14 Comments
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Dan Thompson's avatar

Has anyone ever used cedar bark to weave a chair seat? We don’t have hickory on the west coast but we have lots of cedar trees. It seems like I would have similar properties to hickory bark which I know has been used a lot.

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Brian's avatar

Have you ever written about how you do rush cat tail seat/weaving?

I did a quick search on your woodpress site and only found bark weaving. If you get around to using the material from the loft it would be an interesting article, at least to me.

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Peter Follansbee's avatar

no I've never written about it. I used to do maybe 2 or 3 seats a year for about 15 years. So never got good at it...When the weather warms up I'll try it again. You dampen them to weave with them, my shop doesn't stay warm enough right now for that or basket-making for the same reason.

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Stephen Alexander's avatar

Seems to me "decayed" here is being used in the now archaic sense of downfallen, or having come on hard times. For what it's worth

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Joe's avatar

Thanks! Are the rear legs straight on your example?

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Peter Follansbee's avatar

Usually straight on their backs - hewn & shaved a bit above the seat. Sometimes built so the back leans back...but no bend to the posts like many later ladderback chairs.

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Joe's avatar

Is it safe to assume green legs and semi dried rungs?

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Peter Follansbee's avatar

nope - bone dry rungs.

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Felton Harvey Bohannon's avatar

I am lucky to have a nearly-neighbor who makes great cornshuck seats. Being a rude southern mechanick, I was unaware of using cattail. Maybe he will undertake using some of that material as well.

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Peter Follansbee's avatar

Usually fall under the term “rush” seats - bulrush being the plant often used. I’ve used both bulrush and cattail. Bulrush is easier on your hands…

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Tom's avatar

I really enjoy the perspective on the past. It sounds like a hard life to be a working man back in those days. It all sounds so ruthless. I wonder about the quality of the work. I suppose it had to meet some standard, but maybe those standards varied depending on the craftsman's capabilities and customer base.

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Peter Follansbee's avatar

In some parts of England, the standards were set and enforced by the trade “companies” - what we might call “guilds” today. Here in New England some of those regulations were civic-driven. Towns often had regulations about work, workmanship, etc - especially in the building trades. But just because something is a law or regulation doesn’t mean everyone adhered to it. I’ve seen people drive over the speed limit if you can believe that…

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Joe's avatar

That plain matted chair looks a lot like an Irish Sugan chair. I would like to know more about the history and dimensions of your chair.

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Peter Follansbee's avatar

They show up a lot in 17th-century Dutch paintings. There are a few early examples from New England. Dimensions vary - depending on use. And much of what I know about that stems from the paintings - low seats for lap work, higher seats at a table. But the form of square posts, flat slats and a fiber seat is very common.

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