How to Repair a Cane Chair
Repairing a cane seat can be very intimidating, but it is not as hard as it seems! I few hours of work and you’ll have a brand new seat (and save yourself $150+ for a “pro” to repair it for you).
Supplies:
Screwdriver
Scissors
Box cutter
Wood glue
Pressed cane OR cane seat repair kit - this is the one I purchased from Amazon and came with everything I needed!
First, remove the chair seat from the metal base. All you need is a screwdriver to do this!
Once you have the seat removed, use your box cutter to cut along the spline. This will help remove the spline from the canal. Once you’ve cut all the way around, use a flat head screwdriver to wedge out the canal. Be careful not to scrape the wood surrounding the seat! Once the spine is removed, you will need to remove the old cane and glue from the canal as well. Adding a few drops of water into the canal can help soften the glue and make removing it way easier. Cleaning out the canal is the hardest part of this process, so be patient as you clean it out and prepare it for new cane!
Once the canal is clean, you can apply the new cane. Soak your cane in lukewarm water for 30ish minutes before using it. This will make the cane more malleable and easier to bend into the canal without breaking. The kit I used came with several wooden wedges to help press the cane into the canal. Placing the cane over the seat with 1-2 inches of excess on each side, slowly hammer the cane into the canal, starting with one wedge in each corner, slowly stretching the cane as you go. Once the entire cane section is wedged into the canal, you can trim the excess cane. I used a mix of a box cutter and scissors to do this. After the cane is trimmed, apply wood glue into the canal and then your spline (again, the spline I used came with the repair kit I ordered). The spline is fairly easy to apply, just hammer it into the canal!
Let your cane dry overnight before sitting on it! If you need a video step-by-step, I have several tutorials on my Instagram. This short reel and this story highlight may be helpful!
