Wicker, Rattan & Wrappings

by Randy S Keeling

New ● Old ● Vintage ● Antique

Call me at ~ 503-684-5760
11740 SW Gallo, Tigard, Oregon (Near Portland) 97223
In the Incredible Fabulous Pacific Northwest, USA

Below is a list of our most common jobs. If your piece doesn’t fall under a listed catagory, or you’re not sure,
please don’t hesitate to call or email.
We can help!

Since 1975

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We Repair and Recane Furniture & Antiques with:

Wicker, Rattan and Wrappings

We Repair & Do

In Tigard / Portland, Oregon, Near Washington Square.

New – Old – Vintage – Antique.


Wicker ~ Rattan and Wrappings

How do you – I fix or repair wicker or rattan chairs?

How to fix or repair wicker or rattan chairs?

Rattan is a type of climbing palm plant, which grows primarily in the tropical regions of Indonesia and China. The outer bark or skin of the long climbing vine is removed from the Rattan Pole, then cut into very thin strips to become cane for using in cane chair seats. It has a very shiny surface, is extremely strong, and creates a beautiful chair seat that will endure for years.

Wicker is a term basically given to anything woven out a grown material. After the bark is removed, what is left is called the “core”. This material is often used in making the frames of rattan furniture, or may be further milled into various diameters of round material commonly called round reeds in many widths and diameters 1/16″ up to 5/8″, or into half round, oval or flat strips called “flat” or “flat oval reeds”. Whenever these materials are then woven, a piece of “wicker” is created. The technical name for this is rattan wicker. Other plants used in creating wicker items are bamboo and willow.

Wicker furniture has been with us for many generations. Wicker, rattan and cane are materials used in various types of furniture making, baskets and other purposes, both decorative and functional.

 

Repairing the skirt on the front of a Wicker Chair

This chair below was made by the Henry Link Company, as part of their “Smithsonian Collection” from the The Stephanie Inn, a premier oceanfront hotel located on Oregon’s beautiful north coast in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

Some rattan or wicker chairs have a special type of 2″ (the new material is now 1″ 15/16″) tan/light brown Pirelli rubber.

On some fancier models there is a type of two part metal clip that attaches to each end of the strap, then a special mating clip is attached to the chair.

Others like on the chairs above, there is a little 1/8″ groove going around the frame. The end of the rubber has a flat metal piece attached to it which then locks down into the groove on both sides at an angle.

If the rubber on your chairs is broken or has lost its ability to hold a cushion up, we can replace these for you. We can also sell you the rubber webbing and clips like above to do it yourself.

Rattan Wrapping

Most Rattan furniture pieces have joints wrapped with thin strips of rattan cane binding material about 1/4″ wide. Most often this wrapping is more decorative than it is actually holding a piece together. Sometimes, however these wrappings over the years have a way of unwinding themselves, or becoming worn or damaged. We can repair, re-glue, tighten and replace missing wrappings to make these items look beautiful again.

 

Teapot Handle

A recent little sterling silver tea pot with a rattan cane wrapped handle. This was her Grandmother’s and needed some attention. It was a fun little project.

Since I did the first little teapot above, others have found me and wanted me to do similar handle wraps for them too.

 

Pricing for Wicker and Rattan Repairs

These repairs are always different for every piece we do! No two pieces ever need the exact same repairs, even two identical pieces. There is no easy or simple way to give a flat price on repairs in this classification of furniture repair. Every thing in this category of work is a creative and time consuming project to figure out where you can best begin to marry the new repairs, into the existing work. Sometimes conditions like years of improper storage in attics or old barns of items, makes repairs of them very time consuming! Sentiment can be expensive here. Currently I charge $50.00 an hour for wicker repairs.

Since 1975

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Repairs

We repair and recane a wide variety of furniture & antiques.
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Tap or click your furniture below to find out more.

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