Replacement pad covers, DIY

[Asjogren]

Finished. Except for tops of thigh pads. My DIY covers are far from perfect but when I compare them to my legend covers you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. An industrial sewing machine would definitely make sewing these easier and faster. Maybe I should have swapped out to rebond with even cuts vs the existing foam which was probably not cut well to begin with and a bit deformed with age. Now I need to buy more equipment so I recover more pads.

Wow..Great work..the pads look awesome

[EricAtl]

Full circle head wear cover on the left, I made the one on the right. Fits like a glove. Why does my head leave a mark anyway.

[irongrandpa]

Full circle head wear cover on the left, I made the one on the right. Fits like a glove. Why does my head leave a mark anyway.

Your work looks as good as theirs. don't know why heads leave a mark but same here.

[JaneWoltz]

Wow, I am impressed. terrific job there!

[vhd16]

It came out as good as commercial ones plus the satisfaction of doing it your self. What next start Welding and cutting? Punching holes are relatively easy once you have drill press.. On spread.

[EricAtl]

It came out as good as commercial ones plus the satisfaction of doing it your self. What next start Welding and cutting? Punching holes are relatively easy once you have drill press.. On spread.

Thank you, on spread as well.

[EricAtl]

Thinking about some diamond stitching for the replacement covers for the hammer incline I just bought. All black. This is just a test piece, would need to get the vinyl glued to the foam a bit better.

[bennder]

Thinking about some diamond stitching for the replacement covers for the hammer incline I just bought. All black. This is just a test piece, would need to get the vinyl glued to the foam a bit better.

Looks good, it reminds me of the Watson stitching

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[Greybird2]

Those blue pads are nice! The next thread I want to see is the garage add-on for all the Hammer Strength machines you don't own yet, but you know you are eyeing..

[EricAtl]

Looks good, it reminds me of the Watson stitching

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Very cool! Reps for you.

[EricAtl]

Those blue pads are nice! The next thread I want to see is the garage add-on for all the Hammer Strength machines you don't own yet, but you know you are eyeing..

Thank you. I really just want a cybex plate load kneeling leg curl, but if I had more room......
On spread.

[EricAtl]

I posted in the chest back thread that I picked this dedicated incline. It was in rough shape but I’m cleaning it up and replacing parts. I’m waiting for the vinyl to be shipped to make new covers. In the mean time I started soaking the weight horns in CLR. Then hitting with wire wheel. I need to use some oven cleaner, read that it removes powder coat, to finish them. Citrix paint stripper did nothing. New end caps came in today.

[urbanlifter]

Excellent work on the padding, looks commercial! Those incline Hammer Strength machines were really nice, I'm sure it will look awesome once you get it cleaned up!

[dagdafitness]

Great work! I mean I know you can tailor the pads more to your preference but after all the trials and experimenting, do you think it's now less expensive for you to do it yourself vs full circle? Will it ever be? Seems like an interesting thing to get into

[EricAtl]

Excellent work on the padding, looks commercial! Those incline Hammer Strength machines were really nice, I'm sure it will look awesome once you get it cleaned up!

Thanks Urban. Lots of elbow grease, clr, vinegar, simple green. You were off spread, back on it.

Great work! I mean I know you can tailor the pads more to your preference but after all the trials and experimenting, do you think it's now less expensive for you to do it yourself vs full circle? Will it ever be? Seems like an interesting thing to get into

Some things are not about the money. Sometimes I need a challenge and a hobby to immerse myself into. Plus the satisfaction of knowing I made the pad covers myself. For the chest back piece it would have been over 300 for new pads, and 150+ for the shoulder press. I made some head wear covers too. I spent about 100 for new vinyl, thread is cheap. Sewing machine close to 200. The vinyl for the incline chest is coming tomorrow and super cheap with coupon from joanns. I spend too much time pulling staples and am getting smarter about leaving most of them in place. When I looked at replacing the padding I had a hard time finding dense rebond and it wasn’t cheap to ship here.
I’m probably going to end up selling the stand alone incline. My shoulder is hurting again and I can’t use either incline press right now. Between what I paid and the replacement parts I will probably come out ahead on it but that’s not why I bought it. On spread.
If anyone needs some covers let me know and maybe I can make them.

