Sling Chair Spline, Vinyl Cord for Patio Chair Slings, 25 ft

On an aluminum sling chair the fabric seat is not glued or screwed to the frame. Each side of the sling has a sewn hem, and inside that hem runs a solid round vinyl cord, the spline. The filled hem slides along a channel in the side rail and cannot pull out through the slot. When the old spline has gone brittle, or a new sling arrives without it, this is the cord you need. It comes in 25 ft coils in three diameters, 3/16, 7/32 and 1/4 in, and is also used as awning cord.

The cord has to fill the hem snugly. Too thin, and the sling can pull out of the rail when someone sits down. Too thick, and it is hard to slide in and strains the fabric edge.

How a sling goes in:

• Pry off the end caps on the rails and cut the old sling out.
• Unbolt one side rail and leave the other on the frame.
• Warm the spline in the sun or under warm tap water so it bends easily, then feed it through the hem on each side of the sling.
• Slide one hem into the rail that is still on the chair. Slide the loose rail onto the other hem and bolt it back on, hand tight.
• Spread the rails to stretch the sling, with a helper or a sling spreader tool, and tighten the bolts.
• Trim the extra spline at the rail ends and tap the end caps back on.

A little soapy water in the rail channel helps the hem slide.

This spline is for fabric slings only. It is not for pressed cane: cane webbing set in a groove is locked in with reed spline sized to the groove.

Measure the old cord if you can. Pull a short piece out of the hem and measure it with calipers: 3/16 in is about 4.8 mm, 7/32 in about 5.6 mm and 1/4 in about 6.4 mm. No calipers? Hold the cord next to the smooth shanks of 3/16, 7/32 and 1/4 in drill bits and pick the closest.

If the old cord is gone, measure the slot opening of the rail channel. The spline must be a little larger than that slot, so the hem cannot pull through, and still slide into the hem snugly.

Length: measure both hems of each sling, add a few inches at each end for trimming, and add up all the slings you are doing. Compare the total with 25 ft per coil.