Reed Spline Bulk Coil, 65 ft, #7, #8, #9 or #10

If you re-cane chairs for customers, or a set of dining chairs is waiting in the garage, buying spline 6 ft at a time gets old quickly. This 65 ft coil does about ten average chair seats, and every seat in a set gets spline from the same coil.

It comes in the four whole sizes:

• #7 for a 1/8 in groove
• #8 for a 3/16 in groove
• #9 for a 1/4 in groove
• #10 for a 5/16 in groove

For the half sizes (#6.5, #7.5, #8.5, #9.5) or #11, use our 6 ft coils.

Measure each chair, not just the first one. Grooves can differ between chairs, especially in a set that has been repaired before, so check every clean groove with drill bit shanks or calipers. For length, measure each groove all the way round and add 6 in for trimming.

Keep the coil dry and coiled, with its ties on, and cut off only the length you are about to use. Soak just that piece in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes. Spline that gets wet and dries again in the coil tends to keep the curve, which makes it harder to lay along a straight groove.

The rest of the job is the same at any volume: wedge the soaked cane into the groove, trim it, run a bead of glue into the groove, then tap the spline home with a mallet over a wedge until it sits flush.

Measure the grooves on several of the chairs you plan to do before you order. If they all come out the same, one coil in that size covers the lot. If a set mixes two sizes, take the 65 ft coil in the size you need most and 6 ft coils for the rest.

About ten seats is a rough guide. Add up the groove lengths, plus 6 in per seat, to check it for your own chairs; large seats use more. If your grooves fall on a half size, choose the 6 ft coils instead, since the bulk coil comes in whole sizes only.