Cesca chair, cane seat question  

The cane shop
The caning shop I walk past every day always has Cesca chairs in the window, so I don't think it would be a big deal. Check around and see if someone does caning in your area.

Thanks Luc.
Good point. I found these guys, too: http://www.breuerchair.com/re-caning.html
Looks like no fuss, no muss.
http://www.breuerchair.com/re-caning.html

Caning Restoration...
Depending where you are he might also help restore damaged caning. Hand or Pressed caning.
Bill Niblick
Reverence For Wood
PO Box #8
Hatboro, PA
19040-0008
215-431-6869

The cane
material comes as a sheet, but must be stretched and secured with a spline (like a window screen), as I understand it. Not a job for an amateur, I'd think.

I beg to differ
Pre-woven cane seats are very easy to do. The hardest part is digging out the old cane and spline, but there is a special tool for this (probably under $15 these days--I got mine a long time ago) that makes it easier. It looks like a bent chisel, sorta.
Cut the sheet cane about 2" bigger in every direction. Soak in warm water for 30-45 minutes. Press into the groove with caning wedges (available where you get the caning). Apply glue in groove. Tap new reed spline into place. Trim caning with Xacto. Let dry. Done.
This is a skill taught to mentally disabled people. Sheet cane and spline and the tools are readily available. I recommend Frank's Cane & Rush Supply---wonderful people to deal with, good prices, quick shipping. I just ordered Danish paper cord from them the other day. They have a lot of different cane weaves aside from the standard hexagonal stuff.
http://www.franksupply.com/

There's nothing Spanky can't do.
The mention of the mentally disabled kills me-- every time I find myself in the middle of another reupholstery project, and I'm feeling especially pleased by my awesome resourcefulness, I can't help but remember a Stanford-Binet intelligence scale I saw in an old college text book: for each level, the book listed appropriate careers. "Upholsterer" was considered fitting for an IQ of around 90. (Hey-- that's me!!!)

spanky is right,
I took my plias to the workshop of a nearby institution for the mentally disabled and they did a great job. The price was reasonable as well.
If the service is locally available it is a good way to support those people.

Spanky
have you ever tried reweaving a cane chair seat with the individual strands, i.e. not prewoven?
I bought a Thonet bentwood chair from right around the turn of the century a few weekends ago with broken cane. It's in fabulous shape. I've removed the old cane and all of the holes are intact, etc.
I've ordered cane in the proper size and the border piece for finishing it off. I've also found what looks to be a very thorough youtube video on the process.
If you've done it before, do you have any tricks or tips for me before I take the plunge?

Riki
I think it's quite doable. I attempted it once many, many years ago and gave up after awhile but I think I was not soaking the cane long enough or was starting with the wrong end, or something. I remember it kept breaking and I gave up in frustration.
The cane has a grain and if you weave against the grain, it will become more and more splintered until finally it snaps.
I think there may be a trick to keeping just the right amount of slack in the weaving, too. The cane expands when wet so you want some slack to allow for the tightening when it dries, but the slackness also allows for easier weaving. I was probably not doing some of this right way back when. The instructional material back then (30+ years ago) was nothing like what's available today, either. Videos were non-existent! Heck, there were NO COMPUTERS, even. Well, not counting mainframe Brainiacs at IBM.
Good luck and let me know how it goes!

Thanks, I will
let you know if I am successful. The cane I ordered online is being shipped to my US address so I won't be able to pick it up until Thanksgiving.
A good winter project, methinks!

OK, that was about the most
painful and tedious thing I have ever attempted. I will never complain about reupholstering ever again!
Recaning "from scratch" is wet, messy and frustrating. I salute the people out there who do this for a living. Next time, I will gladly pay a professional.
I thought it was going along swimmingly until I reached the fourth layer which goes over/under/over, etc. You have to go painstakingly slow to ensure against splits and twists in the cane. I didn't even do the diagonal weaving. Maybe some day when I feel a need for self-flagellation.
It came out just OK, I think, although I think most of that is just the inherent beauty of the Thonet chair shining through my mediocre caning attempt.

Finished product
At least I can sit on it now.

Nice!
As I recall, it was the diagonals that made me want to throw the damn chair out of my 6th floor apartment. You were smart to stop when you did.

hey riki I have red tiles...
hey riki I have red tiles like you too in my apartment. I hate them. I didn't put them in and am waiting to get wood put down