How To: Make & Upholster an Adjustable Exercise Bench

[@jjt90s]

just want you to know, i followed your video and upholstered my own bench with same technique & materials. thanks for the detailed vid.

[@johnmalone8666]

Outstanding video! I just bought a cheaper adjustable bench. Frame is solid, but the pads are low grade. I had all kinds of questions on how to do this and this video answered all of them! Thanks a bunch!

[@jamesflowers7142]

For a no sew tip: Use a hair dyer to warm up the vinyl and you can hide the pleats on the bottom

[@sethmagallones7507]

Making a simpler version of this due to quarantine, great video man

[@coastalcreekwoodworks8795]

Thanks for the information..your videos are very informative. I was just given an opportunity to take over 6 gyms, all in need of reupholstering...I have no experience in this field so I'm learning as I go...videos like yours make it that much easier..I just picked up a singer.109w100 ..it walks right through the material no problem. I'm hoping to find some classes in my area to better understand the machine.

[@stitchthisditchthat259]

How are the gyms?

[@coastalcreekwoodworks8795]

@@stitchthisditchthat259 good... Three of them were closed down for the past year but my other spots stayed open and have kept me busy

[@stitchthisditchthat259]

@@coastalcreekwoodworks8795 how did you get that opportunity?were they franchises? I buy and sell equipment I have about 50 pieces and have been reupholstering as well and want to eventually start something up or find a similar gig to you to take ownership. Thanks in advance for your time and input if there is a better way to chat

[@coastalcreekwoodworks8795]

@@stitchthisditchthat259 no worries... I was working out at this particular gym recovering from being run over by a drunk driver. The owners were super nice and gave me a part-time job just cleaning machines off (I was still on crutches). So I just stayed there with them for a good 6 or 7 years while I was going through a bunch of surgeries and in that time they asked if I could start reupholstering. I said yes and of course once I proved myself they gave me their other gyms. Had it not been for my accident I would have never even considered doing upholstery.

[@ScreamingEagleFTW]

i love the pleats on the original bench.

[@cto511987]

You're awesome, thanks for the video.

[@broj92]

would love to see a video on how you made that weight tree in the back for your bumper plates!

[@thesergeant3524]

broj92 someone else actually noticed the weight tree in another video and asked about it. I need to make another one so I'll do a video when I make it. thanks for the suggestion!

[@Alan1171995]

love your videos keep them up

[@Yoursoul101]

wow amazing job! The stitching is great. Anything you can recommend for a beginner upholster? Type of machine or anything?

[@thesergeant3524]

+Phenom Menon (The) Thanks! If you're just a hobbyist I'd suggest tracking down a vintage Singer sewing machine. I have a bunch of videos on different models but try and track down a "Singer 15-91" or "Singer 201". Either of these machines will work. If you have the money and space an industrial machine is ideal. A vintage Singer 111W155 has been the industry standard for almost 100 years and is rock solid. The style you want is called "Compound Feed Walking Foot Machine" or a "Unison Feed Machine". The machine shown in the video is a Pfaff 545.

[@BigBADArt89]

My grandpa has a few old sewing machines he passed on to me, a pfaff and an Adler, they intimidate me, he used to sew huge tarps

[@josangcal4618]

Came out awesome

[@thesergeant3524]

Thank you!

[@Evergreenboss360]

What sewing machine and thread would you recommend for this type of work?

[@stitchthisditchthat259]

What type of walking foot is that? At 20:00 when I try to do this stitch around the corners it gets caught on my machine and comes out looking absolutely terrible

[@thesergeant3524]

It's a Pfaff 545 industrial. Do you have your feet set so they have the highest stroke?

[@stitchthisditchthat259]

@@thesergeant3524 I ended up getting a juki lu 1508 and the issue is no longer. Lesson learned using a brother home machine, wrong machine wrong job

[@barbarella191able]

Is absolutely necessary to use a sawing machine? If it’s just for home use ?

[@thesergeant3524]

No, not at all, but it adds a really nice touch and definitely makes it look more professional. For personal use, just folds the edges over and staple down.

