Antique Rocking Chair New Caned Seat

Here's another old beauty of a rocking chair that need the broken caned seat replaced. Like many older chairs with caned seats, they tend to get broken after years of use because the cane gets brittle and if a child happens to put their knee onto it, well, there goes the caning with a hole in the middle. If the caning is slightly bent in the middle, it can be made taut again by placing a damp towel on the seat overnight. This technique softens the cane, thus tightening gradually when it dries and giving it more use, at least for a little while. But when it completely breaks through, the only alternative is removing the old,

Antique Rocking
Chair After

broken cane and replacing it with new cane. This is a “strand” cane chair, which means that it has holes surrounding the chairs seat where the cane strands get woven through. This is a seven-step process that is quite tedious, but if you listen to music or a podcast (like I do), it’s not so bad. It’s actually pretty relaxing once you get into the groove of it and allow your fingers to work their magic. 

For this chair, I used 2.25mm fine caning. This is based on the size caning that was in the chair originally. There are methods to measure the distance between the center to center holes to determine the proper size caning to use, but I prefer just to measure the existing old cane to make sure it will fit since the hole technique isn’t always accurate. The reason is that when many of these very old chair were made, whoever drilled the holes didn’t always measure the exact distance between holes as well as the size of the holes, therefore to use just the holes is not the more accurate way to get the proper new caning installed. 

In my experience, it’s better to use a slightly narrower size than one that is too large as this will be a real problem during the final binding step. If the cane is too big and overfills the holes, it’s nearly impossible to get the final strands through the holes without pushing the cane back out of the holes you’ve worked so hard to get securely in place.

This was to date my very best caning job because everything flowed smoothly and the caning was even and straight. The trickiest part was the the curved arm was attached very closely to the holes on that part of the seat, so the arms had to be lifted up enough so that I could thread the caning through the 6 or 7 holes that were very close to the bottom of the armrest. Some of those holes were drilled at an angle, so that made caning in those areas even more challenging as I tried to find the angle of the hole. However, once that was completed, the rest was easy by comparison. Caning is always done with the first step going front to back, underneath, then pulled through the hole and brought forward again. You repeat this process from the center all the way to the right (or left) side then finish off the other remaining side in the same manner. The next step is horizontal, left to right, starting in the back upper corner of the chair, following the same weaving. 

Third step is going over the first step, keeping the strands to the right of the first vertical strands. This is so that when you weave the fourth step, you go over step 3 and under step 1. This is the actual “weaving” part of caning which will set up the diagonal weaves that go from the upper right to the lower left corners. Finally, you weave from the upper left to the lower right corners, going under vertical and over horizontal one way then the opposite for the other side. 

Binding is what finishes off the top. A slightly wider section of caning is measured around the circumference of the chair. This covers up the holes with sections of caning coming up and going down the same hole, pulling tightly to keep the top edge secure. After this is done, you tap in a 1/2” finishing piece to plug the hole(s) where the caning started. It sounds a lot more complicated then it is, but if you follow the steps, you too can become a caning master. It’s definitely a great skill to have, some call a “dying” art as not many people are doing this anymore. It’s also a unique and creative way to add texture to your home with caned pieces such as speaker covers, cabinets and footstools in addition to chair seats and backs.

Here’s the video of the final step of me caning this rocking chair:

https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/5936537173467203420/6863734281706129925

Maple Table Makeover

Refinished Table

Nothing says family more than a large dining room table. And, because we love our tables, we use them a lot! Therefore, they take a lot of abuse and as a result, get worn, scratched and marred with the passage of time. This is a very large maple dining table with a leaf that showed signs of wear on the surface. 

Luckily there weren’t any super deep gouges, so it was doable to strip, sand and stain the table and bring back its glory. Choosing a newer, darker stain, mocha, brought out the natural woodgrain and tones of the table which seemed hidden by the wear previous to refinishing. Finished off with three protective coats of satin polyurethane, this worn out table was once again a shining star, ready for many family meals.

