All of these terms represent the same process. The cane is purchased by the running inch & comes already woven. It is about 14-16" wide & can be cut off the roll at the length you desire.
This is a story about my first Pressed Caning experience. My friend asked me to fix her rocker. She believed it to be her Grandmother's. Because I wanted to try another caning technique & add to this chair caning web site, I decided to give it this a try. So here's my story, not a thing of beauty, but a learning experience.
The basic steps to applying Pressed Cane (as I undertake this, my first,
pressed cane chair project):
1. Soak the cane & spline for about 15-20 minutes.
2. Lay pre-woven cane over seat opening & center it, trim extra leaving about 1"
past the channel.
3. Press wedges into the channel at top & bottom of the seat. Try to keep this
fairly tight & straight.
4. Press wedges into channel at right & left sides of seat, again trying to keep
tight.
5. Continue to work out from top/bottom, alternating with the sides. Try to keep
everything tight as you work alternatively around the chair.
6. After placing several wedges around the seat & keeping fairly tight. Trim off
excess cane in the channel. Add glue to channel.
7. Starting at the back of the seat, press the spline into the channel. A rubber
hammer may help secure the spline.
8. As you come to a wedge, remove the wedge & keep going with the spline. Cut
the spline off when you have completed the circle around the seat.
Clean up & prep. The old caning had a huge hole, so removal was just taking a serrated knife & cutting out the old cane. This left the old binder to be removed from the groove in the seat rails.
I did not have a perfect tool for removing the binder, so tried to make do with a utility knife & small bladed screw driver. This is NOT what I should have done.
I have since purchased a special tool that looks similar to a screw driver, but the blade is the width of the groove & the point is like a chisel with a slight curve for prying.
Now, the correct way that I would try in the future, is to use a chisel to split the binder & loosen it. Then use the groove cleaning tool to work out the old binder. Pay special attention to NOT pry on the rail, because it is easy to damage the rail & then you'll have to refinish the rails.
Donna found this Caning website & offered the following as a helpful suggestion to remove the pressed cane. Thank you for sharing your expertise Donna.
"DEAR WAYNE,
I FOUND YOUR SITE VERY INFORMATIVE. MY HUSBAND AND I OWN A WOODWORKING COMPANY
AND ALTHOUGH UNTIL NOW I HAVEN'T CONSIDERED CANING MYSELF, WE HAVE HAD TO REMOVE
A LOT OF PRESSED CANE TO REFINISH AND REPAIR CHAIRS. I HAVE FOUND THAT TO REMOVE
PRESSED CANE, A CLOTHES STEAMER IS WONDERFUL AND MAKES REMOVAL EASY. THANKS TO
YOUR SITE I WILL CERTAINLY GIVE CANING A TRY AND MAYBE INCORPORATE IT INTO OUR
BUSINESS.
DONNA SCHAFFER
ABUNDANTLY BLESSED WOODWORKING" 3/04
Here the groove is cleaned out, ready for the next step. I had to do some repair of scratches I put in the rails while trying to clean out the groove. This added a lot of time to this project.
Start The Process by laying the cane over the seat & trimming off excess, leaving about an inch past the groove. Use the wedges to force the cane into the groove. Work on opposite sides (front/back & right/left), to keep the cane straight & tight.
After wedging the cane into the groove all the way around, cut off excess cane so that it does not protrude from the groove. Lay a bead of glue in the groove & start forcing the binder spline into the groove. It may be good to work on opposite sides of the chair again, to keep the cane straight & tight.
When you come to a corner or make it around the chair, cut the binder spline to make a nice looking corner.
The End Result. Another successful caning project. Now that I have this experience behind me, I look forward to improving my technique on my next Pressed-Cane Chair project.
© Wayne Sharp, 2002, 2003, 2004. All rights reserved. All work in these instructions & pictures are my own and may not be used for profit without my prior permission.