Able To Cane  

Cane Chair Repair & Rush Seat Repair

Replacing worn out, broken, faded or otherwise inappropriate seating on chairs is our bread and butter.

The bulk of our business is cane chair repair. There are two types of caning for repairing cane seats: hand-woven and pressed. Hand-woven is distinguished by the tiny holes drilled through the perimeter of the seat. The replacement cost is determined by the number of holes multiplied by the cost per hole. Pressed cane comes in pre-woven sheets, which are cut to fit the seat and held in place by a spline (flexible "wooden" strip) around the edge. The chair caning cost for this is often determined by measuring the longest side, in inches, and multiplying by the cost per inch. Our cane chair repair is not limited to cane chair seats - bring any cane repair that you have and we'll take a look at it.

Repairing rush seats is the next most popular replacement. There are two types of rush: natural and fibre. Natural rush seating is our specialty. Hand-harvested cattails are spun into "yarn" that is woven around a chair seat. We recommend this for repairing rush seats in fine antiques. For a chair that is used every day, fibre rush is a great alternative. This is a paper product that comes in coils and is woven around a chair seat using the same technique as the natural rush. The cost for each type of rush seat repair is determined by the size of the chair in question, with the fibre rush running about half of the natural rush.

Porch rockers, with their reed or splint seats and/or backs, come through the shop often. We also do shaker tape porch rocker repair. Sometimes, only part, the seat or the back, needs to be done over. There is no set price as these chairs can vary greatly in size.

We are not limited to repairing cane chairs. Other repair work comes under the heading of structural. Re-gluing, for example, may be necessary before reseating. Occasionally broken rails are discovered while repairing cane chairs, upon the removal of old seating. Because the chairs get turned around and over during the process of replacement, we may be the first to notice a crack in a rocker or a newly forming split in a back. We want to make sure that your cane chair repair is of the highest quality, which means it may not be limited to repairing cane seats. The cost of a structural repair is usually not in a phone estimate of the chair caning cost as it only comes up when the chair in question is in our hand.

Bring us your cane seat repair or rush seat repair. The bottom line is that nothing can replace a visual inspection to determine the true cost of a repair. So call 207-615-8373 and set up an appointment today. You can also use the form provided on the contact page.