Table Before Refinishing

Children’s Checkers Table Set

Checkers Table Before

Checkers is a favorite pastime of many people, young and old. I remember growing up with checkers and getting really angry when my brother would beat be. He called me a “sore looser.” Well, who wants to lose? I didn’t. This little table had a well-worn checkerboard center made of very thin plastic which had seen better days. The plastic was peeling up and was simply not fixable. 

Checkers Table After

We made a few suggestions to our customer on how to refresh this table with a “new,” yet original look that could have been created originally and would last for many years to come. 

We decided to create a new checkerboard center by using wood instead of plastic or glass mosaic (another cool choice). This required two types of wood, walnut and maple, cut into even widths and the length of the center section, then cut the glued sections to rotate them180 degrees which created the perfect checkerboard. It worked swimmingly well and looked fabulous. Once the checkerboard center was done, the table was stripped and refinished along with the little seats. The finished checkerboard table with the perfect stain was indeed a work of art upon completion. Kudos to my husband, Jim, who can make miracles happen with wood.

Table Set Before

Table Set After

Oak Dresser Hidden by Green Paint

 

Dresser After Stripping

Dresser Before Stripping

This little dresser is similar to a few others we’ve done that had the same overall look and design. However, this one was painted green. In our experience, sometimes when a piece of furniture is painted, there’s a good reason for it. Upon stripping this little dresser, we discovered that one of the drawers had a “patch,” which meant that someone had added a different type of wood that didn’t match the original oak that was used when it was built.

Luckily we were able to apply the stain so that it covered the entire piece in a way that looked as it would have looked originally. Likely, it had never been stained, just painted after it was built. It was old though.

When painting furniture, it usually doesn’t matter if wood styles are mixed because the paint covers it all evenly. But when a person wants something stripped and stained, refinished per se, if the wood is patched with non-original wood, this results in a variance of stain colors since different types of wood accept stain differently. 

A good example would be if you apply a dark stain to a light wood such as pine, it would certainly darken the original raw wood but wouldn’t be as dark as if you used the same stain on walnut, which is a darker wood to begin with. It’s always easier to go darker upon refinishing/restoring but much harder to go lighter. Not to say that it isn’t possible to do this as it all depends on the type of wood that was stained originally. Sometimes you simply don’t know what the raw wood will look like until it is stripped as years and years tend to oxidize the wood, making it darker than the original stain. Most of the time the wood, when stripped and completely sanded, is much lighter than the old finish. This allows for plenty of stain choices as it is fun to experiment with how the various stains draw out the wood’s original beauty. This is one of the most rewarding aspects of refinishing...seeing the final results when applying the stain. Ah, it’s pretty once again!

Antique Mahogany Swivel Table

 

Swivel Table Before

Another beautiful swivel table! This antique was made of mahogany with brass accents. The lower portion of this table had a unique “harp” design with three brass prongs, that cleaned up real nice. The top was in rough shape and had seen years of use, including water damage likely from placing a planter directly not the wood. It’s always a good idea to have a planter with a tray or aluminum pie tin to eliminate water damage. 

Swivel Table After

This table was in need of stripping, sanding and new stain. We chose special walnut stain and three coats of semi-gloss polyurethane to ensure protection from everyday use. All the brass accents, feet, harp metal and two small knobs (not seen in photo) were cleaned and polished. Polishing the brass, truly accentuates the refinishing process. It also adds a special “bling” to any piece of furniture, much like the right jewelry does for an outfit.

This style of table is used for playing board games or cards, as it has a “secret” swivel compartment beneath the top that is accessible by rotating the table 90 degrees, then opening one side to reveal the compact area beneath, just large enough to hold note pads, decks of cards and paper goods. When not being used as a game table, it folds in half and can be pushed right up against a wall and used for decorative accents such as plants, lamps or collectibles. Now that it has been refinished, this table will likely be used for many card games and other fun activities.

Antique 19th Century Caned Chairs

Antique Chair After

 

Antique Chair Before

Here we go with more chairs! This time it was a set of four (4) chairs, all in need of TLC. These chairs dated back to the late 1800’s, so they were 19th century chairs that had seen a lot of use, therefore a lot of wear and tear, literally. 

