you're welcome
I may be doing a set of six that all need nails so I finally went looking. I had assumed that they were difficult if not impossible find. Wrong!
The cut staple kind are such a pain to use--too big diameter, too long, not enough of a hook, plus whatever it is they're made of tends to not grip the wood very well and they just fall out. PITA. I can't wait to get the real ones.
I called that place and asked about a bulk order. You can apparently buy a box of twelve gross (1000++ nails) for a little over $50. I asked if they were definitely imported from Denmark and was told yes, that when I get the box I'll see that it has writing in Danish on it. Yay!
You're welcome!
I have two now. I misplaced the first one and couldn't find it right away and couldn't work without it so I got another one at the local upholstery supply place (only $13). That's how much I love it and need it. Such a simple thing but so perfect.
I'm doing some very old Wegner CH23 chairs now and it's interesting to see the nails. They have a slightly shorter bottom part of the L and are driven in farther. Of course, these only have to hold one loop of course each, so maybe they were smaller on purpose. They look very neat and tidy.
Oh, hey, thought of another tip--when you are tapping a new nail in, hold it with needlenose pliers with the plier nose right up under the bent part of the nail. That way the force of the hammer won't bend it or break it off. That's probably obvious once you get going, but just in case it isn't, there you go.
Oh and one more thing---someone asked upthread about whether you can do the front to back cords AND wrapping the rails at the same time. I said yeah, maybe, but spacing is hard to get correct. Well, I just did one that way and it went pretty smoothly, though I could have gotten two more wraps in there. You can only wrap one rail this way (preferably the front). It looks much neater on the underside done this way, I must say. I decided to try it because the original was done this way and I wanted to stay true to it.
new tips
So I mentioned above about wrapping the front rail and doing the warp strands in the same pass. If you do that, your front rail is gonna look really pretty on the inside (first photo), vs. not quite as pretty what with the overlaps (2nd photo). Moller chairs are usually done the second way originally, at least as far as I've seen. So either way is ok. The early Wegner CH23s that I'm doing right now are the first way.
You can't do the back rail at the same time. It has to be wrapped in a separate step.
Now---I'm almost embarrassed to post this next one here because it took me forever to figure this out and it's really quite simple.
When wrapping a rail or when weaving a CH23 or any pattern where you can't pull the cord off your big coil, you have to use a cut length of cord. I've always coiled the cut length up and tried to keep it neat while sticking it back and forth through the rails and wefting or whatever. But it always, ALWAYS comes undone and gets tangled and I spend valuable time untangling it, and more valuable time swearing and chastising myself for letting it get messed up.
SO. I just figured out that if I make a hank out of it rather than a coil, and then tie the hank in the middle---loosely, with another piece of cord---that I can pull cord from it as I need it without undoing the whole thing and messing it up. The tie around the middle keeps it neat (a coil can't be tied without having to untie it every time you need more length). I would like to think that I'm brilliant except that it took about 20 chairs or more to figure this out.
jesgord
Sorry, I know the third photo isn't showing up---I worked on it right away to get it to show, then I had to leave. I just tried again and nothing I do is working, even uploading it with a whole new name. I have no idea what's what. My server says I'm forbidden to look at it. WTH!
Anyway, make a big coil of cord like 12" diameter, and then just bring the two sides in and tie loosely in the center. Kinda the way you might bundle up a long electric cord for a lamp. This way you can pull out the end as you go.
If you make a coil and work off that, you can't tie it to keep it neat. Or rather, you can tie it to keep it neat but you will have to untie and retie it every time you need more cord, which is very often. I would just try to keep it neat without tying it, which never, ever worked. Not for long, anyway. There are too many narrow pass-throughs when weaving.
Someone else's hank (but tie yours with a separate piece of cord):
After several weeks of removin...
After several weeks of removing upholstery, cleaning, pulling staples, banging in Danish nails, wrapping the front and back rails, and banging in more Danish nails I'm finally weaving. Oddly satisfying indeed! More pics to come when the first chair is done.
I think removing the old upho...
I think removing the old upholstery and then putting in all the nails would have to be the worst part, and you are past that now. Looks like it is going great.
In any case, your progress has motivated me to call the place Spanky suggested, and order a box of 1000+ Danish Nails this morning.
Nice job, jesgord!
Yeah,...
Nice job, jesgord!
Yeah, once you get going on the side to side weaving, it goes quickly and is very satisfying. The last row or two is a pain because there's not much room left, but then you're done.
I'm doing the last Wegner CH23 and I think I want to take a long break from weaving chairs with the double side rails. My hank method is better than what I was doing before, but the hank ends up getting tangly after awhile and I still am spending way too much time untangling instead of weaving. Thinking about shuttle designs...
woohoo!
Nice going!
Have you figured out how to keep the cord from getting twisted so tightly that it gets kinks as you weave? I only just learned this tip: put the coil on a lazy susan and give it a twirl in the untwisting direction each time you pull a length off. Or if you don't have a lazy susan, put it in something that will turn easily, like a bowl.
Spanky, you said in an...
Spanky, you said in an earlier post that
"I always seem to have room for one more weave on the seat but no room on the rails for two more strands"
I ran into this same problem on both chairs.....Did you ever find a solution? I just adjusted "cheated"the weaves towards the back a bit and reduced the size of the small gap. No mater how tightly, I packed the cord, though, there is no way I could have fit two more strands...on the frame.
I wonder if maybe it has something to do with the diameter of the cord I'm, using....or even the placement of the nails? Funny thing is, I'm sure I'm the only person who will ever notice.
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