55J14 L.W. Foster Restoration

[Maverickson]

Hi All,

Wanted to share my latest restoration project with the Forum members. As seen here viewtopic.php?f=19&t=16515 I recently, I had this same jacket up for sale. At that time I almost let it go. However, in the end I decided to hang on to it and give it a much needed make over.

In doing this restoration project I changed out the mouton, lining and knits. In addition, while I had it opened up I was able to do some much needed repair work. Namely, make corrections to some of the original work that has grated on me since obtaining this jacket from another Forum member a number of years ago.

This jacket is one of those featured in John Chapmen's Fight Jacket CD. In the jacket's description John mentions that it had a tight waist band. In the end, it was that tight waist band which was the catalyst for this restoration. That waist band problem is now corrected.

Here is the now completed jacket.









Cheers, Dave

 

[FlyingYankee]

Nice job, Looks really good!

 

[TankBuster]

Agreed. It's a beauty!

 

[Maverickson]

Hi All,

I appreciate the kind words! Am really pleased with the results of this fine jacket.

Although not without flaws, I gave this restoration project my maximum effort. Practice & paying close attention to detail seems to be the secret. Went so far as to take the time to perfectly match & align both the front and back original stitches as needed. When I used to send my work out, this is the one thing I was never able to have done correctly and I mean nobody

A good example of this stitch work can be seen here on the jackets corresponding views inside lapel & outside collar.



This Foster is quite an unusual jacket. I've only seen a hand full with this same label. One jacket in particular that I had seen in the past belonged to the Secretary of the Navy under President Truman. Not your run of the mill jacket so to say & felt this one was deserving a make over.

Cheers, Dave

 

[bazelot]

AS usual, amazing job Dave. Another true labor of love that paid off.

 

[Roughwear]

You have done a brilliant job on this Dave. Did you hand sew using the original stitch holes?

 

[Silver Surfer]

i said before, and ill say it again. afrigginmazing.

 

[robrinay]

Lovely job, Byson Leathers did the work on my Foster and yours looks just as professionally done. What type of machine did you use - my wife's Bernina struggled with the leather duffle bag I made last week (even using the walking foot)?

 

[dmar836]

Great job yet again!
So far your restorations leave little evidence. Most restorations scream of a new liner or collar that need to be worn in to match the original parts. You have done a great job preserving and repairing areas without giving it away.
Kudos!
Dave
KC

 

[bn1966]

I'm very jealous :mrgreen:

 

[Maverickson]

Hi All,

In doing this restoration work I have learned a couple of important points for doing a good restoration. It is difficult at best to hit every original stitch if done by machine. More over, when using a machine it is impossible to align leather so that both the front and back sides are stitched and filled as per the original.

With this in mind, the absolute best restoration work is done using a combination of both machine and hand stitching. As a result it is very time consuming. Doing it my way & how I found I get the best results is to use a machine where leather is not backed by leather. On the other hand, when backed by leather, I then I do it by hand.

As of yet, I have not graduated to a walking foot machine. However, the machine I use does fine as long as the hide is no more than quadrupled. When hand stitching, using the double needle technique best mimics a machine stitch. At the very least, this hand stitch method requires much patience.

Doing hand stitch work is still difficult to perfect. To achieve a uniform look, each of the two needles/stitches must enter and exit the same way and in order. A good example of this can be seen below at the leather extension and transitional point. This is where both machine and hand work come together.



This machine & in particular the hand work is even more difficult to perfect when encountering a high stitch count & like originally used on this 55J14 Foster. It is either do it this way or inevitably risk having a host of unwanted empty and or additional stitches in your restored jackets.


Cheers, Dave