The NorEsta Cane & Reed
Chair Caners Tips - Basketmakers Tips

Most of the following statistics can also be found at the back of your printed catalog.
Hand Caning

One hank (1,000 ft) of select chair cane will do approx. three to four chair seat frames with drilled holes.
A cane kit - approx. 270 ft, with one piece of binder cane included, will do one average size chair seat.
Soak cane in warm water for approx. 10 minutes.
To find the size cane you will need for hand caning, see following chart.
Size of Holes in Seat Frame Distance between Holes Center to Center Size of Cane to Order  
1/8" 3/8" Super Fine 2.00 mm
3/16" 1/2" Fine Fine 2.25 mm
3/16" 5/8" Fine 2.50 mm
1/4" 3/4" Narrow Medium 2.75 mm
1/4" 3/4" Medium 3.00 mm
5/16" 7/8" Common 3.50 mm
Binder Cane is used in hand caning as the last step to cover the holes in the chair seat.
4mm = 3/16" width; 5mm = 7/32" width; 6mm = 1/4". Available in 500 ft hanks or 12 pc packs.
Press Cane (Prewoven Cane)

Press cane is used on chair frames with a groove around the edge. It is sold by the running foot.
Press cane should be soaked in very warm water for approx. 30 minutes. Measure in vertical and horizontal directions from groove to groove at the widest point. Then add two inches in each direction. This is how much press cane you will need for each chair seat you are working on.
To determine the size of Press Cane you need, measure across one hole plus two strands of cane.
The sum of this measurement will equal the press cane size you need, e.g. 3/8", 7/16", 1/2", 5/8" or 3/4".
Chair spline is wedge-shaped reed that is used to hold press cane webbing into the groove around a chair frame. The size spline you use will depend on the size of the groove in the chair frame. The widest edge of the spline should just fit into the chair frame groove. Grooves must be cleaned before adding new spline. Refer to size chart below.
Spline Chart
Size # Groove Width Size # Groove Width
7-1/2 11/64" 9-1/2 1/4"
8 3/16" 10 15/64"
8-1/2 13/64" 11 9/32"
9 7/32"    
 
Reed Chart
Approx. Width Approx. Ft / 1 Lb Approx. Ft / 1/2 Lb Approx. Ft / 1/4 Lb
3/16" Flat 380 190 95
1/4" Flat 350 175 87.5
3/8" Flat 250 125 62.5
1/2" Flat 175 87.5 43.75
5/8" Flat 160 80 40
3/4" Flat 150 75 37.5
7/8" Flat 76 38 19
1" Flat 57 28.5 14.25
3mm Flat Oval 350 175 87.5
3/16" Flat Oval 260 130 65
1/4" Flat Oval 232 116 58
3/8" Flat Oval 171 85.5 42.75
1/2" Flat Oval 86 43 21.5
5/8" Flat Oval 66 33 16.5
Round Reed:
Gauge Size # -Fractional Diameter - Millimeter Diameter Approx. Ft / 1 Lb Approx. Ft / 1/2 Lb Approx. Ft / 1/4 Lb
#1     1/16"     1.50mm 1660 830 415
#2     5/64"     1.75mm 1130 565 282.5
#3     3/32"     2.25mm 750 375 187.5
#4     7/64"     2.75mm 510 255 127.5
#5     9/64"     3.25mm 360 180 90
#6     11/64"   4.25mm 200 100 50
#7     13/64"   5.00mm 153 76.5 38.25
#8     7/32"     6.00mm 112 56 28
#9     1/4"       7.00mm 101 50.5 25.25
#10   19/64"   8.00mm 80 40 20
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Mathematical Conversions
If you have the inches, and need to know the millimeters:   If you have the millimeters, and need to know the inches: 
1/16 inch = almost 2mm   1mm = just over 1/32 inch 14mm = almost 9/16 inch
1/8 inch = just barely over 3mm   2mm = just over 1/16 inch 15mm = almost 19/32 inch
1/4 inch = just barely over 6mm   3mm = almost 1/8 inch 16mm = 5/8 inch
3/8 inch = almost 10mm   4mm = 5/32 inch (= a bit over 1/8 inch) 17mm = almost 11/16 inch
1/2 inch = almost 13mm   5mm = just over 3/16 inch 18mm = just over 11/16 inch
5/8 inch = 16mm   6mm = almost 1/4 inch 19mm = 3/4 inch
3/4 inch = 19mm   7mm = almost 9/32 inch (= a bit over 1/4 inch) 20mm = 25/32 inch
7/8 inch = just barely over 22mm   8mm = 5/16 inch 21mm = just over 13/16 inch
1 inch = 25.4mm   9mm = almost 3/8 inch 22mm = almost 7/8 inch
    10mm = just over 3/8 inch 23mm = 29/32 inch
    11mm = almost 7/16 inch 24mm = just over 15/16 inch
    12mm = almost 15/32 inch (= almost 1/2 inch) 25mm = almost 1 inch
    13mm = just over 1/2 inch