I must say this was the most nicest, neatest & most carefully done Cesca chair restoration by far. The pursuit of perfection came at a price sadly. Hope those fingers are okay! Stay safe! Love to see more.
Thanks Aditya! I was lucky to get away with a few stitches. It was my first time using a chisel and I learned they are much sharper than I thought! Thanks for watching!
This was a great video and really helped me re-cane my chair. Using the 4 wedges is a must - I followed the advice of the company in the UK where I bought the cane , who said it wasn't necessary, and my cane ended up a little "squiffy". Personally I found trimming the cane with a craft knife easier and quicker than using a chisel though - it may be that my chisel skills are lacking! Thanks for taking the time to post it!
Excellent execution and superb video editing! Thanks for sharing your skills - i have 2 very similar chairs that need to be recaned so this video is invaluable.
I own the same chair, sold as real Knoll Cesca 1978 ish, the mother of that Star Wars guy who did make one of the best new Star Wars movies ever. We have this chair for generation, i need to restore it too. great job you did, rust on it, never on my chair, was always inside, light finish, that i did, some gut need to do a new deck. BTW, i do own a real Thonet Austrian model too now, the tubes are way way better, no plastic metal stoppers as on the Knoll, the glew wood things in the Knoll, lol.
The Cesca chair was never patented, so there is no 'real' Cesca chair per se. And from experience, those Italian made ones are as good as Knoll ones. Whatever the producer, caning always needs to be done after some years. This was a beautiful restoration by the way.
You've found a recent take on the classic 1927 "Bauhaus" chair. Almost 100 years later it still looks modern, the sign of a design classic. Many have been made and yours was sold by Habitat in the 80s flat-packed for home assembly. They cost about £20 in the 1980s, they also came with arms for a bit more money. Nice job, you'd have done better to work on the seat and back on a work bench. Don't use a hammer to bash in the cane, use the edge of one of your wedges under the hammer to avoid pushing the cane in too far and marking or denting it. Also use a sharp Stanley knife to trim off the excess rattan, taking care to keep hands out of the way. But well done on restoring a classic.
Hi, i'm very interested in how you can tell it's from Habitat, as I picked one up from a charity shop in London the other day fro £10, with a hole in the seat. I know the design was licensed out to Knoll, Thonet, Gavina & Habitat, but struggling to make out which (if any) manufactured the one i've bought. It has the same Made in Italy sticker as the one in the video but with a different number. It also has 4 of those rubber clasps on the feet. Mine looks exactly the same as this. But yes, would be very interested in how you would know it's Habitat?
Hi! Sounds like you got a great deal! Unfortunately I don't know very much about distinguishing these different manufacturers. Did you succeed in restoring the chair?
Thank you for this! Must have looked 10 sites and 4 other videos- yours is the one that makes sense. One question- would one seal or stain the cane as well? I know their appearance is usually left bare/ natural, but idk if there’s some kind of conditioner or sealant that would be beneficial, or some periodic upkeep …?
Hi Lexi, thanks for watching! I believe the best way to take care of the cane once it't in place is to use the chair plenty. There may be some conditioning products you can buy, but keeping the chair "broken-in" will help it from rotting and cracking.
Hi. I love this video. I’m repairing a Cesca for first time in my life atm haha and your video it’s my guide. I was just wondering what kind of brush did you use to clean the spline canal? I checked your blog but I don’t see it listed in the materials. Thank you so much !
Hi Pau, There is a first time for everything! The brush that I used was a firm-bristle brush. I've seen them called "Utility Brush" or "Detail Brush". You should be able to find one at any hardware store. I would avoid anything with wire/metal bristles, as it will scratch the wood. Thank you for reading the blog and good luck with your restoration!
Hi! There is a link in the description to my website, where you will find a full list of materials and some purchase links. Broadly, I would recommend Etsy for purchasing the cane.
You should be using a 1/8" chisel cutting out spline along the length of the groove. Levering it out perpendicular to the groove only damages the wood frame. And get a small mallet. Damaging the frame even more with that hammer. You are going to slice yourself using a single edge blade. This is what utility knives are for. One more thing, you only cut out the excess cane after the spline is set and the glue dried... slicing the outside edge with a utility knife. Again, causing more damage to the frame.
I must say this was the most nicest, neatest & most carefully done Cesca chair restoration by far. The pursuit of perfection came at a price sadly. Hope those fingers are okay! Stay safe! Love to see more.
Thanks Aditya! I was lucky to get away with a few stitches. It was my first time using a chisel and I learned they are much sharper than I thought! Thanks for watching!
This was a great video and really helped me re-cane my chair. Using the 4 wedges is a must - I followed the advice of the company in the UK where I bought the cane , who said it wasn't necessary, and my cane ended up a little "squiffy". Personally I found trimming the cane with a craft knife easier and quicker than using a chisel though - it may be that my chisel skills are lacking! Thanks for taking the time to post it!
Thanks for watching Alan! As you can tell from my injury, my chiseling skills are a little shabby. I'll have to try a craft knife next time.
what site did you get them from in the UK?!
Excellent execution and superb video editing! Thanks for sharing your skills - i have 2 very similar chairs that need to be recaned so this video is invaluable.
Great feedback Adam! You’re going to give those chairs new life!
I own the same chair, sold as real Knoll Cesca 1978 ish, the mother of that Star Wars guy who did make one of the best new Star Wars movies ever.
