Loop Springs

Vinyl Covered Loop Springs
  I had a client with a rocker that used these vinyl covered loops springs.

Vinyl Covered Loop Springs
  I had a client with a rocker that used these vinyl covered loops springs. 

    The client really wants to replace them with the same type as they are, but I told him that he might have to settle for rubber webbing. I had never seen them in any of my upholstery supply catalogs, so I went to the uphostery discussion forum at  www.carrscorner.com (of which I'm a member) and asked if anyone knew about these.

Jan, another member of www.carrscorner.com,  told me about using the shock cords/bungee cords (see below). So, as an experiment, I ordered and have now received shock cord. since I wasn't familiar with it and didn't know quite what to get, I ordered it in 3 different sizes; 3/16", 1/4", and 3/8".

Workable Solution for Loop Springs

Since the groove in the chair that the loop fits into is 1/4", I thought that it would be a simple choice, probably just use 1/4". However, once I had the cord in my hands, I found that the 1/4" cord stretches to over twice it's length, not a good thing for supporting the weight of an adult sitting on the seat cushions; the cord is much to stretchy. However, the 3/8" is very strong and seems like it will work very well.  However, it will only fit in the groove if stretched while it is put in the 1/4" groove. So it seems like this would work OK.

Cut  Cord to Size

It is better to cut the cord to size after you have fastened the ends together: Leaving about 8 inches to hang out, stretch and push the shock cord down into the groove back of the chair. Then, holdin that in place (with one hand, or with a clamp, stretch the cord tight across the open chair frame to the front of the chair. Stretch and push cord into the front groove. Pull the ends and overlap until the cord is tight (and, when you press down in the middle of the stretched cord, it only goes down a couple inches at most.

Now, hog rings the two ends together. Now take the cord out of the chair and  you should have a closed loop , like this:

Click on any picture to see a larger picture

After cutting to xize, and burning the ends to seal them, I used regular hog rings to fasten the ends together; they crimp the cord just right. (Can anyone suggest a better way to "finish-off" the joined area?)

  Thanks to  Jan from Carrscorner, for telling me about this.

Materials Used
    3/8" Shock Cord (1 yard per spring)
                057-0067  $.38 per ft*
    3/4" hog rings
                028-1217  $2.50 per 1# box*
Catalog numbers and prices are from B & H Upholstery, in Eugene Oregon.  Phone: 800-452-6078
You may be able to this shock cord / bungee cord at your local hardware store, or from your upholstery supplier

 
Editior's note: Since this type of spring is rarely used, because of time restraints, it was decided to leave this article unfinished for now. However, we will leave the web page here in case it can help someone.