Oh, yeah, those strips
are easily done. They help keep the strands stable at the edge and they are also decorative.
I just lay them down at one end---tack with a small wire nail if you want, but I just cut them a few inches longer on either end and they stay put nicely after the first few wraps. Then trim when you're done so that the cut end is just under one of the wraps. You can cut between two wraps with a safety razor blade if you want, if you don't want any end to show at all on the side view.
You don't actually weave this strip, you just wrap over or under it as you go. So in the beginning you have nearly the whole length of it just flapping around and it gets annoying. But once you get it anchored down a bit it's not so bad.
Btw, I don't wear safety goggles because they tend to get steamed up and don't fit that well over my glasses, but now I'm thinking about it because DAMN I got whapped in the eye by the end of a length of cane the other day! I mean really whapped, too. I was sure my eyeball was bleeding. It got me from the side. Fortunately, my cornea (the part that really, really hurts if you stick it) was spared and within 2-3 minutes the pain was gone and I went on working. But sheesh. Never had that happen before.
Be careful out there, caners!
Jesgord
Here's a pic of the extra strips in the piece that I'm doing. You can see how they keep the criss-crossed strands from overlapping onto the wrapped strands. Also, note how they're cut off and not folded and tucked under like yours. The cane has to be very damp to fold neatly like on your piece. I've not had the best luck doing that method.
edited to add: the end of the strand on the vertical part should have been trimmed off so that it doesn't show. In my opinion, anyway.
Also, the criss-cross pattern is fun to do, at least when I don't screw it up and have to redo it. But at least screwups are easy to catch right away and redo.
Read the thread again--
a steamer isn't mentioned at all. The cane is soaked in hot water in a bucket or other appropriate container.
People mentioned using using a large needle, pliers, a razor knife, a safety razor blade, small chrome scissors, letter opener, and implied the use of a hammer (to drive in wire nails that were mentioned).
This is a very low-tech craft so you really don't need much. You might want to get The Caner's Handbook by Bruce Miller and Jim Widess for general help in working with cane.
The "steamer" is mentioned...
The "steamer" is mentioned on Page 7 of the tutorial linked to in the thread. I was pretty sure I had read it somewhere but had forgotten where I read it.
But main point is you don't seem to think it is necessary. I tend to be a tool freak and always get more stuff than I really need. Bad habit.
Finally got the back off one...
Finally got the back off one of my chairs. Didn't realize until today that they "knock down" once seats are unscrewed. That aside, will be beginning the re- caning soon. There seems to be a weave variation with special treatment around the area where the back attaches to the frame. (2nd picture). Will try and show more details when I start dissection.
Its taken some time-but I've ...
Its taken some time-but I've finally finished the verticals on one chair. Not perfect, but I am pleased with the first effort. I think the end result will be satisfactory. While, I prefer working with papercord, I'll be glad to get going on the horizontal weaving. The cane is not an easy material to work with.
Thanks, tchp. Couldn't have...
Thanks, tchp. Couldn't have gotten this far without your great tutorial and input from Spanky and others on this thread. Will post another shot when the first one is done...I'm hoping by the end of this week. Its slow going with this stuff (for me at least).
Hey, guys--
got a new tip!
Someone somewhere mentioned using soap flakes as a regular treatment to clean and condition woven rattan. Well, as I was getting ready to weave the last two of a set of six chairs, I had a brilliant [cough] idea: do the pre-soak in soapy water! The damp cane may have been slightly softer and maybe it stayed damp longer, I'm not sure. But one thing I noticed is that it didn't get as gray when I left it in too long. I think I'll do a comparison test---like soaking cane in clear and soapy water for the exact amount of time and seeing how they look side by side.
It did seem maybe slightly more slick in weaving, which is a good thing.
I just used Ivory soap bars grated into hot water, probably about half a bar of soap. It was a lot but then I just used the same water for the whole chair, which I wove in a day. It didn't seem to make much difference whether it was hot or at room temp.
By the way, I had to order one extra hank of binder cane from Country Seat and the quality was really disappointing. Lots of splits and breaks and flaws. Even the better stuff I used didn't seem as fine quality as the original stuff on the chairs I did. If anyone finds a source for high quality cane, please post it here!
jesgord, I didn't see your updates
until now. Nice work!
I found the cane to be really trying at first but after two seats I got the hang of it and it wasn't so bad. The thing that bugged me most, I think, is the variation from strand to strand and even within a strand. Some parts are thicker and harder and tend to split when nailed, and they don't wrap as neatly around wood rails. Then other parts are a lot more flexible but they shred along the long edges. And the hairs!
I also had a lot harder time when I would do short sessions. Part of that was that the already-woven section had dried out completely, but also I would forget how I'd done the tricky bits and would make more mistakes until I got into the groove again. Doing an entire seat in one day was the easiest, though my fingers were pretty sore at the end.
As this was my first chair...
As this was my first chair with cane I was wondering if it was just me-but I was amazed at the poor quality of the cane from the country seat (but I figured that maybe that's just how cane tends to be). I'm glad to hear its not just me. I ended up throwing close to 1/3 or it away as it was to split, uneven, broken, shredding etc. I just ordered a 2nd 500' hank from Peerless Rattan. I'll let you know if the quality is any better.
http://peerlessrattan.com/medium-binding-cane-5-mm.html
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com