I have some dining chairs where the foam in the seat pads has
disintegrated, and need to fix for Xmas. ;-(

The pad consists of a (looks like) solid beech frame with woven webbing
stretched across it in both directions. With a foam pad on top. The fabric
covering is in good condition.

The webbing has also sagged or in some cases broken.

So some questions.

What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?
Would the original foam pads have been moulded - the seat bottoms had a
sort of domed appearance when new. But the foam is too far gone to tell
now. It appears to have been about 1" thick. Would that be right?
I've not found trimming foam neatly to be easy - so is there a better
material to use? The cost doesn't matter too much - within reason.

--
*Forget about World Peace...Visualize using your turn signal.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I have some dining chairs where the foam in the seat pads has
disintegrated, and need to fix for Xmas. ;-(

The pad consists of a (looks like) solid beech frame with woven webbing
stretched across it in both directions. With a foam pad on top. The fabric
covering is in good condition.

The webbing has also sagged or in some cases broken.

So some questions.

What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?
Would the original foam pads have been moulded - the seat bottoms had a
sort of domed appearance when new. But the foam is too far gone to tell
now. It appears to have been about 1" thick. Would that be right?
I've not found trimming foam neatly to be easy - so is there a better
material to use? The cost doesn't matter too much - within reason.

An Upholsterers suppliers will have the correct webbing as well as
different grades of foam. Some of this is minced up and restuck together
giving a much denser foam. If you want to do any shaping, it is normal
to do this on the underside to avoid visible lumps showing through the
fabric.
Bob

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I have some dining chairs where the foam in the seat pads has
disintegrated, and need to fix for Xmas. ;-(

The pad consists of a (looks like) solid beech frame with woven
webbing stretched across it in both directions. With a foam pad on
top. The fabric covering is in good condition.

The webbing has also sagged or in some cases broken.

So some questions.

What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?

Webbing is webbing, not much choice - its usually jute.

Would the original foam pads have been moulded - the seat bottoms had
a sort of domed appearance when new. But the foam is too far gone to
tell now. It appears to have been about 1" thick. Would that be right?

Highly unlikely that it would have been moulded, just cut from a block. 1"
is about right. The dome is caused either by the edges being pulled down or
by a 'dacron' pad (bit like cotton wool).

I've not found trimming foam neatly to be easy - so is there a better
material to use? The cost doesn't matter too much - within reason.

Foam varies in density, higher density tends to last longer. Density &
firmness aren't related, you can get high density soft foams for examole.

Doesn't have to be cut accurately cos its covered up, but 1" can be cut with
decent scissors, a bread knife, or an electric carving knife.

Plenty of online suppliers about.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman presented the following explanation :
Doesn't have to be cut accurately cos its covered up, but 1" can be cut with
decent scissors, a bread knife, or an electric carving knife.

Bread knife worked for me, but a hot wire system can also be used.


Plenty of online suppliers about.

Or market stalls.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?

Webbing is webbing, not much choice - its usually jute.

The little Ebay research I've done suggests otherwise?

--
*How do you tell when you run out of invisible ink? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?

Webbing is webbing, not much choice - its usually jute.

The little Ebay research I've done suggests otherwise?

I haven't looked, but 20 years ago I was in that game & that was all that
was about - apart from rubber webbing. Things might have changed.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

In article ,
"The Medway Handyman" writes:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?

Webbing is webbing, not much choice - its usually jute.

The little Ebay research I've done suggests otherwise?

I haven't looked, but 20 years ago I was in that game & that was all that
was about - apart from rubber webbing. Things might have changed.

20 years ago, I bought rubber webbing, fixing clips, etc from
John Lewis.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:05:12 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?


There's a good selection on eBay.

On 4 Dec, 18:05, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?

Proper chair webbing. This isn't "any old webbing", and for chair
bases it's even a better grade than general upholstery webbing -
cotton or linen, not jute. Try J A Milton for web-orderable upholstery
supplies.

Would the original foam pads have been moulded -

Possibly. Did they have a smooth top surface? Moulded foam is used
for cheapness in manufacture, as any baboon can fit it, without having
to shape the top cover neatly. If you're DIYing, you're not in such a
hurry.

If you do use foam on a chair, get a decent grade. Personally I always
go for latex (firmness, service life, fire protection). If you're not
trying to re-sell, then PU chip foam is cheaper and reasonable
quality.


I've not found trimming foam neatly to be easy - so is there a better
material to use?

Good foam knife (the right breadknife!) and working round gradually to
form a good shape.

Best book on upholstery is James' The little hobby guides tell you
the basics, but this is the real one.

In article
,
Andy Dingley wrote:
On 4 Dec, 18:05, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:

What is the best webbing to buy that won't sag and break?

Proper chair webbing. This isn't "any old webbing", and for chair
bases it's even a better grade than general upholstery webbing -
cotton or linen, not jute. Try J A Milton for web-orderable upholstery
supplies.

Right. Having spent some time on it this evening the originals although
looking like ordinary textile webbing appear to have elastic in them.
They're just over an inch wide. The cords in the webbing are the size of
string. But since they've all broken obviously poor quality.

Would the original foam pads have been moulded -

Possibly. Did they have a smooth top surface?

Yes - sort of domed. The fabric is, I'd guess, brushed nylon or similar
and has survived well.

Moulded foam is used
for cheapness in manufacture, as any baboon can fit it, without having
to shape the top cover neatly. If you're DIYing, you're not in such a
hurry.

If you do use foam on a chair, get a decent grade. Personally I always
go for latex (firmness, service life, fire protection). If you're not
trying to re-sell, then PU chip foam is cheaper and reasonable
quality.

Ok.

I've not found trimming foam neatly to be easy - so is there a better
material to use?

Good foam knife (the right breadknife!) and working round gradually to
form a good shape.

I have one of those electric bacon slicer cutters I've never actually used
(special offer I couldn't refuse) and wonder if that might work for this?

Best book on upholstery is James' The little hobby guides tell you
the basics, but this is the real one.

I'll see if I get a taste for it. So far removing a zillion staples hasn't
been a bundle of laughs.

--
*When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.