'

As A bit of a side project I had begun putting together ideas about branding, name options and ways in which I could put a logo on to the saddles. Seeing as I was using timber in an environment where there is potential for a large amount of wear I first thought of branding (in terms of burning a logo into the Timber) as an option to place my mark on the saddles. Burning the timber would create a long lasting mark that is unlikely to wear off over time like a sticker or a print would.

After a short google image search I came across the perfect thing. A company called cnc creations based In Melbourne. They design and cnc cut branding irons for all advertising purposes (both electric or blow torch heated) and start at about $220 for a 25mm x 40mm branding iron.

As I have been conducting research into my rubber components at the same time I have been thinking about their design, shape and layout, of which at the moment covers a large majority of the base of the saddle in a triangular shape. As I was going to brand the underside of the saddle I would have to work out a way to either brand around the rubber or encorporate the logo into the rubber moulding.

Regardless of where it would be placed I had to design the logo. Originally I had planned to gain some help off someone currently in the marketing and design business to aid in designing my logo however I thought making a start couldn't hurt. I came up with a design through a long line of drawings that I feel would work, or with slight modification would be perfect to use.

Showing design process of branding.

showing design process of branding

branding design options

#saddle

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