Originally the chairs had caned seats, but over time they likely broke and someone decided to cover the seat with stamped leather, or rather, a leather-look-alike that seemed more like a heavy paper between layers of very thin leather. Broken and no longer able to seat a person, it was high time to remove the leather “fix” and replace it with the original woven caning. But first, the chairs all needed to be stripped, which for this type of chair is very time-consuming because (you guessed it), spindles. Yup, spindles are what takes a long time to strip because there are many of them and they are rounded, making them inaccessible from one angle, therefore it’s necessary to rotate the chair continuously while stripping. 

A chemical stripper was the best option for these (compared to a heat gun), because it melts away the old, worn finish and reveals the wood beneath. Once all the old finish is removed, the chairs are then cleaned up by using soft rags (usually old t-shirts, which are excellent for this) and wiping away the residue left by the stripper with lacquer thinner or acetone. This is a necessary step prior to sanding or your sandpaper will clog up with the residue, making it difficult to remove. 

Starting with 100 grit sandpaper, the chair is prepared to accept the next grit, 150, until the final sanding, which is done with 220 grit. Once all surfaces are sanded, the chair is wiped with lacquer thinner on a clean cloth, allowed to dry, then it is ready for stain. This entire process (for this type of chair) can take from several hours to a few days. Again, spindles are a lot of work, therefore more tedious and time-consuming than flat surface chairs. Once the stain is applied with either a soft cloth or a brush, or both, you wipe away the excess stain, then enjoy the amazing transformation from raw wood to beautifully restored, refinished wood. 

We used "special walnut" on these chairs. The new stain brought out all that gorgeous woodgrain, which had been hidden by years of oxidation that happens over time. Once the chairs had dried from staining (we allow 24-48 hours), the first coat of polyurethane was applied. For these chairs we used a water-based semi-gloss, durable and easy to clean up after. That first coat protects the stain and prepares the wood for the remaining two coats that finish the chair. It is necessary to lightly sand between each coat of poly with a high grit sandpaper to give it “tooth,” which makes just rough enough to accept the next layer of polyurethane. Once the third coat was applied, the chairs were done and ready for the last and final step, install the new caning. 

These chairs had “press-in” caning, cane that comes in pre-woven sheets and cut to size, then installed and kept in place with spline. It’s necessary to soak the cane and spline for at least an hour (or longer) so that it is pliable enough to work with, otherwise it cracks and breaks. Caning “wedges" are used to “press” the edge of the cane into the pre-cut 1/4” groove in the chair. The chairs had a closely woven cane originally, so we chose the same style to keep it original.

It’s necessary to choose the right size of spline, which is based on the width of the opening, so that it keeps the cane in place while completely filling the groove. If the cane is too loose, it will not keep the cane taut. It’s a tricky process because once you have pressed all the cane into the groove, you glue it slowly, allowing the glue to run into the groove, starting in the back of the chair. Once it is glued, you push the spline into place, tapping it with a hammer as you go. If the spline has been adequately soaked, it will bend easily around curves. If not, it can break, especially if those curves are tight. 

Luckily these chairs’ curves were fairly wide, so it wasn’t too difficult to bend them around the edge. Once you reach the back where you started, make a small pencil mark and cut the spline to match the starting point at an angle and tap it with a hammer in place. After all the spline is installed around the entire seat, hammer the spline so that it is level with the top of the chair. There will be caning strands popping out that were left over from the placement after the spline is installed, so they must be trimmed off. I use a sharp chisel and snap them away by tapping on a hammer close to the spline, which removes the excess. You can also use snippers. This completes the caning process. Allow the cane to dry at least 24-48 hours before you sit on the chair.

Table Re-painted in Beautiful Black

Table Before

We mostly prefer stripping furniture to reveal the beautiful wood beneath and then stain it as it would have been done naturally, but it doesn’t always work out that way and there’s a good reason why the furniture was painted instead of being stained. This antique folding table was a prime example of why painting is better than stain as it would not accept stain. The reason was that it was made up of different types of wood and most of the paint had penetrated the wood’s surface, therefore making it not stain-worthy. Luckily our customer understood the situation and opted for paint instead.