[@alphawolfadventures1470]

Nice job! Is the top stitching necessary? I’m trying to skip the sowing step and thinking I could just go around with one piece and staple in the back

[@thesergeant3524]

Thanks! The top stitching adds quite a bit of strength as the pulling forces are perpendicular to the top stitch whereas the pulling forces in just the seam are in line with the stitch (pulling it apart). You can do it but just be aware of that and also that the seam won't lay as flat. When you assemble it try and tuck the seam allowance in the sides rather than the face of the bench to help it lay flatter. Goodluck!!

[@thesergeant3524]

You can skip sewing altogether and just fold and tuck everything like you're wrapping a birthday present.

[@parriszeigler5760]

Beautiful!

[@Alan1171995]

i used that foam when i made a custom padding for a ghd from i bought on craigslist. its a bit too hard for me i would recommend a softer padding.

[@thesergeant3524]

Ya, it's firmer than most but that's what I was going for. I also considered using carpet padding. For a GHD I'd agree, too firm.

[@enriqueaguilar1211]

If I was doing this on a home machine like the ones u mentioned (15-91) do u need a walking foot attachment?

[@thesergeant3524]

No, you don't need the walking foot attachment. I would recommend against it actually. Just use the standard foot and take your time. You'll have to manually assist in feeding the material if you're going to topstitch it.

[@enriqueaguilar1211]

+thesergeant wow super fast response. Thanks for the advise. Been checking out all ur vids one the sewing machines and I love all the technical details u go over on each one. I would love to see more of ur sewing projects if you wouldn't mind sharing. Thanks for all ur solid vids.

[@coastalcreekwoodworks8795]

Great video ..what kind of thread and needle are you using?

[@thesergeant3524]

thanks! the thread is T90 bonded nylon thread with a size 20 needle.

[@longsnappermurphy]

What foam did you use? I’m looking to make my comp bench harder.

[@thesergeant3524]

I used "Anti-Fatigue Floor Mat" from Harbor Freight. it's pretty firm. The feel matched my Rogue flat bench.

[@kapetsonis.kostas.comicsGR]

these special rivets, you have pre-installed and show at 2:30, how they are called? is there a link to a seller? thank you !!

[@thesergeant3524]

+Kostas Kapetsonis They are called "Pronged Tee Nuts" and should be available at any local hardware or home center. Run a google image search on them to get an idea of what they look like. Goodluck!

[@theogbrunson]

how did you round corners of wood platform

[@thesergeant3524]

I used a handsaw and cut the corners off and then used a handheld sander to smooth it out.

[@FactsMattersUSA]

I would have cut the corners for a more professional look but overall its looks ok

[@salazteca1]

Did you end up building the reverse hyper?

[@thesergeant3524]

Damn, that's crazy timing to mention it. I was just looking into the reverse hyper literally 2 days ago and am going out to buy the steel to make it either this week or next. I have it all planned out and a materials list written up. What I'm going to be making is a removable one that goes over the spotter arms on my rack which is held in place by the band pegs that came with the rack. It'll be padded with the same padding used on the bench but will have an additional layer of polyurethane foam for softness. Then two pillow bearings bolted to the cross brace. Did I mention that I was going to make one in the video?

[@salazteca1]

thesergeant -Awesome ,look forward to watch it,Im looking for any ideas to build one myself but I want the Reverse hiyper and GHR COMBO, I don't know if you ve see them yet. store.sorinex.com/Sorinex-FrankenHyper-Glute-Ham-Hyper-p/p02072.htm

[@thesergeant3524]

Holy crap, $3,300 ?! When I get the same I'll definitely have to build one of those. Unfortunately I just don't have the space right now. So I'm going to start on the reverse hyper and make something that can remove quickly and be hung on the wall.

[@petkoivanov3248]

Cool !

[@alejandro-cg4es]

Hi, please can you write here dimension of bench?

[@chb94gamer90]

Please bro can you send me a picture of this bench

[@shibalgezeki]

My man, could you sell me a custom pad?

[@ototijuana4895]

Pero como hiciste la maquina

[@DODGERS-br8tf]

Wow that’s a lot of work to refurbish my bench I think I’ll just go buy another one lol or find some one to refurbish mines

[@robbyrne254]

Cool guy except who knows how to sew.