The Patient Patient

5/09/2007
Today I finally decided to start putting new cane on Grandfather's chair.

I have had the cane for the job since 2001.

I found a copy of “The Caner’s Handbook” in the local library, and it has really made several things much clearer.

All the bits & pieces

So, I gathered the tools needed, cleaned off the workbench and unbundled the cane.

straightening the cane

Soaked the cane and hung it in the garage in an attempt to straighten it out some.

5/10/2007
Started the actual project this morning.
Ran the first line of back to front cane. No problems, but I did find that the left side was uneven. On rereading the section, I need to add short strands to fill the front holes.
I am glad I was pointed to this handbook, the Boy Scout pamphlet doesn’t cover the finer points of this project, and, in fact, is pretty sparse on the whole thing. I would not recommend anybody attempt a cane job from it.

Soaking the Strands

It is important that the cane be pliable during the weaving, so the strands must be soaked and then kept wet while working with them. This is the tub I am using. I carefully roll up a couple of strands, and soak them in hot water for at least 20 minutes before starting to work with them.
I learned the hard way, as you will see, that they need at least those 20 minutes, and need to be kept wet during the entire session.

The First Strand is Placed

The first strand is placed from the middle to the right edge, starting back to front. This is one long strand covering the right half of the chair.

First Row Completed

The second strand is then placed middle to left edge, back to front. Several short strands have been placed on each side to finish the first layer.

5/11/2007
Today I ran the first cross section portion, left to right from the back. After this step, I turned the chair over to tie-off the loose ends that were capable of being tied-off, meaning they had a loop coming out of the same hole as the loose end. While performing this task, I broke one cane end right at the exit of the hole. I am considering going back and replacing this line from the other side. In the meantime, I started the third step in the weaving with a front to back layer of cane on top of the two existing layers.

First Layer Completed

Here, the first two layers are complete, and it is time to tie off as many of the loose ends as possible.

Kinda Messy Under Here!

Lots of loose ends here, better try to tidy up a bit!

Much Neater, Now.

After some re-wetting and tying, things look much neater. I did break one end right at the hole.

Third Layer Nearing Completion

The third layer lies just to the right of the first back to front run, and runs front to back.

5/12/2007
I have just about decided to go back and replace the bad strand. It looks like I might be able to get away without doing this, but I think I would rather be safe than have it start coming loose after I start the actual weaving steps.

5/13/2007
Today I wove the 4th layer of cane. I had to fill in the front 2 rows first, then begin at the back and work forward. Once finished, I started tying off the loose ends, but wound up breaking several of them. I am going to do some thinking about this and email an acquaintance who has a lot of experience with cane.

Fill-In Strands on the Front

When I started today I was going to redo the broken strand, but I discovered that I would need to remove that row anyway. So, after removing the two left-most rows, I wove the fill in rows in front.

Step 4 Completed

Next, I completed the weaving of the horizontal rows.

5/16/2007
Today's task was to replace a couple of broken strands and straighten up the weaves in preparation of the diagonal strands.

All Straightened Up (sort of)

After replacing a couple of broken strands, I straightened up the rows as much as possible and tied off as many loose ends as I could.

From The Bottom

You may note that I have removed the arms and made the legs movable to facilitate the weaving process.

After doing that, I realized that maybe the legs could come off, also. Although I didn't remove them completely, making the front legs movable has allowed me to get better access to the front corners of the seat. This should make weaving much easier.
The next step needs to be thought out fully. I may have to diagram the sequence of holes for the diagonal weaves, but that will start tomorrow.

5/19/07
OK, so this isn't the next day, things happen!
Started the first diagonal weaving today. This portion of the project is going to be much slower. The weaving is more intricate, and I have finally figured out that I need to keep the working strand much damper than I have been, as well as trying to keep the finished portions moist, at least in the area I am working in. This keeps everything much more pliable and easier to work with. In order to accomplish this, I try to keep a damp towel over the seat until I am actually working in that area, and I use a second rag to dampen the working strand after each section of weave.

Start of First Diagonal

Today’s work, 7 holes worth of weaving, took about 2 ½ hours.

First Diagonal (step 5) Done

The next day I finished the first diagonal. Another 2 hours.

5/22/07
Two more sessions, about 4 ½ - 5 hours total time gets the back half of the final diagonal weave completed. Now that I have the process of keeping everything wetter, this only took 2 strands, saving the amount of tie-offs I need to make.

Start of Final Diagonal

Another week and I may have this project done! Good thing, the weather is heating up and I figure it will be harder to keep things damp. I try to do the work in the morning while the garage is coolest.

5/28/07
Finished the diagonal weaves today, leaving only the chore of tying all of the loose ends and then adding the binding around the edges. Hopefully only another day or two. I didn’t take still photos of this step, opting instead to take some 60 second clips of the process.
I then proceeded to put together a short video, complete with a title, music and effects.

6/1/2007
I started to do the binding this afternoon, but as soon as I started I had several small problems. I easily decided that I didn’t have the required patience today to work on this, so I quit. That alone has probably saved the entire project, as I can do some really dumb things when I get impatient!

6/7/2007
Today I decided to finish up this project, so I put the binding cane to soak, along with several strands of the cane used for the actual seat. I had discovered that a long strand of cane was too unwieldy for tying the binding cane, and have decided that several shorter lengths will be easier to work with.

Left Back Corner

After about a half-hour, I started to tie the binding into place. I found that the binding needed some extra soaking to make a decent bend at the corners, so I wrapped the running end in a damp rag while I worked, exposing only about 6”-8” at any given time.

Front Right Corner

The binding cane never really got flexible enough to make a right angle bend, I think probably due to the age of the cane. I was, however, able to work it enough to avoid breakage, with the exception of a small tear at the right rear corner.

Right Rear Corner

Binding End Detail

It took about 2 hours to complete this part of the project. I re-secured the legs to the chair, set the chair on the floor of the garage, took a deep breath and. . . sat gingerly down. Nothing! A complete success! I relaxed and enjoyed the moment.

Completed Seat

It Held!

I reattached the chair arms and considered the Project Complete.

(Almost) Good As New!

Notes on the project:

1. “The Caner’s Handbook” is an indispensable resource for the first-time caner. I was made aware of this reference by Mike Russell, a friend through the Banjo Hangout, who provided me with some invaluable advise when I first started the project. In fact, if he hadn’t shamed me into it, the chair would probably still be sitting in the garage with an empty seat!

2. It would have been much easier and less headache if I had started the project when I first got the cane materials. Six year old cane is very brittle and probably would have been much easier to dampen and work with 5 years ago. Instead, it laid around in an attic storage area during snowy winters and hot summers, then moved to Arizona and sat in a desert garage for 3 more years.

3. I know I rushed in places I shouldn't have, my impatience is a fault I am well aware of. If (when) I redo the chair, I know to slow down, keep things damp and enjoy the flow that develops as you go along.

4. I estimate I spent about 20 to 25 hours, not counting the soaking time before starting each session, on the entire project.

Banjo Brad
Prickly Pear Music