We have this chair for generation, i need to restore it too. great job you did, rust on it, never on my chair, was always inside, light finish, that i did, some gut need to do a new deck.
BTW, i do own a real Thonet Austrian model too now, the tubes are way way better, no plastic metal stoppers as on the Knoll, the glew wood things in the Knoll, lol.
Thank you !
Always wanted to see a video about this, thank you Bounty Archive for another great visual experience on my Monday morning!
Thanks Erik Reeves!
A real Cesca wouldnt have caps on the chrome, the ends would be solid. Thank you for your video, it helps a lot.
Good luck with your restoration!
Good to know. I always wondered how you could tell a real cesca from newer models or replicas.
The Cesca chair was never patented, so there is no 'real' Cesca chair per se. And from experience, those Italian made ones are as good as Knoll ones. Whatever the producer, caning always needs to be done after some years.
This was a beautiful restoration by the way.
Seriously the best how to video I've seen! Hope your fingers healed okay!
Thank you Brigitte!!!!
You've found a recent take on the classic 1927 "Bauhaus" chair. Almost 100 years later it still looks modern, the sign of a design classic. Many have been made and yours was sold by Habitat in the 80s flat-packed for home assembly. They cost about £20 in the 1980s, they also came with arms for a bit more money.
Nice job, you'd have done better to work on the seat and back on a work bench. Don't use a hammer to bash in the cane, use the edge of one of your wedges under the hammer to avoid pushing the cane in too far and marking or denting it. Also use a sharp Stanley knife to trim off the excess rattan, taking care to keep hands out of the way. But well done on restoring a classic.
Hi, i'm very interested in how you can tell it's from Habitat, as I picked one up from a charity shop in London the other day fro £10, with a hole in the seat. I know the design was licensed out to Knoll, Thonet, Gavina & Habitat, but struggling to make out which (if any) manufactured the one i've bought. It has the same Made in Italy sticker as the one in the video but with a different number. It also has 4 of those rubber clasps on the feet. Mine looks exactly the same as this. But yes, would be very interested in how you would know it's Habitat?
Hi! Sounds like you got a great deal! Unfortunately I don't know very much about distinguishing these different manufacturers. Did you succeed in restoring the chair?
Thank you for the great tips! I'll remember these when I try this restoration again in the future.
I am now excited to do mine, thank you!
Right on! Good luck 👍🏼
Excellent video
Thank you!
Love your video! What color stain did you use here?
Thank you! Oof I wish I remember. I'm sure it was a lighter shade of Minwax, but I cant say for sure what color.
Hi from France, great video! What size is the reed soline you used, here we don’t have any penny and my chair looks exactly the same as yours!
Hi! Pardon the late reply, and thank you for the kind words! I used #9 spline for this video (1/4").
When you attached the cane, you had the frames attached to the chair. Can I just recane the frame on a flat surface and then attach them to the chair?
Hi! Yes, you can certainly do this too.
Thank you so much!
Hope the video was helpful!
Very good!
Thank you very much!
I’m glad my video was useful! I hope you can sit in your chair soon!
Neat job!!
Thanks so much!
Thank you for the kind words!
GREAT Video Thanks❤
My pleasure!
Thank you for this! Must have looked 10 sites and 4 other videos- yours is the one that makes sense. One question- would one seal or stain the cane as well? I know their appearance is usually left bare/ natural, but idk if there’s some kind of conditioner or sealant that would be beneficial, or some periodic upkeep …?
Hi Lexi, thanks for watching! I believe the best way to take care of the cane once it't in place is to use the chair plenty. There may be some conditioning products you can buy, but keeping the chair "broken-in" will help it from rotting and cracking.
Hi. I love this video. I’m repairing a Cesca for first time in my life atm haha and your video it’s my guide. I was just wondering what kind of brush did you use to clean the spline canal? I checked your blog but I don’t see it listed in the materials. Thank you so much !
Hi Pau,
There is a first time for everything! The brush that I used was a firm-bristle brush. I've seen them called "Utility Brush" or "Detail Brush". You should be able to find one at any hardware store. I would avoid anything with wire/metal bristles, as it will scratch the wood. Thank you for reading the blog and good luck with your restoration!
Do you have a link of where you git the supplies?
Hi! This article on my website has links to purchase many of the supplies: www.bountyarchive.com/archive/how-to-re-cane-a-chair
Tha k you so Much!!!⚘️✨️
How long did it take you to do all of this? I've got 8 to go through, haha.
Haha you might be in for it. Maybe you could go beastmode over a weekend and do them all assembly-line style.
Where to I purchase the cane...?
Hi! There is a link in the description to my website, where you will find a full list of materials and some purchase links. Broadly, I would recommend Etsy for purchasing the cane.
You should be using a 1/8" chisel cutting out spline along the length of the groove. Levering it out perpendicular to the groove only damages the wood frame. And get a small mallet. Damaging the frame even more with that hammer. You are going to slice yourself using a single edge blade. This is what utility knives are for.
One more thing, you only cut out the excess cane after the spline is set and the glue dried... slicing the outside edge with a utility knife. Again, causing more damage to the frame.
Thank you for the information! Are you a chair-fixer-upper?
The big problem is often to remove wedge thread without damaging groove. Better work on a strong table or so.
Good point! I would pay more attention to this on my next repair.
Finally!
Hope the video was helpful!