Rewebbing dining chairs
If the original webbing in your dining room chair seats is ripped, torn or stained, it is very economical to replace it with factory-made webbing and spline, the wedge-shaped reed used to secure prewoven cane into the groove on the chair. You can order the webbing, spline and wedges you need for this project online. Rewebbing or recaning dining chairs restores the value of the chairs and saves you money. Doing it yourself with machine-woven sheet webbing requires some practice, and you need two people for the job. But is well worth the effort.
Instructions
Reweb Dining Room Chairs
1. Measure the opening in the chair bottom. Add 2½ inches to both the length and width.
2. Soak both machine sheet webbing and spline in bucket of hot water for 15 minutes to make them pliable.
3. Remove the old cane. Use a chisel to remove the old spline. Clean the groove. Do not leave any stray pieces in the groove.
4. Remove new, machine-sheet webbing from the water, and blot it with a dry towel. Use masking tape to hold the sheet of cane over the opening.
5. Starting in the center of one side, wedge the machine-sheet webbing into the groove around the opening. Use a hammer and the wedges to set the cane along the front. Leave the wedges in place until the entire front has been wedged into the groove.
6. Stretch the cane across the opening, and start at the center of the sides. Wedge the machine-sheet webbing into the grooves of all remaining sides.
7. After the cane is wedged all the way around the chair bottom, use a sharp chisel to cut off the excess machine-sheet webbing.
8. Remove the spline from the hot water, and blot with a dry towel. Put a line of glue into the groove.
9. Lay the spline into the groove. Pull it tight, and work around the chair carefully with a hammer and wooden wedge. Cut the spline where the ends meet. Let the glue dry for at least eight hours.
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