Chairs Get New Spline Caning

Spline Cane Before

Spline Cane After

If someone were to ask what our most common refinishing job is, I’d have to answer “Chairs.” The reason is simple. We all use them, so we all have them and at some point in time, they will need to be either refinished, reupholstered, restored or in this case, re-caned. This dining chair was in need of a new spline caned back (only) as the seat covers would remain fabric (to be done at a later date).

This is one of a set of four chairs in need of new back cane. It is a “spline” cane style, which means that the back portion is made of a single sheet of caning then kept in place with a spline that keeps the cane sheet in place. This is the first time I have worked with this particular style of caning, which is known as Swedish woven. The difference between this type of cane and the more commonly seen antique cane is that these are double rows of perpendicular lines that criss-cross compared to “hole” style of cane.

When ordering caning supplies, it is very important to measure the width of the channel to get the right size of spline. If you order spline that is too large, it won’t fit into the channel, which can cause damage during the tapping which is an essential part of the installation. If you order spline that is smaller than the channel, it won’t fit tight enough to keep the cane from coming out, so ordering the proper size is key.

Cleaned out channel

The hardest part of this process is removing the old spline. For these chairs, I used a combination of tools; chisel, needle-nose pliers, wood-carving tools, hammer, and then later (after I ordered it) a spline-removal tool, which is exactly the perfect tool to get beneath the old spline and smack it until it lifts up. I then used a small chisel to loosen any remaining spline that stuck to the inside of the channel.

Note: Cane must be soaked prior to installation. I soaked the cane and

Soaking Cane in Tub

spline (in my bathtub) for over an hour. (My little cat, Sadie is supervising!) Soaking spline and cane together is necessary, so that the spline can be manipulated around the tight corners that bend along the edges of the chair. It is okay to leave the everything soaking while you continue to work on each chair. By the time you get to the last chair, your cane and spline will be pliable enough to work easily. The first one is always the hardest one to work on.

I used Frog tape to protect the chair from accidental scratches while removing the old spline. Once the spline was removed and the channel cleaned out, (see photo at left), it is ready to accept the new cane and spline, which gets tapped into place with hammer and caning wedges. This process is tedious and time consuming and you really must focus on the work, which means no distractions!

The basic dynamic of installation is the same as hole cane, but the challenge of this style is to keep the rows straight vertically as well as horizontally, as they tend to shift while you install the spline. Once you have tapped the cane down enough to accept the spline (keep it in place with caning wedges) you can then carefully apply clear drying glue into the channel, then follow it with the new spline, being conscious of carefully bending and fitting it around those tight corners. (If your chairs have larger curves, it is much easier to install spline).

Of the two ways of cane installation, spline or hand weave, this is the “easier” way to do it, but that doesn’t mean it’s simple. It takes precision, patience and the right tools to do it right.

Maple Rocking Chair Refinished With New Caning

Rocking Chair Before

This antique rocking chair had seen many years of use, unfortunately had gotten a knee through the seat and broke the original caning. The chair is well over 100 years old and likely a host to many relaxing moments, conversations and stories while gently rocking and listening to the many tales told.

Caning Process With Pegs

The chair had aged, the wood darkened, hiding the beautiful wood grain beneath. Since my customer had wanted the chair refinished as well as replace all the caning.

If you are unfamiliar with the chair caning process, there are two types of cane; "strand" cane and "pressed" cane. This chair had “strand” caning, which means you create the weave by measuring the holes and finding center, then string very long strands of cane back and forth through the holes, first vertically, then horizontally and both ways diagonally. While you are weaving, you keep the cane in place by using “caning pegs,” which fit into the holes, keeping the cane tight as you carefully move across and down the chair. If you’ve done all the steps right, you will have the “holes” as a result of the weave.

Rocking Chair After

Because this chair needed refinishing as well as new cane, it was necessary to snip away all the old caning first. This in itself was a time-consuming process because the original cane had been lacquered over so it was stiff and difficult to snip and remove. Once that was complete, the old cane comes easily through the holes, which vary in size. This chair had 1/4” holes and required size 3 medium cane.

