This is common damage for a cane seat. Aside from all new caning, the frame had broken and needed some work.
Note where the seat frame split down the middle of the holes.
The frame was disassembled, new wood glued to the original frame piece, then the frame was reassembled, new holes drilled, and the new wood colored to match.
The chair in the state it came to me.
'The new seat, ready for "aging"
The completed repair.
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Major Frame Repair Along With Caning
Things looked a little grim for this rocker, but it’s not as bad as it seems - especially since none of the wood pieces have been lost.
Yikes! What can I add here? The picture says it all.
My favorite part - ready to be used again.
First things first. Take it apart, clean it up, repair any broken pieces, and take a breath before putting it back together.
See the nail? They make disassembly difficult.
The afermath of removing the nail. This needs to be filled in and blended.
After reassembling and weaving the seat.
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Bent Wood Frame Repair Along With Flat Reed Weaving
This rustic rocker needed significant structural repair as well as more weaving than I’ve ever done before on a single chair. I used 1/2” flat reed and sealed it with shellac and dye.
The weaving was a major production. Fortunately, I saved the old seat and back to help get the diamond pattern right. There are a couple mistakes that I left in because I liked the effect they made. Serendipity!
The chair as it came to me.
The finished chair, after repairing the broken top rail in two places and all new weaving.
Right side. Yikes! This looks bad!
OK, maybe this can be saved after all.
Rebuilt and shaped. Ready for stain.
The finished repair. Almost all repairs show themselves if you look
Left side. This may be worse than the other side.
Haven’t we been here before?
This side needed more layers than the other.
It feels good to be finished with this one.