Wicker chair, more a repair?

[fletty]

I once repaired an old wicker panelled lounge of my own and that was a simple task of buying a new woven panel and replacing the old damaged one. I have however learned that not all wicker furniture is SO co-operative!
I volunteered to repair a friend's wicker chair and noticed very quickly that this chair requires a new panel to be woven IN PLACE! It has a multitude of holes rather than a rebate to trap a pre-woven panel.

388604

The other challenge is that the outer trim piece is held in place with pins rather than the normal, and better looking, loops.
After taking reference pics, I removed the badly damaged wicker panel and cleaned up the frame. It is one of a pair and so I didn't want to 'restore' it, just clean it up ..... a bit.

388605

The new wicker arrived yesterday and so ...... let the weaving begin.....

388606

The first step, of 7 steps, is single north-south strands which require VERY careful selection of the correct holes....

388607

Step 2, which was where I finished tonight, is the addition of single east-west strands. At this stage there is still no weaving but that joy :no: awaits me in step 4...... and 5 ....... and 6!

fletty

[crowie]

Interesting to see how this is actually done...keep it coming Alan, thank you...Cheers, Peter

[Lappa]

Good therapy - next step up from basket weaving :D

[NCArcher]

I am suitably impressed. Carry on.

[Thumbthumper]

That chair will look great after a good caning :U

Here's an Aussie Emu chair we re-caned.

388670

I've just bought a dainty little 1900's chair that's going to need the same treatment soon.
It deserves something better than the plywood seat it came with.

388671388672

Looking forward to the finished pics of your chair.

Cheers,
Stu

[wheelinround]

The boss says you need to contact a weaver to get the basics of the seat as you only have 1/2 of the first run done so far. You know her No.

I think you are doing well Alan, first sewing and needle work, felting boxes, now weaving next you'll be spinning and knitting.:U

[wheelinround]

any chance of a quick tutorial?


Found this which is brilliant not seen the finishing off like this before.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5IRBuwONnA

[fletty]

any chance of a quick tutorial?

hi WP,
wheelins YouTube shows it pretty well but all videos I've seen fall short on showing how to tie off and this chair also has a different finishing method that I'll have to work out so that this chair will still match its pair?

fletty

[Thumbthumper]

We used the no-knot method to finish everything off.
It worked well to avoid sharp ends underneath the seat.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27wFeE7JipE

[fletty]

Thanks TT, I was having trouble with the 'knot' method anyway because the rebate at the bottom of the holes was so deep that I couldn't get the end of the cane to go under the neighbouring loop from the side?
It seems that the 'no-knot' method might solve that problem. I'll report back.
fletty

[fletty]

This is such an amazing thing.

I've looked at these chairs previously and was baffled. By watching the video the trick of the magic is lost.

What a fantastic way to do a recessed box lid though. If one could buy wicker that is 1 or 2mm, wow. Make a recessed panel that fits in from the underside.

I'd reckon there is some art to getting the hole placement on the chairs right though....

GREAT IDEA WP! Actually, the cane is available at 2.5mm wide AND I will have a lot left over after the chair is finished :;?
Re the hole drilling, I'm planning on making wicker panelled doors on a dresser that I'm about to start. To drill the holes, all I would need is a grid drawn on a transparent sheet and then drill a hole anywhere a grid line crosses the hole line?

fletty

[fletty]

I got a few hours in the shed this afternoon after volunteering to plant trees at a local greening project and so Step 3 is finished......

389259

Step 4 is the first that requires REAL weaving, ie repetitive overs-and-unders, and this will require a lot of patience and concentration ....... so I've taken on an apprentice....

389260

mind you, I gave her a few hours off this afternoon to cook ANZAC biscuits for tomorrow's mini-gtg!

fletty

[Lappa]

Step 4 is the first that requires REAL weaving, ie repetitive overs-and-unders, and this will require a lot of patience and concentration ....... so I've taken on an apprentice....

389260

mind you, I gave her a few hours off this afternoon to cook ANZAC biscuits for tomorrow's mini-gtg!

fletty

Your a generous man Fletty - teaching her a craft AND allowing her to cook:D

[wheelinround]

I got a few hours in the shed this afternoon after volunteering to plant trees at a local greening project and so Step 3 is finished......

389259

Step 4 is the first that requires REAL weaving, ie repetitive overs-and-unders, and this will require a lot of patience and concentration ....... so I've taken on an apprentice....

389260

mind you, I gave her a few hours off this afternoon to cook ANZAC biscuits for tomorrow's mini-gtg!

fletty


Oh does this mean all is forgiven for the shed ext?
Apprentice ? I'd say perfectionist more like it. Time you installed heating she looks cold or moved the bench into the sun.