[dagdafitness]

Some things are not about the money. Sometimes I need a challenge and a hobby to immerse myself into. Plus the satisfaction of knowing I made the pad covers myself. Between what I paid and the replacement parts I will probably come out ahead on it but that’s not why I bought it. On spread.
If anyone needs some covers let me know and maybe I can make them.

I completely understand producing something you're proud about. Looks like a skilled hobby that would take a lot of patience and time but the pieces you've made look great and the savings are just the cherry. Good job

[EricAtl]

I went up to Joanns fabric to buy some black vinyl, site said they had 11 yards. Unfortunately they had none so it was a wasted trip. I ordered some online since it was on sale and it finally arrived. Unfortunately the 4 yards were folded neatly in a small box resulting in permanent creases. Kind of reminds me of people receiving barbells falling out of tubes with weakly taped on end caps or rack pieces piled on each other with no padding in the box. Not everyone can package like Mech6.

[EricAtl]

Shiny new bolts, nuts, and washers.

[EricAtl]

Still don’t have vinyl but that’s a long story. Just about finished cleaning up the incline. Some parts look good and some areas of the frame are kind of beat up. The area behind the back pad probably got sprayed with cleaner a lot and is rough looking. I cleaned up all the weight horns and added new end caps. Mostly all new nuts and bolts. Bought a new seat guide and sticker but had to make a new seat guide back piece with uhmw from mcmaster

[EricAtl]

So after a bunch of frustration I went ahead and ordered the Naugahyde vinyl from sailrite. I decided to try a diamond stitch pattern which is in progress. We’ll see how this turns out. With the stitching the cover won’t stretch as much when I staple it on so hopefully it works out.

[Stasher1]

FWIW, I've bought heavy Naugahyde locally from the Jo-Ann Fabrics in Duluth.

[EricAtl]

FWIW, I've bought heavy Naugahyde locally from the Jo-Ann Fabrics in Duluth.

Thanks. Joann in kennessaw didn’t have it or even regular black marine vinyl, despite website saying they had 11 yards. They said they were moving to a new location so they were not ordering new materials.
There is an upholstery supply store in norcross that supposedly has it but not open on weekends.

[Stasher1]

Thanks. Joann in kennessaw didn’t have it or even regular black marine vinyl, despite website saying they had 11 yards. They said they were moving to a new location so they were not ordering new materials.
There is an upholstery supply store in norcross that supposedly has it but not open on weekends.

I have a bit left, if you need it. It's bright red, though...

Edit: Just checked and I have about 2.5 yards left. I'm 5'8" and if I hold it up over my head, the other end drags the ground.

[EricAtl]

I have a bit left, if you need it. It's bright red, though...

Edit: Just checked and I have about 2.5 yards left. I'm 5'8" and if I hold it up over my head, the other end drags the ground.

Thank you, appreciate it. Working with the black I bought although I think my seat cover that I just finished is too small. With the diamond stitches it doesn’t stretch and the diamonds shrink up the vinyl a bit. Time to get out the hair dryer.

[Stasher1]

Thank you, appreciate it. Working with the black I bought although I think my seat cover that I just finished is too small. With the diamond stitches it doesn’t stretch and the diamonds shrink up the vinyl a bit. Time to get out the hair dryer.

No problem. I bought enough to do my VKR, leg ext/curl, and lat machine along with enough to cover another bench or two in a matching shade of red. Hadn't touched it since I moved here four years ago.

[EricAtl]

Only have about 7 staples in so not final yet. Should have made the top piece just a little larger. Got it on with hair dryer and pulling. Other trick is to use plastic like dry cleaner cover to allow the vinyl to slide better. Templated the diamonds off the back, should have done it from The front. Also will try to glue the vinyl and foam together a bit better for the back pad.

[EricAtl]

No problem. I bought enough to do my VKR, leg ext/curl, and lat machine along with enough to cover another bench or two in a matching shade of red. Hadn't touched it since I moved here four years ago.

Let me know if you need some new covers.

[EricAtl]

I recovered the back panel which is a piece of plywood rather than the colored plastic that is now used. Then got the seat installed.

[Greybird2]

Diamond stitched seat pads? Now, you're just showing off.. LOL..

That looks really nice.

[EricAtl]

Diamond stitched seat pads? Now, you're just showing off.. LOL..

That looks really nice.

Thank you, on spread. If I was really good I would have used white or some other contrasting thread. The black thread hides things well.