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Tutorial: Padded Leather Headband for Grados (with pics!) - Page 2

post #16 of 80
5/10/07 at 10:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by feifan View Post
kontai69, excellent instructional sequence of photos and text. Clear, simple, economical language. You're either a natural DIY instructor or you spent a lot of time putting this tutorial together. Dunno what your profession is, but you could make a very comfortable living publishing DIY material. I don't even have these cans, but I read the entire piece, viewing all the pix. Good job!
Thanks! I'm actually a molecular biologist. Having written up several manuscripts as well as protocols, I kind of have experience writing how-to's. I put this one together mainly as a mental excise on a slow day at work. I figured that I would have gotten flooded with "How did you make it?" questions anyways.

Quote:
Originally Posted by fordgtlover View Post
Grados should soon become available with a padded leather band either as standard or an option.
I agree. At least they could make it out of "pleather" or something for the cheaper models. I read in an old post that Grado used to allow anyone to buy the "headband assembly" with the leather headband for around $40. I guess they must have got flooded with requests that they now refuse to allow the purchase.

Knowing about this restriction ahead of time, I did manage to "trick" them into letting me buy one so I can install it on an SR-60 I used to own a while ago. I wasn't comfortable tricking them again when I got my MS-1, so I decided to make one myself.
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post #17 of 80
5/10/07 at 2:06pm
superb and detailed tutorial..
i'll do it to my sr60 later...
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post #18 of 80
5/11/07 at 4:41pm
Success! I used brown leatherette and went for the 'ultra padded' option. Didn't quite get the measurements right, so had to trim the ends down a little, so they're a bit fat. Might have another go at a later date...

Colour balance sucks on this one...




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post #19 of 80
5/11/07 at 6:31pm
That look fine and ultra-comfortable.
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post #20 of 80
5/11/07 at 6:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rav View Post
Success! I used brown leatherette and went for the 'ultra padded' option. Didn't quite get the measurements right, so had to trim the ends down a little, so they're a bit fat. Might have another go at a later date...
Nice job! Yours looks alot more comfy than mine. As you have already found out, with this project, getting everything just right takes alot of trial and error.

The thin layer of Grado foam in my headband compresses too easily. I'm trying to find a foam that is more dense that will allow the use a thinner foam while giving good comfort.
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post #21 of 80
5/11/07 at 6:57pm
Nice job! I think the headband would look even better and more professional with some stitches though. Like the RS-1 etc. headband.
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post #22 of 80
5/11/07 at 7:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by krmathis View Post
Nice job! I think the headband would look even better and more professional with some stitches though. Like the RS-1 etc. headband.
I agree ... trouble is finding a sewing machine with enough oomph to punch through 3 layers of leather(ette) and a chunk of cardboard. Still, this is just the first attempt, i'm sure the design can be improved upon in time
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post #23 of 80
5/12/07 at 5:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kontai69 View Post
The thin layer of Grado foam in my headband compresses too easily. I'm trying to find a foam that is more dense that will allow the use a thinner foam while giving good comfort.
What do you think of foamed latex?
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post #24 of 80
5/12/07 at 9:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by nickchen View Post
What do you think of foamed latex?
I think I have an idea what that stuff is like. Where is a good source?
Right now I'm thinking layering sheets of velvet for the cushioning.
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post #25 of 80
5/12/07 at 11:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by kontai69 View Post
I think I have an idea what that stuff is like. Where is a good source?
It can be found in these special orthopedical pillows that support the neck. Also stumbled upon it as core material of motorcycle setees in my younger days. Maybe it's also possible to pinch something from HQ bed mattreses which also have layers of that stuff.

The good thing about foamed latex is its relative undestructability, whereas "normal" foam tends to lose its ability of decompression in the course of time and sometimes even disintegrates to dust.
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post #26 of 80
5/12/07 at 2:55pm
Made a second version, still not quite right, but better i think. I used a little less padding (coarser less dense foam), and before i covered the card form, i superglued 2 pieces of wire (~2mm thick) along the edges of the top, to give it a little more thickness...





Still had to trim the ends, so it's a bit too fat, and i might have nicked the leatherette in a couple of places. I'll see if it's third time lucky.
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post #27 of 80
5/12/07 at 4:54pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rav View Post
I used a little less padding (coarser less dense foam), and before i covered the card form. i might have nicked the leatherette in a couple of places. I'll see if it's third time lucky.
Looking at my how-to, I'm going to mention that you need to shorten and taper the ends of the cardboard frame before wrapping with leather.

What foam are you using? I'm going to try to "repad" mine using layered velvet since the Grado foam compresses too much.

You may also try to mask the edges with tape before the final trimming to prevent accidental nicking of wrapped edge.

Good luck on the third!
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post #28 of 80
5/12/07 at 7:50pm
So far i've just used whatever i cold get hold of. First one was foam from a camera case (the kind you cut out as you want, to fit the components you have inside) the second was *i think* packing foam from the box of a hard drive that i got ages ago.
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post #29 of 80
5/13/07 at 10:06am
Thread Starter 
I took apart my "masterpiece" shown in the pics above. Wow, the contact cement holds VERY tightly, so I can't imagine that it would "fall apart" under normal use.

Anyways, I replaced the foam and used two layers of velvet instead for cushioning. The headband now is more comfortable. The layered velvet offers firm but supportive cushioning and is not easily compressed.

I modified the "recipe."
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post #30 of 80
5/13/07 at 3:05pm
Think i got it right this time. I actually wised up and test fitted the card form before i put the leather on, and again before i applied the foam and adhesive, so i got the length and shape the way i wanted:





Now if only i could get it stiched...
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