Min GtG guess MY invite got lost in the mail LOL hope H isn't using the weed from down the back again in the ANZACS does funny things to you.

Hum that crate looks familiar.

[Fuzzie]

I've got a thread on here about recaning (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f138/chair-renovation-recane-upholster-65530?highlight=cane)my first chair, but the pics have evaporated!
389352
I've done 3 other dining chairs since then. Love using them every day!
I'm tempted to try this pattern for a seat sometime in the future, if I can figure out the sequence.
389354
After you've done one, you wonder how they sell in the shops for the prices they do. Did I hear somebody say 25c/hr?

[wheelinround]

Thas an awesome pattern :2tsup:

Here's a little weaving program I downloaded for Sue many moons ago it may help with that pattern its called Weavit (http://www.weaveit.com/)

[fletty]

Today was a bit slow for the wicker chair. The apprentice went to her 'real' job, I ran 7km starting to build up to the City to Surf the weekend after next, I had a dry lunch with 2 very special friends ...... and it rained all afternoon. It seems to me that rattan gets the plant version of penile disfunction (PD) in this extreme humidity and is very easy to weave so, in just an hour, I was able to finish the first half of step 4....

389431

......but, as shown in the closeup of the front, rattan woven yesterday is bit floppy now that PD has set in?

389432

Im not worried about it though because every new step seems to straighten and tighten the previous steps. Steps 5 and 6 are the diagonals which I think will do a particularly good job of turning barrels, rhomboids, diamonds and parallelograms into SQUARES.

fletty

[Fuzzie]

That weave looks nice and straight to me. I had to spend a bit of effort trying to straighten my NS and EW before starting diagonals. The diagonals really do tighten up the whole kit. I actually think steps 1 to4 are supposed to be a bit on the slack side to even out the tensions when you start the diagonal weaving.
:2tsup:

I think I didn't make the best choice of holes on my front rails when starting some diagonals. For whatever reason I think at least two of my seats would have been better if the diagonal started 1 hole to the right. My seats are somewhat more irregular in shape and had to jog around the front arm rest uprights. Perhaps refer back to your pics of the original caning to ensure the diagonals start and end in similar holes.

Cheers, Franklin

[fletty]

That weave looks nice and straight to me. I had to spend a bit of effort trying to straighten my NS and EW before starting diagonals. The diagonals really do tighten up the whole kit. I actually think steps 1 to4 are supposed to be a bit on the slack side to even out the tensions when you start the diagonal weaving.
:2tsup:

I think I didn't make the best choice of holes on my front rails when starting some diagonals. For whatever reason I think at least two of my seats would have been better if the diagonal started 1 hole to the right. My seats are somewhat more irregular in shape and had to jog around the front arm rest uprights. Perhaps refer back to your pics of the original caning to ensure the diagonals start and end in similar holes.

Cheers, Franklin

Thanks for the caution. I think I might pick up its twin so I can also compare the touchy feelie attributes like tension?

fletty

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Wow, such talented work - and a talented group of commentators. I have never been game to try the hand-caning, or even really thought it possible so this is very impressive as well as very informative. Thank you very much! Now just to find a chair to practice on ...:wink:
David

[wheelinround]

mind you, I gave her a few hours off this afternoon to cook ANZAC biscuits for tomorrow's mini-gtg!

fletty

Its been 5 days and not one thanks, not one comment and no photos. The secret society has struck .

[fletty]

Its been 5 days and not one thanks, not one comment and no photos. The secret society has struck .

Actually, I don't remember any pics being taken so, by forum rules, that means it never happened? :;

[wheelinround]

:think::think:strange

[fletty]

Step 4 finished.....

389733

.... and I'm getting better at the 'no-knot' method of finishing strands! Unfortunately there are 2 strands that were put in upside down but luckily one was by the 'master' and the other by the apprentice. I'm hoping that the final shellacking will hide both?

fletty

[Lappa]

Nice progress but I wonder, re the upside down strands by the 'master' and the apprentice, that your statement meant to say "a fine shellacking to the hide of both":cool:

[fletty]

Nice progress but I wonder, re the upside down strands by the 'master' and the apprentice, that your statement meant to say "a fine shellacking to the hide of both":cool:.

:doh:

[fletty]

We got a few unexpected hours on the chair today and, at the close of play....

389810

...... half way through Step 5!
It's getting trickier though as there are 'contradictions' between the 45o grid and the location and number of the holes. However, by choosing the most appropriate hole to maintain the highly visible parallels seems to be working. The real test will be the next, and final, weaving step.

fletty

[crowie]

Looking good Alan....I'm sure it's testing your patience but the end result will be well and truly worthwhile....Peter

[Lappa]

Amazing work. Loving the progress pictures. I'm not sure I'd have the patience. SHMBO reckons all she'd hear is :censored2: if I gave it a go.