Table After

We stripped this table as we do most other furniture items with stripper and plenty of elbow grease. Once the table was completely stripped, each area then gets carefully sanded to remove as much rough surface as possible. This prepares the piece for the next step, primer. Any time you have raw wood, primer is a must do as raw wood will soak up all the paint if it is not primed first. You can purchase paint with primer in it, but we prefer these processes to be kept separate because we find it gives us better results and a smoother finished surface. 

You generally don’t need polyurethane on a painted item unless it will be used outdoors, but then you would be better off using outdoor paint. Adding polyurethane or lacquer to a painted item will over time turn it yellow. Just a little piece of advice to keep in mind...

While we can paint furniture in any color the customer chooses, as this is a personal preference, but black seems to be the most popular colors because it is neutral and versatile and looks great when accompanied with brass accents such as this table’s feet. We always clean the hardware and additional accents such as brass feet on tables or hinges, because it finishes the piece nicely, giving it “bling,” as well as a fresher look. 

This table had two fold-out leaves, which doubled its size, making it a great table to use when you need more seating. Its compact size made it easy to store when not being used for a dining table and can instead be used as an accessory table. The classic black was a great choice and kept the original integrity of the table in addition to giving it a fresh, new appearance that will look great for decades.

Newly Caned Dining Chair

 

Cane Chair Before

    My caning abilities are really being tested these days, but the

Cane Chair After

more caning I do, the easier it becomes and the more enjoyable. I’ve rounded another curve in my progress and have become more than just sufficient, in fact, I'm pretty darn good at it. This exquisite dining chair was likely the last survivor of a six to eight set of predecessors, therefore it deserved special treatment and caning done right. 

    This chair had been caned many years prior and had been broken, likely by a knee or a child that used it as a way to sneak cookies out of grandma’s cupboard. Cane gets brittle after so many years, therefore it is vulnerable to breakage as it ages. My choice to keep the cane original (not stain it) is to add years of service to the chair by allowing it to age naturally.

    This chair was “strand caned,” meaning the cane comes in 6’-8’ lengths, then carefully woven, one strand at a time through pre-drilled holes surrounding the chair’s seat. It’s a labor intensive process, both in removing the old cane as well as weaving the new cane. Cane comes in various widths from very fine 2mm to medium 3mm or larger sizes 4mm and up. It’s important to determine the size of the cane in relationship to the holes, or it becomes very difficult the further you get into the process if the cane is too large since you will be pulling many strands through the same holes over and over due to the nature of the weaving. While the caning process is repetitious, each chair is unique in the way it is woven to accommodate the shape of that particular chair. 

    This chair had a curved seat, wider in the front than in the back, therefore it was necessary to double up the strands in some holes and omit others for that direction. The most difficult part of the chair was near the arms, because the cane moves around them beneath the chair so getting the cane to slide through those holes was tricky. Having the right tools is essential as they make the difference between a mediocre job and an excellent one. Strand caning is done is six parts; front to back, left to right, front to back again, diagonal one direction then diagonal in the opposite direction and finally, binding. When you first begin weaving, you use caning pegs (see photo below) to keep the cane in place. Eventually the cane becomes tight so they are no longer needed. 

    The very last step is the tie off the cut cane beneath the chair by tucking it up under the loops created by the weave then tie them tightly prior to snipping off their ends. It was really a nice looking chair one the new cane was in place.

Caning pegs hold cane in place
during weaving process

Oak Table for Church Services

Oak Table Before

This was a beautiful oak table hiding beneath years of usage. Used in a local church, this table’s place was at the front of the church used in their Sunday services as a communion table. It had been covered with a white tablecloth that hid the lovely carving (which you cannot see in the “before” photo. The top of the table had lots of wear and some water damage, but luckily it was superficial and mostly on the surface, not beneath the wood’s fibers. Therefore a good stripping and sanding process removed the unsightly stains and damage to reveal the original gorgeous oak hidden by years of normal wear. 