After all caning was removed, I began the tedious process of stripping the old finish and revealing the true beauty of the wood, which was maple. Considering the age of this chair, it was in remarkably beautiful condition with no breaks in the structure. Indeed, it was as sturdy as it was the day it was made.

Once I had removed all the old stain using a variety of tools, including a toothbrush, brass brush and lots of in between sanding, I chose chestnut gel stain and finished it with semi-gloss polyurethane. I allowed the chair to dry for two days prior to caning it. It was a fairly large chair and had ultimately required three bundles (called hanks) of caning. I had originally ordered only two hanks, so I had to wait a few days while the third hank was on its way, catching up on other projects in the meantime.

The caning process for this chair took ten days, five days for the bottom and five days for the upper portion of the chair. I spent an average of four hours per day on caning this chair. It can be a strenuous activity, so taking frequent breaks is essential to avoid lower back pain. While caning isn’t super difficult, it does require patience, time and a skill set similar to weaving a basket. It is intensly  gratifying to see the final product after a few hundred feet of caning has been woven through it. Here’s to another one-hundred years and many more stories to share...

Antique Mahogany Table Makeover

Mahogany Table Before

We've done plenty of tables since we started restoring furniture, but this by far was one of the most unique antique tables. This was a lovely "sewing table" with fluted edges on the top shelf and beading on the edge of the lower shelf. Unfortunately its structure was quite wobbly, because the points of

Mahogany Table After

attachment were very delicate and the legs were spindly and thin, which affected the overall stability. The only thing we could do to shore then up was add a few pin nails on the back side of the legs at the attachment point between the two shelves.

This table was in great overall condition, but the row of beading on the bottom shelf had beads missing, which needed to be replaced. I searched online for the right size replacement beads and discovered a few things. The first, beads such as the ones on this table are difficult to find, plus I was not able to get furniture beads in a dark

Old Rocker Makeover

Chair Before

Chair After

This rocker had a great structure, but the fabric was shot and needed to be replaced. It had also been used as a scratching post for a couple of cats, so the fabric on the backside was pretty torn up. My customer had asked for the chair to be refinished in addition to replacing the old, worn and torn fabric with fabric she had left over from a previous reupholstering job I had done for her dining room chairs. (See link below).
http://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2018/06/french-dining-chairs-reupholstered.html

After removing the old fabric, as I had suspected, the chair had been stuffed with horsehair on the

Two-Tier Antique Mahogany Table

Table Before Repair

Table After Repair & Refinishing

This table came to me as you see in the photo on the right, with three legs that were broken, the center piece which held them together was missing on two out of the three legs.

These missing sections had to be reconstructed using a template, traced from the legs themselves. This was an lovely antique two-tier table commonly seen during the 1920's and 1930s. Many people remember these tables in their grandparents homes, so they now hold a special place in our hearts along with all those memories. Commonly used for knick-knacks, plants, collectibles and many other

Hand Carved Glass Top Table

Table Before

Table After

I'm always impressed with hand carved wood such as this gorgeous Bavarian style table, a unique piece with lots of charm.

The table had a removal glass top which was also encased in matching wood with a lovely curved edge. The glass was quite scratched, a clear sign that whoever had owned this table had put it to use, which is wonderful because furniture is meant to be used and shown off.

Waterfall Nightstand

Waterfall Nightstand Before

This adorable nightstand was the last piece of the waterfall collection of furniture which completed the bedroom set we refinished and restored. Unlike the art deco nightstand, this one was lightweight, with gorgeous woodgrain hiding beneath the watermarks and rings on the top and a few minor scratches on the sides. But it had great bones, so to do it justice, needed carefully detailed stripping. Because of the curved edge in the waterfall furniture style, refinishing is time consuming work, but well

Waterfall Nightstand After

worth it.

The grooves on the outer edges of this piece was where the old stain accumulated once stripper was applied so I used a wood carving tool and carefully scraped out all the extra gunk (that's what I call it!) This made it easier to sand and ultimately stain with the golden pecan stain I selected to match the other furniture in this set, which was a set of dressers a headboard and footboard.

This nightstand was my favorite piece because it was cute and tiny, thus easier to handle than the larger furniture items. I could pick it up and place it on my work table (saving my back in the process) so I could get a better look at the work that it required.