[fletty]

Found a few hours for the chair this afternoon and, by the time I came inside, I'd finished half of Step 6......

390034

.... and you can see how I'm starting to have trouble with the outside edges?
Ive decided that this thread is much more a confirmation of the 7 step YouTube above rather than a tutorial in its own right.
Step 7 is a finishing trim around the outside edge and I'm am hoping that this will cover a lot of 'sins'.

fletty

[Fuzzie]

I think you have fallen into the same hole as I had on the front edge. The diagonals would have been better finishing one more hole to the right. :frown:
It does seem hard to do that last under weave, depending on the location of the holes on the rail. Having a spray bottle on hand to spritz the cane and help lubricate the pull seems useful. The good news is that it doesn't seem to affect functionality!

Have you got a wider cane to do the finishing trim? It needs to be more stout than the rest of the weave to help give a little cover up.

[fletty]

Thanks Fuzz',
Ive managed to maintain the front distribution but my problem has been any strand running from the side to the back. A quick count of holes says that it was always going to be a compromise? To do the job I ordered a kit which included a whole mess 2.5mm wide strands, some golf tees, plugs and enough 5mm to do the outside trim.
My remaining 'opportunity' is that the chairs had/have an unusual edge trim treatment.....

390055

..... where the outside trim was forced into each hole and trapped with a rattan 'plug'? I would much prefer to 'stitch' the trim with a loop coming up through (say) each second hole but that would be different to the remaining chair! I could of course wait for the other chair to also get damaged :B....

fletty

[fletty]

As I said yesterday, this WIP has turned into 'just' a review of the 7 step YouTube referred to earlier. If any one is thinking of doing any traditional wicker seats, I can highly recommend following the video.
Ive just about finished my part of the project, the 'apprentice' insists on doing her share of Step 6 and so here is progress as at a few minutes ago....

390098

The seat base (south-west) half is complete with Step 6 making all of the open 'squares' into octagons and Step 7 which is the edge trim. I did the edge trim similar to the video BUT quite different to the other chair. If it is a problem, it will be a simple matter to redo the edge trim the same way on the other chair and it will be both a strength and aesthetic improvement as well. This chair tore along the line of pegs when overloaded by an 'ample gentleman' who will be guided to a different chair next time :roll:

390099

I am am quite pleased with the edge trim but also how each step straightens AND TIGHTENS the results of all of the prior steps.
Hopefully the 'apprentice' can finish Step 6 in the next few days to give me time to finish the edging and hand the chair back this weekend?

fletty

[wheelinround]

Nothing like mastering a new skill and you have done just that. It looks brilliant and should last for yrs to come. :2tsup:

[fletty]

Well, the apprentice decided to return to full time mothering and grandmothering so.....

I've just finished Steps 6 and 7........

390797

...... and then a coat of shellac on the wicker work and cleaned the chair with Howards' Restor A Finish..

390798

Job done, and I'm pleased with the result. I am however, a little peeved that someone will be sitting in it tomorrow sucking Chardonnay while I'm sucking air and Gatorade on New South Head Road!

fletty

[jmk89]

I am however, a little peeved that someone will be sitting in it tomorrow sucking Chardonnay while I'm sucking air and Gatorade on New South Head Road!

fletty

But fletty that's a self-inflicted wound
Nice work on the wickerwork

[wheelinround]

First class job Alan. H deserves the break I am sure and looking after the wee ones would be far easier.

No falling of Heart Break Hill you've had you share of spills this week........enjoy the spoils afterwards.

[crowie]

Very well done Alan, Come up a treat sir....Looks like a new bought one!! Cheers, Peter

[NCArcher]

Beautiful job Fletty.
Good luck for tomorrow. I think they have a special bus to help the senior citizens to the finish line. :duck:
:chase:

[QC Inspector]

Very nice job of weaving a new cane seat. I haven't watched the video but learned how to do the pre-woven seats from my father in the late 70's. Once done and before finishing we used a torch gently passed over the seat to burn off the fibers from the cane. It was a lot nicer to sit without being poked in the bottom by them.

Pete

[DaveTTC]

Looks fab

I think you may have found a new past time 😉

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

[wheelinround]

Looks fab

I think you may have found a new past time 

Dave TTC
Turning Wood Into Art

He's just getting ready for old folks home Dave.

[wood spirit]

You can't polish a - though you can roll it in glitter. just sayin.:U