Hog ring pliers

ezloader

Member
Hi all,
Have a lebaron bonney upholstery kit that came with the car,its vinyl
material (not my #1 choice but will use it..)
I see hog ring pliers of different varietys Straight curved etc,also what would be
the best size hog ring for instalation??
Any clues?
Thanks in advance.
Good luck in all you do!
Daryl
29 phaeton../28 pickup/
 
Hi all,
Have a lebaron bonney upholstery kit that came with the car,its vinyl
material (not my #1 choice but will use it..)
I see hog ring pliers of different varietys Straight curved etc,also what would be
the best size hog ring for instalation??
Any clues?
Thanks in advance.
Good luck in all you do!
Daryl
29 phaeton../28 pickup/

Daryl, other than possibly a couple random rings to tack the burlap and cotton foundation on the spring coils, hog rings are not used on a Phaeton or Pickup installation. The seat cover on the cushions are crimped on the Phaeton, and on the Pickup bodystyle will be tacked to the wooden frame.
 
I just found a few hogrings in the seat cushion of my '31 Cabby, but IIRC, I put em in myself when I installed a set of LB covers in '71. So I'm wondering if Briggs used them in Cabriolet seat cushions originally, not that they'd be visible, but still...
Thanks
John
 
off topic- I ordered a "new" pair of hog ring plyers a few yrs ago and they were junk. do yourself a favor and buy an old quality pair on ebay or similar.


so much better!
 
I just found a few hogrings in the seat cushion of my '31 Cabby, but IIRC, I put em in myself when I installed a set of LB covers in '71. So I'm wondering if Briggs used them in Cabriolet seat cushions originally, not that they'd be visible, but still...
Thanks
John

Nope, not likely.
 
My seats for my '29 Open cab pickup that came from LB (I know because I picked them up at their shop a couple decades ago) are attached with hog rings. As well there is no wood structure for the springs to attach to.

The bottom spring sets on the metal seat riser and has hooks built into the spring to keep it place. The back spring is held with clips at the bottom and under the wooden piece along the back of the cab.

Hog Ring pliers - Curved and get a good set. the $10 ones don't work for more than a couple crimps
 
The model Ts also used a crimp channel around the bottom of the spring box to attach the covers. The model A phaeton was likely a carry over from the model T type of seat spring. Most other Ford made model A body types use a wood base to attach the spring box to and the covers are tacked to the wood base.

As was previously mentioned, the hog rings are used to attach the jute or burlap covering over the top of the seat spring and the padding is installed over that. Hog rings, with respect to auto upholstery, are all basically the same size.

There are videos on line that instruct on how to compress the seat spring with cover to allow for the beaded edge of the upholstery cover to be inserted into the U-channel and then be crimped to secure it. Ford had big tools to do all that. Most of the Ford made seats were assembled at the old Highland Park Plant.
 
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Trimmers use them all the time and a lot of old Fords have been reupholstered at least once in their time. Ford may have attached padding by using machine or hand stitching methods since it doesn't leave high spots that tend to end up wear through points over time. They wanted the padding to stay in place since it tends to move around if nothing is securing it. The hog rings are a way to speed up the process but it may not be the best way to do it.

I was surprised to find a relatively fine wire grid mesh securing the latex foam rubber pads that they used on my 1951 Mercury seats. It's a lot finer than any poultry netting or similar mesh and it was covered over with a muslin like material. Ford tried all sorts of things to make the product last. It's amazing what all they did to manufacture a low cost automobile like the model A.
 
Hog rings
 

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My daughter-in-law uses a pneumatic hog ringer; really saves on her hands. I've seen lot of hog ring applications in some of the seats she rebuilds, holds coils together along with spring wire, burlap, felt, etc.
 
With all due respect to the past L.B. Co., the hog ring pliers that came with the pickup seat kit was totally useless. This being a '31 closed cab half ton which does require hog rings since there is no wood seat bottom panel. I got a good enough H.R. pliers off Ebay.
Probably the last time I'll ever use them(?)...
 
On the right, the hog ring pliers that came with a kit. On the left is what I found at a antique mall. For those of you, that don't know what hog ring pliers are, or how they work, I have included the last picture.
 

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I still have a pair or ring pliers that we actually used to put rings in the hogs snoots. It keeps them from rooting around to a certain degree but it doesn't stop them from doing it completely. That was one of those things that wasn't all that much fun about animal husbandry but it was better than cutting calves.
 
For those of you that are thinking, I will never do an interior, there are other uses for them too. My 53' Merc, used the squeeze type, hose clamps on the vacuum hose, for the power brake booster and the screw jack covers, for the convertible top and seat motors.
 

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You can make your own out of an old pair of pliers by grinding slots in jaw pieces with a small Dremel disk grinder. Instructions are on the internet. Or search farm supply stores.
 
You can make your own out of an old pair of pliers by grinding slots in jaw pieces with a small Dremel disk grinder. Instructions are on the internet. Or search farm supply stores.



I paid 10. for an excellent older pair on ebay. Not worth the time.........

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