Upholstery Staple Remover and Tack Lifter, Single or 5-Piece Set

Every re-webbing and re-upholstery job starts the same way: taking out everything that held the old seat on. A screwdriver will do it, but it slips, gouges the rail and splits the wood around the holes, and that wood is where the new webbing has to be fixed.

This is a flat lifter with a notched tip. The notch slides under the crown of a staple or the head of a tack, and you lever it up and out without splitting the wood.

Two choices:

• A single staple lifter, for one seat or the odd repair.
• A 5-piece set that includes a staple lifter, a tack puller and pliers for the staples that break. Worth having for a whole chair, a sofa or a set of dining chairs.

How to use it:

• Turn the chair or seat upside down on a blanket or a padded table.
• Push the notch under the staple crown. If a staple is set deep, tap the end of the handle lightly with a mallet.
• Lever up gently, rocking the tool, instead of prying hard at one point.
• If a staple breaks, grip the leg with pliers and pull it straight out. Where the frame will be covered and a leg will not move, tap it flush so it cannot snag the new webbing.

Wear safety glasses: old staples can spring out.

Before you start pulling, photograph the old seat from underneath so you know how the webbing and fabric went on. When the frame is bare, check the rails for cracks and loose joints, and glue them before the new webbing goes on.

Everything for the next steps is on the re-web and re-pad a chair seat project page.

For one seat or a quick repair, the single lifter does the job. It handles both staples and tacks.

Choose the 5-piece set if you are stripping a whole upholstered chair, a sofa or a set of dining chairs. Old staples often snap halfway out, and the pliers pull the broken legs. The tack puller gets under tack heads that sit tight to the wood. Having the right tool for each fastener saves time and saves the frame.