Table After

The table’s bottom cross piece, which was connected only with dowels, had come apart and was spinning wildly during transport. This was the first order of business, to repair that loose cross piece to stabilize the table and keep it from shifting again. To achieve this, we drilled two holes on each end of the underside of the board with a pocket screw assembly, then screwed it tightly after applying a generous amount of wood glue to the end cap. 

After clamping the sides together, the center board was again secure and super strong and won’t come apart anytime soon. (We always make any repairs prior to the refinishing process). Once the center board was dried and secured, we stripped and sanded the entire table, revealing the lovely carving which read, “This do in remembrance of me.” 

We chose “gunstock” as a stain color, which is a gorgeous golden rust with red tones. It’s my new favorite stain color as of this year and we’ve used it many times as it works for any type of wood. Followed up with four coats of satin polyurethane on the top and three coats on the rest of the table, this lovely oak piece will glorify the church and its services for many years to come.

New Front Door

Door Before

Door After

A front door is most important feature of your home. It keeps out weather, makes a home secure, invites people inside and is a representation of the people living in the home. Therefore, a front door should be well maintained, weatherproof and attractive as well as functional. This front door had been exposed to the elements and over time it became weathered and worn. (We took the photo on our work table so we don’t have a “before” of the door in the home, but our customer sent us the “after picture.

The interior was in great shape, but the exterior needed the most attention. However, upon closer inspection, the interior had been affected by the exterior’s wear because the door had warped, therefore the trim surrounding each panel was lifting enough so that one could get a decent scratch at the least and broken or missing pieces which would be not easy to replace. Before we could start on the exterior, we needed to address the interior’s warping issue by carefully removing the “lifted” trim and sanding each piece down just enough so they could “curve" with the warped panel and would lie flat again. Then we could refinish the weathered front. This door was solid oak and weighed a ton. The door knocker was brass along, with the handle/lock, which carried a hefty price tag (quality costs money!) This door was begging to be made handsome once again. 

Because of the amount of trim and the narrow passages between the trim. stripping was intensely tedious and took a lot longer than expected (it always does!) Stripping took several days and sanding a few more. Since this was our customer’s front door (he literally didn’t have a front door for a week, other than the storm door), we needed to move as quickly as time would allow. We used a variety of hand tools in addition to the much-used orbital sander. Our favorite hand tools are a set of wood carving tools that allow us to get into the nooks and crannies and corners, so we can remove the residue that is left by stripping the old stain and varnish. Once that’s done, lots and lots of sanding prior to the fun part, staining. For this door we used golden oak stain which matched the existing interior color perfectly. To protect the exterior, we applied three coats of satin polyurethane. Once the finely crafted brass hardware was reinstalled, the door was complete, looking brand new again.

Rocking Chair Goes From Rubbish to Royalty

Rocker Before

Rocker After

Everyone’s heard the phrase, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. ”Indeed, this seems to be the case for many old pieces of furniture as well as a ton of other interesting finds at flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. The fun is the hunt, the pursuit of finding that special “gem” that everybody else overlooked or simply didn’t want.

Other times people find something in grandpa’s attic that they really don’t want to deal with, so they toss it out. Sometimes it goes to a land fill, other times it gets another chance and life when someone sees the beauty hidden beneath layers of grime, old fabric (or in this case, missing fabric in the back), and broken springs that once held up the seat.

Rocker Back Before

Rocker Back After

This very old rocking chair was one of the lucky ones which got rescued and brought to us. It was indeed quite the challenge because it didn’t have anything but a big hole in the back rest where the fabric once was, with little to go by on how it was constructed. But first things first. Strip, sand and stain before anything else. But in addition to the standard stripping and staining, this chair needed new rocker rungs, because the original ones were broken and barely held together with rusty screws. There was no saving them.

It’s hard to know how old this rocking chair was, but when hay or horsehair is used, it’s a sign to be pretty old. My guess would be this chair dates to the mid to late 1800’s based on its overall construction. Rusty tacks held in what we believe to be leather, which was wrapped around the top of the chair and held in place at the top, bottom and sides with those tacks. The seat looked like it had been reupholstered back in the 1920’s and not updated since then. It was really, really old and pretty hideous. The bones of the chair was good, solid oak and quite heavy. It had springs that had long ago sprung loose of their rope that held them beneath the seat cushion which was also almost gone. Needless to say, we had our work cut out for us.

