How to Cane a Chair
Hi there!
I’m excited to share how to cane a chair! Or at least how I did it! I had never caned a chair before finding these beautiful antique cane chairs on the Facebook Marketplace. They needed their seats replaced, but for $20 for both I decided this was a sign it’s time to learn! It was a bit intimidating, but what a fun project it turned out to be!
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Tools and Supplies Needed to Cane a Chair
Here’s a list of the tools and supplies I used to re cane the chairs:
- hammer
- caning chisel (they come in different sizes so be sure to get one that will fit into the groove)
- wood chisel
- shims
- wood glue
- drop cloth
- splining (make sure to measure for length and width)
- replacement caning
- wood wedges
- stain (optional)
I created a folder for this project on my Amazon storefront and you can find everything I used linked below!
ALL THE TOOLS AND SUPPLIES ARE LINKED HERE!
BEFORE
DURING
RE CANED
AFTER
How to Cane a Chair
Below is the YouTube video I made explaining the process
And here’s some written directions:
- Soak splining and canning in water for 30+ min before using so they’re more pliable
- Deconstruct the chair. You might need to use a hammer to get the caning chisel under the splining. Then gently work the splining out
- Clean out/remove any left over debris in the groove
- Square up your new caning on the chair and then remove the excess material
- Use a shim to press the caning into the groove. I pressed the caning in the front center of the chair and then the back center. Then worked my way around the chair from those points. You can also buy wood wedges to hold the caning in place as you do this
- Next use a small wood chisel and hammer to gently remove the parts of the caning that are sticking up above the outside of the groove
- Add a bead of wood glue into the groove
- Then gently press or hammer the splining into the groove on top of the wood glue. It should fit snuggly
- Allow for glue to dry and stain caning as desired. I used one coat of Bombay Mahogany followed by one coat of Dark Walnut to get as close as I could to matching the original antique caning.
- Let stain dry and enjoy your new chair!
A Little About These Cane Chairs
Along the way I looked into the chairs style and history a bit. They’re Louis XV style caned arm chairs and could actually be quite valuable. This amped up the pressure a bit for me haha! But I really couldn’t be happier with how they turned out!
LINKING SOME SIMILAR ONES I FOUND HERE!
How to Cane a Chair
The first chair was a bit of a learning curve, but I really ‘got into the groove’ on the second one. See what I did there? Lol! I imagine every chair will be slightly different based on age and style, but I think this really is a project anyone can do! We’re definitely enjoying them and this seating area so much! Let me know if you have any questions!
Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Sending love your way!
