Fix-Rush strands cut across the front rail

TUESDAY CHAIR CANING TIPS–You have seat weaving problems, I’ll try to solve them for you!

THE PROBLEM: Have you ever seen a broken paper rush seat like this before with all the strands cut across the front rail?

Have any idea what happened here? All rails are flat about 3″-4″ wide and are not round dowels.

broken-paper-rush-seat

The reason this break in the paper rush happened was because the seat was not stuffed with cardboard at all on the top.

So there was no padding support. And the inside flat, sharp rail edges were not beveled or rounded off, either.

The front rail on the inside edge was so sharp that it actually cut through the paper rush as people sat on the sagging seat over many years. Can you believe it?

bevel seat frame edges
Bevel or round off the inside frame edge of chair seat when weaving a rush or cane seat.

There might be affiliate links below and if you click on them, I will receive a small compensation at no cost to you.

THE SOLUTION: You need to bevel the inside rail edges. Take off the really sharp 90º edges on the inside and outsides of the seat rails before beginning to weave the new rush seat.

You don’t want to have your new seat have its rush strands cut across the front rail too, do you?

Use a wood rasp, plane or Stanley Surform Shaver to remove and soften the sharp edges so they will not cut the paper rush on the new seat. Then go over the rails with some sandpaper to smooth down those edges even more.

Next step, is to stuff the seat gussets or pockets with cardboard triangles on the top and bottom sides to give further support to the seat.

stuff rush seat with cardboard

Finish your weaving and then end with a final finish of shellac, poly or varnish.

And now you’re all set and that seat will last for another 20 years or more with good care and maintenance.

wicker divider

wicker braid separator graphic

~~ Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much ~~

Until next time, Happy Weaving!

cathryn-signature-3

About The Author

2 thoughts on “Fix-Rush strands cut across the front rail”

  1. When I do rush chairs the diagonal lines are not perfectly straight. Even when I try to be very careful, they don’t look as good as the new chairs.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Pin It on Pinterest

Scroll to Top