Side View Before

Side View After

Jim did a fine job stripping the chair, then making the new rocker rungs before it could be stained and finished with polyurethane. Making the rungs was extremely difficult because he had to make a template to trace the old ones onto then cut the new ones with a special router bit that was much deeper than the standard size to accommodate the thicker oak he was using. After lots of sweat and a few choice words, we got it done! Finally he could attach them to the bottom of the chair and finish the process of staining and protecting with poly. Once it was all done and dry enough, then it was my turn.

The seat came first. I measured and cut the 2” thick high density foam and made it fit the new seat which was made of durable wood instead of springs. Once the foam was in place, I added two layers of quilt batting to the top of the foam for extra softness. A very dark gray vinyl was chosen for the seat cover, so I made a template then cut the vinyl to fit snugly into the chair’s arm rest in the front and uppers in the back. Going around the wood in the corners is the toughest part because you want to eliminate the bulk without cutting away too much fabric, therefore a template is essential to get it right. Once I had it taut, I started with each side, adding a tack to hold it in place then worked my ay around the entire seat, cutting carefully and trimming the extra so it would fit well. I added tacks along the entire bottom edge on all four sides. It looked great! Then came the real tough part....the back.

First I had to attach 4” jute chair webbing horizontally and vertically on the opening of the back, to securely hold the foam and fabric in place. Once this was done, I placed a 54” x 22” continuous piece of 1/2” foam and wrapped it around the top of the chair, attaching it to the front and back bottom edges with temporary tacks. I had two layers on the front and an additional thicker foam on the back to fill in the large gap created by the open area of the chair. Once I was satisfied with the placement of the foam, I kept the edges from moving around by using my trusty glue gun. Then I prepared the fabric. I needed a 21.5" x 50” section of fabric. After I cut the size, allowing for folded edges and a generous seam allowance on the bottom, I attached the fabric to the front and back bottom edges first, then added temporary tacks about 6” apart along the sides to keep the fabric taut. Next and final step, carefully nailing in the decorative nickel tacks, I started on the backside, then carefully worked my way up and over to the front side, finished with the bottom front. Adding fabric to a chair that you have no reference as to how it was done prior is quite challenging, but can be achieved by applying techniques you acquire along the way. This chair made a complete 180 from how it started, from rubbish to royalty, fit for a king. Now it can live another 150 years.

Below are the photos that my customer had sent to me asking if this chair can be refinished. I knew it would be a real challenge, but a challenge both of us were up to.

Original Photo from Customer

Original Photo from Customer

Back top original photo

Mid-Century Modern Coffee Table

Coffee Table Before

It was not uncommon for a coffee table such as this to be used in households across the country during the 1950’s-1960’s. They usually had a top and a lower shelf where people would store their T.V. guides (which have become obsolete) as well as books, magazines and other keep close items. This maple table was likely used in a living room to serve multiple functions.

Coffee Table After

But like many items of furniture that are used on a daily basis, this table had also experienced wear and staining over the years and needed some TLC to bring it back to its original glory.

The first step in most restoration and refinishing projects such as this is a thorough stripping with liquid stripper and lots of elbow grease to remove the debris from the stripper and the old finishes that come off in a goopy and sticky mess. (It’s handy to keep plenty of empty margarine and cream cheese containers handy for this purpose).

Stripping and sanding is always long and tedious, but necessary process to remove all the previous layers of grime. Once this had been achieved, we give it a good sanding so it will accept the new stain. This table had a lovely brass decorative accent border on the top. We chose to remove this so it didn’t get damaged during the refinishing process, then cleaned it up later prior to re-applying it. This is the jewelry of the furniture as it sets off the finished piece and makes it look great. We opted for golden pecan stain with a satin polyurethane to protect its finish. Most table tops receive three coats of poly for extra durability. This table had delicate legs which was a sign of great craftsmanship and the fine art of mid-century modern furniture.

