OK Mums (and others, like me, interested in curtains)…

We have a curtain rail that has big balls (no sniggering at the back) welded on to each end. On this curtain rail were a large number of rings on which to hang curtains. These rings appear to be made of some sort of brittle plastic so over time we have less and less of them. We cannot thread normal rings onto the rail due to the size of the balls at the end.

We have in the past used something like these ‘C’ rings (picture below) but they are bloody useless and keep coming off. Ideally we want something that is hinged in someway so we can put them on the pole but they stay there when closing the curtains.

Any ideas?

(apart from having a little think about what’s importing in my life)

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We have two bay windows which have metal curtain rails that follow the bay window and they use these rings so they can slide past the wall mounts for the rails.
They.

Drive.

Me.

Insane!

IF you find a solution, let me know please!

The balls on the end are called finials. They are usually removeable, as the pole will be cut to length when fitted – unless your rail was made to measure and fitted in place?  Have you got a pic?

if you already have the C rings – drill a hole in each jaw of the C and use some heavy gauge lock wire between the jaws.

Not ideal but workable/removable  and cheap 😀

If the finials are fixed and the rings visible above the curtains then I think that I’d cut the pole, thread the ends internally and re-assemble with a length of studding. Hide the joint either behind a bracket or at one end directly into a finial

The balls on the end are called finials. They are usually removeable, as the pole will be cut to length when fitted – unless your rail was made to measure and fitted in place?  Have you got a pic?

They’re definitely not removable (but I’ve not got a pic here at work) – the bar looks like a skinny barbell and is hung on a couple of brackets.

if you already have the C rings – drill a hole in each jaw of the C and use some heavy gauge lock wire between the jaws.

That would work. I’ll need to check if it’s visible from outside.

I’m a bit late to this thread.

This sounds like a pole to me with the passing style rings and finial ends.

How long is your pole/rail?

If quite long with a pole style centre bracket, saw the pole in half (in the centre. The join should be hidden by the bracket). Don’t try this if the pole doesn’t have a centre bracket.

Once cut in 2, you can buy normal rings and slip then on. Only use a passing ring at the ends where there is a gap between finial and side brackets. You will only need one passing ring each end and of course these aren’t used for pulling the curtains shut/open.

HTH.

The pole is a good five foot long but only has support brackets at the end. The original rings were a very brittle plastic (almost bakelite like) and must have been slid onto the pole before the last finial ball was welded on.

It’s always perplexed me but it’s obviously becoming more frustrating as the rings snap off one-by-one.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this was not a commercial item – it’s the kind of thing that the previous owner of the house would either have had made or knocked up himself.

Anyway… I think I may have a solution that doesn’t involve those $%@#ing passing rings but I’ll try it first before reporting back.