Just uploaded another Chair Caning Tip of the Day video on Youtube to help you with some of those questions you may have about caning a chair seat.
This one was made quite a while ago after some discussion about this topic on our Seatweaving & Chair Caning Forum–The Chair Caner’s Community Hub™. If you want to find the discussion thread, do a Search there.
I first became aware of this “quick and dirty” technique of determining the correct gauge of cane to use, based on the number of drilled holes in a six inch span, from the English book Chair Seating-Techniques in Cane, Rush, Willow and Cords by Kay Johnson, Olivia Elton Barratt and Mary Butcher.
I hope you all enjoy these little Chair Caning Tips videos and for those of you that are wondering about the “rest of the story” concerning my Chair Caning by Hand, Part 1, the rest of the series will be coming soon!
I made this video series in 2010, but never got them posted to Youtube. I thought all were lost when my computer crashed a couple years ago. But just recently I discovered all eight or so of them on a flash drive that I had forgotten about!
So after a bit of editing I will get them up, regardless of how horrible the lighting and audio are, just so I can satisfy all the viewers that have been making comments about WHEN I’m going to post the rest and finish the series!
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I have a quarter size hole in the back of of my dining room chair, everything else is in perfect condition, is it possible to patch without it being noticeable. Thanx in advance for your help.
Shira
Yes, Shira, sometimes it is possible to make a patch in the caning but there are several things that you need to consider first. What type of caning was used on it, hole-to-hole or sheet cane webbing? What is the design/pattern of the caning? Some patterns where the strands are very close together are extremely difficult to repair.
Where is the hole located, in the middle, top, bottom or along the sides? What type of finish is on the caning? Was it stained, lacquered, or painted? Because color matching the patch is sometimes the most difficult part of the whole project!
What I tell my clients is that if it’s an easy patch to make then it can be done. But otherwise, wait until the entire seat or in your case, the back, fails and then get the whole thing replaced.
You can discuss this with your repair pro and see what they think and how much they will charge you for the service. Take a look at the National Furniture Repair Directory™ here to find someone near you to contact. Best regards, hope this has helped you!
You could use that footage to teach a variety of caning errors!
That’s for sure Lori and I have started making some videos on that very subject! What NOT to do with chair caning.