Cane bottom chairs are beautiful pieces of furniture that can be picked up at yard sales, consignment shops or thrift stores. With a few simple tools, the cane seat of the chair can be easily repaired or replaced. Repairing a cane bottom chair is a great way to give new life to old furniture. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Use white vinegar to remove any adhesive from the spline. The spline is the wedge shaped piece of wood that holds the cane in place. Wipe vinegar onto the spine and let sit for 10 minutes to penetrate the adhesive.
2. Pry the spline loose from the chair with a chisel or screwdriver. Work carefully from the inside edge to prevent cutting into the wood.
3. Clean out the area where the spline used to be with a scraper. Remove any particles or debris from the area.
4. Cut a piece of cane seating about 3 inches larger than the area to be covered. Soak the cut piece in warm water for about 3 hours to make it pliable. Cut a new spline approximately 5 inches larger than the old piece of spline and soak it for 15 minutes prior to replacing the chair bottom.
5. Set the cane on the chair and tap the material into the channel using a putty knife and rubber mallet.
6. Run a bead of wood glue into the channel where the cane material has been tapped into place.
7. Tap the new spine into the channel over the bead of glue and trim off any excess spline and cane material.
Tags: into channel, cane material, inches larger, inches larger than, larger than
