I’m restoring some old dining room chairs. Once I’m done with the finishing, it will be time to weave some new cane seats. This will be my first woven cane job, I’ve done the splined type before but I’ve never done the woven type. I have determined the size of the cane and bought some cane from Van Dykes, along with an instruction book. I think I can handle the weaving but there are some questions I have.
I know I need to soak the cane to make it workable. I’ve heard that glycerin is sometimes added to the soaking water to make the cane more flexible. I don’t know how long to soak or how much glycerin to use in a 5 gal. bucket. I don’t want to soak the cane too long. I’m concerned that it will shrink too much. At the same time, I don’t want it to be too loose. I don’t know how tight to pull it when weaving.
I’m guessing these chairs, a set of eight, are from the late 1800’s. Sometime in the 1920’s, the dairy farm they came from was converted to a tourist farm. Today it would be called a B&B but in those days, it was mostly traveling salesmen, itinerant workers along with the occasional tourist that stayed at the farm. A lot of people have used these chairs. They show the signs of hard use and makeshift repairs. In particular, the seat rails are split open along the line of holes. They show the signs of numerous re-caning jobs as well as seat covers that were nailed on over the cane at some point.
I have stripped the chairs, made missing parts, re-glued loose parts, glued and screwed the split rails together and eased the sharp edges at the inside edge of the rails. I think they are now in good shape and will have an easier life. I don’t want to compromise the face lift with a poor cane job.
In the past I have taken chairs to the local Goodwill caning center. The results were less than expected. Cane was installed up side down, finish was dinged up and some seats were loose. I’ll try one, at least, and take it from there. Any experience with the unwritten details would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Hammer
Replies
I have caned canoe seats and we never used glycerin, just plain warm H20. We pulled the cane tight and never had a problem when it dried and shrank. My experience with cane is to keep it in the bucket, well soaked, until you are ready to weave. I assume you will be applying a clear spray lacquer to the top side when it has dried thoroughly. Do one and leave it for a few days and experience will tell you how well you did~!!!! The last caning job I did was on chairs similar to yours however they originally had pre-woven cane. I routed the grooves clean and replaced with pre-woven cane however caning with single cane is very rewarding.-----Just referred to my book on Chair Caning by Jim Widess and it says to soak the cane (they are referring to pre-woven cane) for l5 minutes- - longer will cause the cane to turn a darker greenish colour. I purchased my pre-woven cane from Lee Valley and they suggest it soak for one hour. My experience with the pre-woven was one hour was insufficient. I soaked it for 1 1/2 hours and it did not alter the colour and was much easier to force into the routed grooves. With single strand cane, you can probably get away with 15 - 20 minute soaking as you are working with only single strands and pegging them when they are woven through a hole.
good luck!!!
Edited 1/11/2009 1:50 pm ET by sinsin
Edited 1/11/2009 2:20 pm ET by sinsin
Thanks, Sinsin. I've done some canoe seats with the pre-woven sheets, too. I forget how long I soaked the cane but the recommendation wasn't long enough. I had some splitting, where the cane is pushed into the groove, in a couple of places. I never had any discoloring either but thanks for the warning. I'll soak a strand or two just to be sure. Many caning instructions say not to put anything other than a special stain on the cane. They say it can make the cane stiff and it may crack. I used to varnish the heck out of my canoe seats, though. That may have contributed to their early demise. A few years ago I switched out my canoe seats for woven nylon webbing. The seats were less expensive than buying the replacement cane. Much easier on your bum and impervious to the weather.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Good job so far! I gave caning a try ONCE and it drove me nuts so I quit. My problem was that I started out making everything TOO tight. And the more canes you get in the tighter it gets making it near impossible to weave. A class or tutoring would be a good thing. Yes, to the glycerin, I do remember that much of the instructions.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Thanks, Bruce. In my search I read that the first vertical and horizontal weaves should be loose enough to go to the bottom of the rail. I guess things tighten up as you add strands. I'm not sure how my fingers will hold out. I did eight shaker tape chairs a while ago and those gave me a workout. The tape doesn't last many years with constant use, either. I'm going to buy a cane needle and see if that helps.Some experienced cane weavers say it takes up to 6 hrs. to do a 12"x12" seat. At $1.25 per hole plus materials, it would be worth paying someone. I still plan on trying one or two and see how it goes. I'm a little bit in the boonies. The nearest big town has two caning places. I've tried one of them and probably won't go back. Haven't found any nearby classes.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Yup , Hammer , as I said we used a broom stick or a dowel laid across the seat for the first few strands to prevent it getting too tight instead of allowing it to just sag .
I have read and heard where some can hand cane like 6 or 8 hours or much less . Those seats you have look like they may have 75 - 90 holes I have re caned enough similar to tell you after many chairs I could never get any faster then like 12 - 16 hours on something like that .
I taught a retired gentleman to do hand cane and it gave him a little income and it gave me someone to refer folks to .
The folks who learned the trade as children as in basket weaving and other hand skills are much faster as someone who specializes also is swifter then me .
good luck dusty
Hi Dusty, I've been asking questions without any testing. It will still be a while before the finish is completed on the chairs. In the mean time, I'm doing some sampling. I've just been soaking some short pieces of the cane. I'm watching to see color difference and how the stiff cane reacts. It's bundled up in a skane(sp) and there are some kinks. I wasn't sure if the glycerin helped soften or just added slip. I'll stretch some out and see what happens as it dries. These are sentimental antiques, not valuable. They will be worth a lot more than they're worth after all the work I've put in them. I'm trying to avoid too many beginner mistakes and having to re-do any seats. These will be used daily.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Most hand cane comes in a unit called a Hank usually enough cane it seems to do 4 average seats if I remember correctly .
Use the longest strands for the first few steps , I take the cane and roll it around itself in a coil and use a clothes pin , and pick out one strand from the water at a time when ready to use .
I think the glycerin adds slip and in general the water softens the cane.
It is really worth buying the highest grade or quality and specify long strand for your task.You want to discard the strands with rough eyes that can slice or cut when you start weaving .
dusty
See fww 111.
Thanks, I'll look through my collection.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Hi Hammer ,
I learned cane work when I apprenticed about 35 years ago and since have re caned many pieces of all natures and types of cane materials .
Yes add the glycerin to the water , it helps to make the strands slippery so they will slide with less friction , a few drops is all you need .
I like to use warm water it seems to soften up the cane sooner . The glycerin is most important on the last 4 or 5 steps not the first few because no weaving is done at that point yet .
You don't want to pull the cane too tight on the first few steps , in fact we used to use a piece of dowel about the thickness or less of a broomstick laid across the seat as a means of not pulling the cane too tight .
You only want enough cane soaking that you will use in each sitting or so .
The splits through the holes are the worst type of split for these cane chairs the pressure from all the woven strands can cause a weak seat frame to pull apart . I have used thin longish screws between the holes to make repairs to these areas.
let me know if I can be of further help
regards dusty
I have done a couple of chairs and it is not too hard. You are getting good advise, but don't worry too much. just follow the instructions and you will be okay. Only frustration I have ever had was waiting for the cane to soften to begin work. It is not something you can just work on for 15 or 20 minutes at a time. You have to set aside a couple of hours. You will be amazed by how fast it goes once you get going.
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