Bedroom Set Stripped and Whitewashed

Vanity Before

Vanity After

This is one of three bedroom pieces that came to us with an old yellowish paint that was at one time supposed to be much lighter. It had oxidized over the years and obtained some wear, so a refresh was in order.

My customer had wanted a whitewashed finish, so a full strip, sanding and application of white stain, which creates a whitewashed finish that she had wanted. The hardest part is always removing the old finish before anything else and with the amount of detail in this set including ball and claw feet, the stripping and sanding process took a great deal of time. This had to be done to all three pieces, removing the original hardware which luckily, was all in tact and accessible.

Dresser Before

Sometimes hardware pieces get missing so must be replaced. But

Dresser After

mostly, people prefer to use the original hardware in their restoration process.

When changing the entire appearance of an item such as going from stain stripping to painting for a more modern appearance, they will sometimes elect to replace the old hardware with newer, more modern hardware. It’s all personal preference, but it always looks great when it’s done.

Night Stand Before

Night Stand After

High Chair Before

High Chair After

This is our first high chair restoration. We estimate this height chair was at least 110 years old, based on the owner’s great-grandmother who had used it as a baby. It really look old (and rather creepy) with its dark greenish glaze that sort of, but not completely, covered up the wood. It was indeed a labor of love with all the spindles that neither Jim or I like working on as they are extremely difficult and time-consumimg.

The high chair had a center leather strap that acted as a safety measure to keep the baby from slipping out from under the chair. We were able to keep the original strap and incorporate it into the renovation of this oldie. Not 100% sure of the wood though. It didn’t have a lot of knots or movement so it may have been maple, but it was a hard wood to be sure.

The stripping process took an enormous amount of time to get between all those spindles! Jim took the tray off completely and had to replace a missing rung in the back of the chair. Luckily he could pull the back legs apart far enough to install the new rung into the hole and drill out the broken rung remains on the other side to make the new one fit properly. Once stripped and stained, he chose gunstock stain (our new favorite!) for the entire chair. The edging of the tray needed to be repaired since it had been broken right in the middle with a noticeable split. He added a piece and made it work. Once it was all put together with its new and repaired components, it looked beautiful. Who knew this old creepy chair would turn out so good?? (We did!) Lol.

Check out the oak high chair we also refinished by clicking on this link:

https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2020/10/antique-oak-high-chair.html

Eastlake Lamp Table

Eastlake Table Before

Eastlake Table After

Eastlake furniture is easy to identify by its unique carvings on the legs of tables and other parts of larger furniture.

This Eastlake table is likely early 1900’s and has seen its share of wear over the years. The legs were in pretty good condition, but the top had rings and dark water stains in addition to the usual scratches. At least it hadn’t been painted, since we’ve done a few Eastlake items that had paint and all that detail was hidden beneath the layers of paint. It’s always a joy to see the wood in all its glory on a lovely item of furniture such as this.

Luckily the stains and scratches weren’t too deep and could be sanded out. The top needed the most attention, so once the sanding was done, a new coat of stain brought the century old table back to life. Protected with three coats of polyurethane, the table top was once again renewed and will be well preserved for many years to come. This table was a perfect size to use as an accessory table between two loungers or as a corner table in a living room. Restoration of this table was a true pleasure as the original beauty of the wood was the crowning glory of the renovation.

Mid-Century Stendig Chairs Refinished and Re-Caned

Stendig Chair Before

Stendig Chair After

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these photos are worth many thousands if time were a contributing factor. These are designer “Stendig” chair, made in Czechoslovakia, mid-century modern made with Beechwood, with several unique features; curved arm rests, a compound-curved back, matching curved seats and overall difficult to work on design. The customer wanted them refinished, with new caning to replace the broken cane areas (which are not easy to detect in the photo).

As of this writing, I can truthfully say that these chairs have been the most difficult caning project to date. Jim took them apart and worked on the refinishing. Once that was done, I started the tedious process of caning each of the eight sections (two per chair) of these unique mid-century pieces.

