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Thread: The red chair

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by burraboy View Post
    The seats on these spindle backs were usually 'pressed cane' like in Springwaters example. A groove is routed into the seat and the pre-woven cane is pressed in when it is wet and is glued and held with a rattan 'plug' as you can see in the pic. All these seats are notoriously shortlived, especially the hand woven ones. The thickness of the seat is another factor which will lead to its early demise. Hand woven bentwood chairs have at least 1" of seat thickness and a round shape which gives extra strength. I suspect you only have about a 3/4" seat thickness to work with and straight lines which will be very fragile, even with offset holes.
    The best solution I have found for these seats is to use a leather insert in a shallow rebate along the inside edge of the seat. The leather can be hand tooled into some interesting designs. Either that or use solid seats, they can be shaped nicely too.
    I agree about the strength.
    I'm thinking that a lot of the 'sitting' pressure will be on the frame and not on the caning. The thickness is 22mm (about 7/8"). The frame is made now, and it seems pretty strong.
    We'll have a go at the caning (with offset holes) and see how it holds up. The FIL has a few caned Cedar railbacks, and while they look good, are original, and are quite comfy, they have a limited life before they need re-caning.
    If all else fails, the backup is a nice wide Kauri board that I'll make into a solid seat. The chair is not just for looks, it will be sat upon

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  3. #17
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    Thought I'd post a couple of pics of the dry fit and the glue up.

    3.jpg4.jpg

    I'll start shaping the seat when the glue dries.

    The cane I'll be using is about 3mm. That means the holes need to be 18mm apart. I'll map this out when the seat is shaped.

  4. #18
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    Shaping the seat.

    I used a low angle block plane to trim up the end grain of the frame.
    Second pic is rounding over the edges for comfort.

    7.jpg11.jpg

    Cutting out the notches to fit the seat in to the back of the chair.

    8.jpg

    I used the bandsaw to rough out the back of the seat, and a compass plane to smooth it off.

    9.jpg10.jpg

    The seat is all done now.
    I've marked out the hole positions with an awl ready for drilling.

    13.jpg

    I'll wait for the arrival of the cane before I drill the holes. I need to check the hole size. The holes have to have multiple canes poked through them.

    When it comes time to polish the frame, I'll wash it over with some dirty cleaning spirits first to age it a bit (after I drill the holes).

  5. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thumbthumper View Post
    When it comes time to polish the frame, I'll wash it over with some dirty cleaning spirits first to age it a bit (after I drill the holes).
    Very nifty trick....real aged dirt !! I like it

    John

  6. #20
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    I've finished drilling the holes ready for the caning.

    Some progress shots.

    All 1/4" holes at slight offset angles.

    1.jpg

    I used a countersink bit in a brace just to soften the hole entries so they wouldn't be too sharp for the cane (top and bottom). Only a very light touch was needed.

    2.jpg

    This shot of the underneath shows how I angled each alternate hole slightly so as to not weaken the seat frame too much.

    3.jpg

    I'm a bit stumped now as to how I'm going to drill the holes for the front legs.
    The seat is only 22mm, so a speedbore or an auger bit won't work as they have a long lead screw (or point).
    I could use a forstner bit, but the holes are at a slight angle. I don't think forstner bits drill well at an angle and I don't have an 18mm one.
    What I really need is an 18mm twist drill, and I don't have one. I'll check with some of my mates to see if I can borrow one, or I may have to buy one. It's a big sucker and it may not be cheap.
    I may also be able to use the auger bit to get in about a third of the way and carve the rest out with a gouge?
    Dunno, I'll have to have a think

  7. #21
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    I managed to drill some tight holes for the front legs by first using a speed bore at an angle, and then using a small gouge to deepen the holes. I'm happy with how they turned out.
    Here's the starting point for the holes.

    1.jpg

    I used a gimlet to mark the seat for the big old screws. This also gives me the correct angle for the pilot holes.

    3.jpg

    Washing the seat frame with some dirty spirits. There's a lot of 100 year old plus dirt in there

    2.jpg

    A couple of neat coats of shellac, and a good rub with a shellac/BLO mix.

    4.jpg5.jpg

    I've decided to fit the seat frame to the chair because I think it'll be easier to finish the polishing and do the caning while it's in situ.
    Just prior to the glue up. It's drying now.

    6.jpg

    The next job is to complete the polishing. Then it's time to give the caning a go.

  8. #22
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    The chair's pretty much done now apart from the caning.
    I might give it a couple of more rubs with polish.

    1.jpg

    Next challenge is some weaving when the cane arrives.

  9. #23
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    Cane's arrived!

    The chair should be done soon.
    We'll see how the weaving goes

    6.jpg

  10. #24
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    A tip - load up on golf tees to hold the cane in the holes as you weave.
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  11. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by AlexS View Post
    A tip - load up on golf tees to hold the cane in the holes as you weave.
    I'm onto it

    Not being a golfer, I made up a batch of pine pegs.
    Some tutorials say to use three pegs and walk them around the frame, tying the cane off as you go.
    Some tutorials peg each loose strand and tie off when it's all done.
    I made enough so that I could do it either way.

    1.jpg

  12. #26
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    They used to employ blind people to do caning in the early 1900's. Enjoy!

  13. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by burraboy View Post
    They used to employ blind people to do caning in the early 1900's. Enjoy!
    Our "special" doctor prescribed this job for the missus and I

    I can do blind as well.
    Shiraz?
    Stout?
    Cider?
    Maybe a mix of all the above prior to the weaving.

  14. #28
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    The caning is finally underway.

    SWMBO (pinchyfinger on these forums) found some time today to begin work on the chair.

    Here's some progress shots. The horizontals and verticals are done. Just the diagonals to go now.

    1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg

  15. #29
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    The first set of diagonals are almost done now. The girl's getting good at this

    1.jpg

    Once the binding goes on around the edge, I'll give it a light waxing.

  16. #30
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    The chair is officially finshed. A $15 chair turned into a $1000 chair (after you consider the hours of work involved )

    Here's a shot of the caning after the binding was applied.

    1.jpg

    Here is the finished chair. Will be moving it into position with the other motley crew around the dining table.

    2.jpg

    Thanks to all who had a look.

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