Are you thinking on here, or for other book ideas? I feel like the options would be endless. One thing that’s generic that I never see addressed in great detail is how to get edges to lay flat when wrapping around the backside of certain items. One that came to mine was an arm rest/door pull of a 1941 Buick I just did. I sewed it with the seams as the original were done. As you get to the part where the handle meets the door panel, the leather was just folded and wrapped around the end. Then the arm rest is screwed to the door, and the door panel is plush enough to “hide” the not smooth folds. I tried to cut as much excess material off as possible and pie cut to remove the folds. It looks good in the end, but on items such as this, similar where you just wrap a panel and the material bunches. What are ways to get it smooth. Where a plush door panel may not be an option, and it would look bad?

Are you mocking me? Are you thinking on here, or for other book ideas?

I do not have to help any one at all. I choose to help as much as I can without any reservation or motive. I write books to help an industry that desperately needs it. When a question comes up on this forum that is vague and does not have specifics or details, it would help if the posting party would think through the question and supply some support so anyone can answer the question with clarity.

It might be in the best interest of this forum if I just refrain from responding at all. I do not get paid or compensated for the amount of time and research I do to help, and when members call me I should just not waste any more of my valuable time. God knows that I have called and directly spoken to dozens on here and I might have to re-think doing that as well.

So, I there are any more derogatory comments that are not helpful, I suggest they are kept to yourself.
Thank you.

Sorry Fred,

No mocking at all. Sorry it came that way. I read it as if you were asking if it would be more beneficial to do something on a narrowed down topic, not saying it would help you if we narrowed it down, so you could help easier. That was misread on my part. With the misreading, I added a question as a topic to narrow down on. Hopefully no hard feelings. You’ve reached out to me plenty and I appreciate the help.

Please let me try to help here. I've studied, taught and worked in the field of writing, and one thing I know is that clear writing requires focus and concentration. Unfortunately, smart phones, emoticons, and instant messaging apps like Twitter have completely destroyed our ability to concentrate. In fact, I'm sure that more than 50% of the people who started to read this reply are gone by now.

I think the point Fred is trying to make is that if you're really looking for help solving a problem, take a little time to focus on what it is you really want to know. Be very specific. For example, "I am working on a 1985 Toyota Supra, and I can't figure out how to remove the headrest." Send some photos with your article to help the reader see what you see.





Or, "A customer brought me some after market seat buns for a Jensen Interceptor, but the measurements are completely different. The contours are correct. Should I try to reshape the ones he brought in or scrap them and build my own?"





Auto upholstery requires a lot of patience and problem solving, which is one of the main reasons so few people do it. If you really want help solving a problem, help the people reading understand the problem. Doing this requires patience, but in the end, you will benefit and learn new skills that will help you solve immediate and future problems.

If you fire off a 20-30 word blurb because you're bored or in a hurry, that's fine . . . that's up to you, just don't expect good answers.

Finally, as for Fred any other reader trying to figure out what the hell these people are asking, that also requires patience. It's not worth raising your blood pressure over something that took 5 seconds to write. I realized when I was an English teacher that I probably put more time into trying to read, comprehend, and offer suggestions on a paper than the writer spent writing it. I'd say you're doing the right thing by asking someone to clarify.

Communication is a two-way process, both in writing and speaking. Until we come up with true telepathy, we're gonna have to keep working at it.

Nadeem's a writer, and one who spends more time at it these days than I do. Nadeem, you're younger than me, so you probably understand the Twitter generation better than I do. Please offer some suggestions that I left out.