Photo 1 - Channels that
hide back of cane

Photo 2
Top front of chair before
cane removal

Each chair’s back had a channel that covered up the caning that is normally visible on caned chairs. Since these chairs’ original cane had been “hidden" beneath the channels, they had to be removed first before I could remove the cane from the holes and install the new caning. This proved to be an unexpected twist in the process because I simply had no idea how to accomplish this and no point of reference online or anywhere else, even in a caning forum.

I had done many caned chairs prior to these, but never had I expected the challenge this style of chair would present, not only in the refinishing, which required them to be taken apart, but removing the channels (see photo 1) that covered up the caning on the back of the chair and were glued in place. How do I remove them to access the caning without damaging the chair?? I researched it, but could find no information of how to achieve the removal of these channels, which meant there was only one solution. I had to figure it out myself, so that’s exactly what I did. I snipped off the sheets of caning from all backs, (see photo 2) leaving only the front edging (see photo 3) before I devised a way to remove the channel. For the seats, this was much easier because there was no channel to cover them, so I was able to remove the cane in its entirety, as I had done with many previous cane chairs in the past.

I realized that since the channels were glued in place, I would have to find a way to dissolve the glue so I could gently pry them apart from the chair’s curved border in order to remove it, which would expose the original cane beneath. But how to do that...carefully. Well, a bit if creative thinking and the right tools solved the problem. I figured if I could get to the inside of the holes and gently tap them, I could loosen the channel enough to remove it. The only problem was, since the channel was glued, this would likely break the channel as well as the chair in that area, so there had to be an additional step.

Photo 3
Top  of chair border
only remaining

Photo 4
Using eyedropper filled with
lacquer thinner to loosen
glue on front side of channel

After I had cut the body of the cane off the chair, the only thing left was the edge that filled the holes (which were not visible due to the channel). I carefully snipped them all away and removed as much cane from each hole as I could, using an awl to poke away at the hole to create an opening. This was a long and tedious process in itself. Once all the holes were exposed, I used an eyedropper (see photo 4) and filled it with lacquer thinner, allowing the liquid to fill each hole, which would eventually flow to the underside of the hole and into the glue that held the channel in place.

Once I was assured that I had enough lacquer thinner in each hole, I gently tapped each hole with another, duller awl (see photo 5) so as not to damage the exterior of the curve or the channel. After a lot of dropping, tapping and more lacquer thinner, eventually the channel loosened enough for me to remove it, exposing the caning beneath (see photo 6). Then, finally, I used a drill to clean out the remaining bits of old cane so that the holes would be free of debris to better accept the new cane (see photo 7).

         

Photo 5
Using a dull awl to gently
pound thru holes
that pried channel away

 

Photo 6
Channel removed, exposing
original cane tie-off
on back top of chair

Photo 7
Drilling holes to clean out old cane

Photo 9 First Weave

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Photo 8
Steps 1-3 tied together

The first one was the “learning” chair, where I used thread to tie the loose strands together to keep them in a somewhat orderly alignment so that when I started weaving, I could work with the strands easily, though the process was anything but easy (see photo 8). The first horizontal weave was very time-consuming, taking one to two days. That was also the hardest part because I had to make sure the chair was tightening exactly enough for the diagonal weaves to look good (see photo 9).

I soon learned that it was impossible to keep the rows straight in a curved chair back, so I “went with the flow” and allowed the chair to evolve as it was woven, and indeed, it wasn’t half bad. Each chair back that followed I go a little bit more confident and found a few more tricks to keep the vertical and horizontal rows aligned so that they were easier to work with. This also made the 5th and 6th steps, the diagonal weaves, flow much better. Photo 10 shows the last diagonal weave going to the upper left corner. The last and final step was binding the cane with a border binding cane that finishes off the top. Then the tie-off finishes the bottom. Many steps with a lot of work and time involved in these chairs, so I enlisted my granddaughter’s help by teaching her a new skill which she learned very quickly.

Photo 10 Last Diagonal Weave

My helper

My cat, Chelsea keeps
me company

Chairs in customer’s home