Straightening spring wire (music wire) for seat pads

HWYCRZR

Old Man with a Hat
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I am re making my upholstery and padding in my 68 Polara. The seat springs are covered wit burlap with 0.047 spring wire stitched through it.
F5A9978C-007A-421F-A0FC-4DD9685B3491.jpeg

I found spring wire, but since it is coiled it has a cast to it that wants to keep it coiled. I am trying to straighten it but not too much luck. I started with trying to hand straighten. Too wavy. Tried chucking it in a drill and usingab2x2 with a small it hole to try to straighten. Drill chuck was to big to trap the small wire so I tried my variable speed dremel tool. Kind of worked but loaded the motor too much and the wire would start whipping around. Ended up burning up my dremel tool. I checked online for a straighting service. Quote for 100 pieces minimum was $650.
Any other tips out there?

Thank you
 
I am re making my upholstery and padding in my 68 Polara. The seat springs are covered wit burlap with 0.047 spring wire stitched through it.
View attachment 180418
I found spring wire, but since it is coiled it has a cast to it that wants to keep it coiled. I am trying to straighten it but not too much luck. I started with trying to hand straighten. Too wavy. Tried chucking it in a drill and usingab2x2 with a small it hole to try to straighten. Drill chuck was to big to trap the small wire so I tried my variable speed dremel tool. Kind of worked but loaded the motor too much and the wire would start whipping around. Ended up burning up my dremel tool. I checked online for a straighting service. Quote for 100 pieces minimum was $650.
Any other tips out there?

Thank you

Set up a drum the same size as the coil of wire came on. Roll the wire under tension over the second drum in the opposite direction that the wire is coiled. That should get it straight enough to use. Spring wire is goofy to work with so you might have to go to a smaller drum under tension to get it to run straight.

Dave
 
There's some ways that it can be straightened, but .047 music wire is available in 3' lengths at any good hobby shop. Buy some 3/32" brass tubing, cut them into 2" lengths and silver solder the wire into the the tubing to make it 6' long.

If you don't want to do that, I'll put on my toolmaker hat and draw up (easier than describing) a tool for you to build. I've done this type of thing before to straighten coiled flat stock. Music wire is going to be tougher to do... It is going to tend to roll as you pull it through. I think linking the ends together might be a lot easier.
 
In that picture the original burlap looks fairly good, perhaps a bit musty at this point, but good. From what I'm told it is no longer available new so what upholstery shops do in lieu of, is use felt underlay, same as is around the forward edge of your picture, however all the way to the back. My biggest suggestion, get four or five lengths of heavy gauge wire six or so inches short of the width of the seat, and attach with heavy upholstery wire staples. Basically making the springs work together rather than on their own. Yes you'll wake your wife up if you roll over while sleeping, however your back will thank you.
 
I found an adjustable one on Pinterest. Has a few more rollers to keep from twisting.

B4C9AA41-6785-4FD2-951E-9F6A775F1173.png
 
There's some ways that it can be straightened, but .047 music wire is available in 3' lengths at any good hobby shop. Buy some 3/32" brass tubing, cut them into 2" lengths and silver solder the wire into the the tubing to make it 6' long.

If you don't want to do that, I'll put on my toolmaker hat and draw up (easier than describing) a tool for you to build. I've done this type of thing before to straighten coiled flat stock. Music wire is going to be tougher to do... It is going to tend to roll as you pull it through. I think linking the ends together might be a lot easier.

Good idea. Could also probably either crimp the tubes or use spring clips too.
Any one need 300’ of spring wire?

It has now become a challenge to straighten it. If
 
I found an adjustable one on Pinterest. Has a few more rollers to keep from twisting.

View attachment 180531
Most straighteners for coiled metal have a bunch of rollers. The first set takes most of the curve out and the next sets refine the straightness as it passes through. At the end, the piece is straight.

With one set of rollers, you might have to make multiple passes to get the results.
 
Good idea. Could also probably either crimp the tubes or use spring clips too.
Any one need 300’ of spring wire?

It has now become a challenge to straighten it. If
Yea, I thought about it after I posted that it could just be crimped too... or even just super-glued for that matter as there is no pull on the wire.
 
If you don't have a local hobby shop (getting hard to find these days) a decent hardware store may have the 3 foot lengths as well.

The brand I'm familiar with is K&S metals.
 
There are some 3’ lengths on line in a couple of places as well.
I ordered a couple of small pulleys and am going to make a straightener. It has now become a mission to straighten the wire. Something like what is in post #7. But I might try to make a dual plane one that sells for $200 on e-bay. I ordered 9 small rollers for $1.45 each.
 
not sure what length or gauge you really need, but maybe you can make something out of these. found at any home improvement store.
th?id=OIP.o1mmpTgMod9RsV2PI2zXugHaCe&pid=15.jpg
 
In that picture the original burlap looks fairly good, perhaps a bit musty at this point, but good. From what I'm told it is no longer available new so what upholstery shops do in lieu of, is use felt underlay, same as is around the forward edge of your picture, however all the way to the back. My biggest suggestion, get four or five lengths of heavy gauge wire six or so inches short of the width of the seat, and attach with heavy upholstery wire staples. Basically making the springs work together rather than on their own. Yes you'll wake your wife up if you roll over while sleeping, however your back will thank you.
For your information, burlap is available at Walmart in four different colours , I know this as I just bought some to redo the seats on my Chrysler 300!hope this helps , as trying keep the originality of our old cars becomes more difficult as nowadays there seems to be built in obsolescence. Happy friday
 
Our local MAC’s hardware store has a decent upholstery department. But I am afraid as soon as the old ladies running it retire or move on it will be less and less. They had all the burlap materials.
 
I was almost embarrassed to mention Wally World, they seem to represent everything that’s wrong with society, it’s such a shame that as the mom and pop stores close down , people seem to forget about the not too distant past! Anyway t least we can still get some of the old school materials, at least for now!!!
 
For your information, burlap is available at Walmart in four different colours , I know this as I just bought some to redo the seats on my Chrysler 300!hope this helps , as trying keep the originality of our old cars becomes more difficult as nowadays there seems to be built in obsolescence. Happy friday

Really? Wall mart has burlap with wire woven into it in four different colours? I find that incredibly difficult to believe. And you should be embarrassed and ashamed to mention mall wart. Shame!!!
 
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