Art Deco Nightstand

Art Deco Nightstand Before

This art deco nightstand matches the dresser and vanity as part of an

Art Deco Nightstand After

art deco bedroom set restoration. This vanity had broken veneer on the top left and bottom left panels as well as noticeable amount of water damage.

To do this right, we removed the handles, drawer and door (as in the dresser) and replaced the broken veneer sections with new matching veneer, then continued the process of stripping, sanding and staining, using cherry stain and three coats of semi-gloss polyurethane to match the other two pieces in the set.

The lower portion of this nightstand opened like a door and had a single shelf on the inside which was just a piece of cardboard laid on top of two flimsy strips of wood that weren't original to the cabinet. We made a new shelf stained it to match and nailed it to the wood strips; much stronger than cardboard and allowing more options for storage on the bottom of this nightstand.

Caned Parlor Chair

Caned Chair Before

Caned Chair After

This little parlor chair had broken cane on the seat, but was otherwise in good condition, albeit a bit scratched up. I had never done caning, but I knew that with a little research, the right tools and a bit of determination I could figure it out, so I began reading about caning and found plenty of videos on YouTube and other "how tos" in various sites on the world wide web.

The concept was simple enough. First step is to remove the spline, then pull out the damaged caning. Once that is removed, you chisel away any remaining glue and debris and clean out the spine groove so that the new spline can be installed. Since the spline comes in various sizes, you need to know what size it is before you purchase new spline, otherwise it may not fit. I didn't realize there were so many sizes!

Antique Piano Bench

Bench Before

Made of gorgeous walnut, this antique piano bench had seen many years of use and had the scratches to show for it. The wood was in pretty good shape, considering how old this bench was. The seat itself had been covered with fabric at least 2 times, each time adding a layer to the old instead of tearing off the fabric beneath.

The top fabric layer had a 1980's look, when mauves and pale

Bench After

blue and peach were frequently used together. The fabric beneath that had been a stained off white with bluish flowers, probably dating back to 1966. Yet beneath that layer of fabric was the "original," yellow, which was so deteriorated it crumbled as it was stuck to the rotted foam cushion it was stuck to.

Once I had removed the fabric, I realized that even though this bench seat cushion had been recovered three times, the very original seat had actually been caning, the splines still in place but the caning completely removed. The tell tale signs of caning were the holes that permanently left shadows on top of the wood. This was exciting because I instantly knew how I wanted this bench to look...back to the original caning, but first I had to tedious task of stripping the old finish from this lovely old piece to bring back the glorious wood hidden beneath a century of old stain, scratches and grime.

Solid Cedar Chest

Cedar Chest Before

Cedar Chest After

A good friend had contacted me about refinishing an antique cedar chest that had belonged to his wife's grandmother. Up for the challenge, I took on the job with anxious enthusiasm. When he'd brought it over, it had one broken leg, the lower left front had been knocked off. Luckily, someone had kept that original leg, therefore it was easily fixable. I talked him into keeping the wheels, which added character and made the petite chest easy to relocate once it was refinished. After the repairs were made, it was ready to refinish.

Tiny Antique Chair

Antique Chair Before

Antique Chair After

A nice woman had contacted about a small chair she had wanted refinished. The chair had been caned at one time, but had since been reupholstered, a seat had replaced the caning. The replaced seat cushion had been done a very long time ago. She said the chair was very old, but didn't know how old. I told her I guessed it was from the 19th Century because of its structure and the way it was put together.

She simply wanted the seat cushion fabric replaced and the wood refreshed. I removed the old seat and replaced the fabric with a lovely paisley tapestry fabric I had left over from a previous job. It was the perfect color and texture for this chair. I completely sanded and stripped the wood and made minor repairs to the bottom rails (they were a bit wobbly) and then stained the chair with red mahogany. Once complete, this little chair became a real beauty.

My customer was thrilled! She also purchased another chair from me and I supplied her with additional fabric so that the two chairs, while different in design, had the same seat so they could be used as a pair. This was a fun project as I'm always pleased to make my customers smile.


Antique Chair Seat Before

Antique Chair Seat After