Help with a rocking chair.

[ohheckyeah]

I just got this chair from my dad - it belonged to my grandmother and is probably at least 75 years old. There are absolutely no nail or tack holes to indicate what kind of seat this may have had on it. When I got it, it had a canvas seat my mom had made. The canvas went around the rungs and attached to itself. I have no idea what kind of original seat it could have had. It appears to be handmade and might have been made for a child but my grandmother was only 4' 8" tall so she tended to buy small chairs.

Any ideas? I'm not looking for how much it's worth - it doesn't matter if it's worth nothing. I'm just interested in what to do about a seat.

[X_Digger]

1. Split oak/hickory cane, likely.

That's a skill I haven't picked up (yet).

eta: They make a paper cord that might be easy to use instead of split wood.

[ohheckyeah]

2. ?? I'm not sure what that is.

Can you guide me to an example?

Thanks for the reply.

[X_Digger]

3. Here's an image..

[DURHAM D]

4. Maybe this will help

http://dla.acaweb.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/Ferrum/id/4846/rec/4

Scroll to the lower half of the pic.

[ohheckyeah]

5. Thanks very much.

I'm not sure what to do for a seat. I hate to start nailing or tacking stuff to the wood as it's quite old. I need to find someone who knows what they are doing. I just can't remember what the seat was made of.....the original disappeared years ago.

[X_Digger]

6. Twisted paper caning is pretty simple, and doesn't put nail holes in the frame.

It wouldn't look original, but it is something that you could do yourself.

[ohheckyeah]

7. Thank you.

I'm probably not that coordinated, but it's something to consider.

[DURHAM D]

8. I would suggest you look to the west -

to Appalachia for help. You can probably find someone in your state who does this type of replacement and get all sorts of suggestions.

[ohheckyeah]

9. I'm going to start calling around tomorrow and see who I can find.

I have no idea what kind of wood it is, either, but it has certainly stood the test of time. It sat out on a rickety front porch most of it's life and most of the wood is in pretty good condition.

[Warpy]

10. It loos like a copy of a classic Shaker rocker

and as such, would have had a rush seat, not a cane seat.

I found plenty of instructions on weaving a rush seat, the easiest seat to do once you've got the material. One of the clearest was at http://www.cohassetcolonials.com/fiber-rush-weaving-instructions.htm It's a little challenging because they're usually not square and are wider at the front than they are at the back. However, this is a job you can tackle yourself very easily.

[ohheckyeah]

11. Thank you...

I agree. I don't think it had a cane seat at all. I believe the rush is the most likely. I'm may try taking it on. The supplies aren't that expensive and it would give me a good project and a great sense of accomplishment if I could do it myself.

I'm re-decorating my whole front porch because of this one little chair. LOL

[Warpy]

12. It's worth it!

I love Shaker stuff, even Shaker stuff thrice removed like your little rocker probably is.

I wouldn't suggest you take on caning a seat, although it's simple once you get going. It's getting going that's the PIA. Weaving a rush seat is much easier and is almost instant gratification, it's so quick.

We need pictures when it's done.

[ohheckyeah]

13. I will post pictures when it's done.

The wood needs some TLC, too.

Thanks again!

[sinkingfeeling]

14. I'd say wooden slats. Kind of like this one....

[ohheckyeah]

15. Thank you...

I don't think that's what it had originally because the lack of nail holes. I found someone to do a rush seat for me for about $100, so that's probably the way I will go.

[ohheckyeah]

16. I've decided to try

doing the rush seat myself. I think it will be more meaningful to me if I do it myself and certainly more gratifying.

Thanks for the information and encouragement.

[Adsos Letter]

17. Not only more meaningful to you...

...but probably more meaningful for anyone who has it after you're through with it.

[ohheckyeah]

18. Good point. Thanks! n/t

[ohheckyeah]

19. Well, it didn't work out for me

to redo the seat of the chair. The wood was too hard and brittle for the little nails to hold the rush. I took the chair to a furniture re-finisher and he thought it was unlikely the chair originally had a rush seat. He redid the seat according to what he thought the original seat was. We decided to just lightly sand it and put a bees wax furniture wax on it.

Here are the after photos:





I'm happy!

[X_Digger]

20. Nice!

In a couple of years, that seat will age a bit and you'll never know it wasn't always that way.

[ohheckyeah]

21. I think so....

I knew it would be lighter than I wanted but I trusted them to know the best seating to do for the chair. Now that it's done it just looks right to me so they may very well be correct that it was the original type of seat.