DIY Xtracycle Wooden Seat

This was our original kid setup for the Edgerunner by Xtracycle we got in November: 

Then we switched which kid was in the crate and bought the Yepp seat (and took off the Hooptie):

Now we have made another change. It looks like this:





My older son was scraping his legs on the crate- it was far too narrow for him.  But he still needed a back rest so his brother wouldn't kick him while we were riding.  Just a little personal space goes a long way.

So we made him a wooden seat.  We actually made two in case we need a second one day.

First we took some wood that had been in a closet as a shelf but was now in our trash heap.  We cut it to size for the length of the bottom and top.  I think the measurements were 12" and 15".  I just measured my older son's upper leg length and shoulder height and rounded it up.

Then we screwed the top and bottom together.  Then we added arm rests and screwed those in.

They had to test them.

And they had to label them by kid.  And draw all over them.

Then we patched over all the screws and holes with wood glue.  Then we sanded and then we primed.

  

Then we chose some cool exterior paint colors and made designs using masking tape.

After this photo, we took off the tape and did the bottoms and then did 2 layers of varnish on each one.

To install it, we set it where we wanted it to go and used an awl to mark where the pre-drilled holes were on the deck (poking from the bottom up).  The we used a drill bit and made holes in the seat.

We took the screws and nuts from the original crate seat and put them to use again here.

After this photo, we added storage for each kid: the one in back has his handlebar bag but it is attached to a piece of plumbing instead of handlebars (the plumbing piece is screwed onto the back of his brother's seat).  The kid in front has a plastic basket (we had been storing batteries in said container in the garage) which is the length of one arm rest.  It is now screwed onto the outside of one arm rest.  Look for a future post on these.

 We are happy with this after a trial run.  The kids feel secure and the front child hasn't started talking padding yet.  I used the same seat belt (webbing and buckle) we had been using with him-- in this case, I laced it through the underneath part (it is orange in the last photo).  A potential future issue may be the clearance between the arm rests and the front of the Hooptie (the front and back are still attached but we have the Hooptie off for now)- his legs may get too wide to get in and out easily.  I am also concerned about the stability of the arm rests.

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