A how-to tutorial on caning chairs, a history of the process going back thousands of years, and a listing of the contributions the technique has made to the building of tools, furniture, and housing.
I appreciate the work these men put into this piece of art. And using simple tools to cut down the tree to get the bark for this chair. Now I will definately look at a weaved chair in a different light! BEAUTIFUL WORK !! I enjoyed this video.
Thank you very much, Sandee. Until we ourselves watched and filmed, we too didn't appreciate the time and skill that goes into one chair. Randy let me do a little of the bark peeling, and I can say from experience that it's very hard the get the thickness right, and not end with pieces too thin or with holes in them. Randy could have used a chainsaw to cut the tree, but he wanted people to understand how our ancestors did it.
Thanks for the compliment. I had never heard of a double knife before you mentioned it. Don't know if Randy had. Would it work on a curved surface like a small log?
I remember when I was a little boy my dad used white oak strips to cane a chair. I think he split a white oak into 1/2 inch blocks about 8 feet long and then peeled off 1/8 inch strips. Does anyone know the process of making white oak strips?
Loy, In researching in the process of making this video, we ran onto a video showing the process of making wood strips to cane with. I can't be sure the wood was white oak, but the process looked exactly as you describe.
MG, we don't know of anyone near you to do this, If the video doesn't have quuite enough detail, there is also guidance in the Foxfire books. Together, they might be enough. Sorry we can't help and hope it works out for you.
