FIG. 26. METHOD OF FASTENING BINDER. THE SEVENTH AND LAST STEP.
In caning the seat special care must be exercised to avoid marring the varnished frame. If the needle is used in the fourth step the frame needs protection from it. Pieces of bristol or card board may be placed under the needle on either side of the frame. The needle is bound to mar the surface of the frame if this precaution is not taken.
In many instances it is policy to cane the seat after the old finish has been removed; this to avoid any possibility of marring the seat frame later. However, it is better practice to refinish the chair first, and cane the seat last.
SUGGESTIVE PROJECTS.
CHAPTER IV
Reseating a Chair; Cane Webbing
The seating of chairs with machine woven cane is a much simpler process than that of hand caning them. Under similar conditions less time and skill are required on areas of like dimensions. Machine woven cane, as its name implies, is a manufactured product made on power looms or machines. Commercially it is sold under the name of cane webbing. It is obtainable in widths ranging from 8 in., increasing by 2 in., to 18 in., and in rolls of indefinite lengths. It may be procured in meshes of varying fineness, utilizing cane of various sizes. In specifying open woven cane it is necessary that the purchaser indicate his wants in essentially this way: Ten feet medium open woven cane webbing, of No. 1 fine cane, 12 in. wide. A roll of such cane has been referred to in [Fig. 18].
Cane webbing may also be purchased in close woven, in both the plain and diagonal weaves. The specifications for purchasing are identical with the open woven except that the term close woven is specified together with the character of weave. [Fig. 27] shows cane webbing approximately half size, in open and close woven meshes.
As in hand caning, any boy with proper inclination who has had the necessary experience in the shops, may avail himself of the opportunities for seating chairs in his community. The educational and pecuniary advantages are identical to those mentioned in relation to hand caning. The relative ease with which he may acquire skill in handling the materials precludes satisfactory workmanship for prospective customers.