Caning, Spline, and More...

Painting

Stripping

Re-fininshing

Upholstering

Sewing soft goods

Small building projects

These are all things I say without hesitation that I can do. Replacing cane is NOT one of the things I say without hesitation that I can do. My first question is always, "Is it installed with bore hole or reed spline?" Which generally leads people to staring at me like I just started speaking Russian or something. But, for me it is an important question - it determines whether or not I can fix it or tell them they need to just upholster over the area. If it is installed with reed spline I can fix that - if it's installed with bore hole...lets just say I can't hand weave tiny strips of cane into an intricate pattern and frankly no one would want to pay me to do that because I would charge according to tedium.

But, reed spline isn't bad at all. When you have something that is this beautiful to start with, you just have to fix it!!!

Now, before you all think I'm crazy to love this piece, just look at the shape and the legs. I'm not super crazy about burnt orange velvet, but this piece could be seriously cool.

So I ordered some cane and spline 

Punched out the rest of the caning and got to work on what I like to dub "Spline Removal"

Sometimes this process is easy and all it takes is an awl and a little time. Other times it takes hours, a blow dryer, a chisel, a hammer, and many many growls that don't really do anything but I still make them because I can.

Then the fun part starts. Installation.

Then when you're finished you have something absolutely amazing to look at.

Oh sure, it still needs upholstery and you will be seeing it again once the upholstery is complete. I love the raw cane next to the stained frame. It looks so pretty and I could not be happier with the way this piece turned out!