Rawhide sources

[jim in albany]

Hi. I've decided to weave rawhide seats for my canoe. I was wonder if anybody had some words of advice in general and answers to a couple of questions in particular:

1) What is a good source for rawhide. On the web I've been able to locate a couple. One, www.chichesterinc.com has spools of about 200 yds. for $70.

2) what is a good width to use. I'm thinking 3/16" since my holes are 1/4". 1/8" lacing seems like it might be a bit on the thin side.

Thanks,

Jim

[Andy Meyer]

I though about leather for my seats, but my concern was that if it got wet (it will) how will it hold up. My biggest fear was that of it stretching and becoming loose, making a very uncomfortable seat as you are sitting on the frame and not the seat. The other concern was for the sun and water eroding it over a couple of years... I think if you kept the leather well treated, you will likely have none of these problems though. I'm doing mine with cane. Just waiting for the varnish so I can varnish the seat frames before caning them.
However, I think they'd be awesome looking seats... I hope you post a picture or two!

Andy

[Todd Bradshaw]

I always got mine from the snowshoe manufacturing companies. They sold it by the pound in various widths. I don't know whether they still do, but that's where I would start looking. Given the option, always buy the full-grain stuff, not the split-grain as it's much better quality and more durable. Rawhide seats should be varnished after lacing, which protects it from U.V. and moisture.

In comparison to cane, even when unvarnished, rawhide is probably more water resistant and less prone to stretching when wet (as well as when dry). You can soak cane material for half an hour and it's plenty soft enough to weave into seats. Rawhide takes more like half a day or more to really soften enough to get workable. It can be abrasive, so you want to be sure the strands have their smooth sides up and any splices are under the frame parts, not where you have to sit on them. Also, after the stuff has dried for a couple days, you can go over it with your hand feeling for any rough or sharp edges (usually on the corners of the strands) . If you find some you can take a small scrap of sandpaper and round over the sharp edge a bit before varnishing.

Lastly, be aware of your storage situation. It's the same exact material that rawhide dog chews are made of. My black lab figured out in no time what the gunwales of my big fur trade canoe were wrapped with. He licks them, but can't figure out how to get any of the wrappings off the boat. To a hungry mouse in the middle of winter, a pair of rawhide-laced canoe seats would be free lunch for a month.

[Guest]

Sorry, I got interrupted. If you are lacing through holes in the frame (which is unusual, but was sometimes done in the past) I'd use the biggest stuff that will fit through the holes. Thin, 1/8" rawhide would take a very tightly woven pattern in order to get enough strength. Most rawhide seats are built without holes and with lace between 1/4" and 1/2" wide. It's wrapped around the frame members, rather than laced through holes.

[Glen Smith]

Hi Jim, one fella who used to post here made his seats using 3/16" rawhide but didn't like them at all. He then redid them using 3/8" full-grain and laced with the convex side up. Once done he washed it all down with a hose and let dry. Then sanded any rough spots before varnishing. Here is one source of rawhide: http://www.cariboucry.com/storefront/fa ... ories.html

[Jim D]

An alternative to rawhide is nylon snowshoe cord, I've used this for years and love it!!.. There's virtually no maintenance needed!.. When varnished it looks just like rawhide... Polyurethane will leave it white in color at least in my experience.. One word of caution, don't lace it tight as the varnish tends to shrink it!.. I use 1/2in cord and my holes are spaced at 3/4in... I get it from <http://www.snowshoe.com> Good Luck!!! Jim

[Jim D]

I'll try and post to save you the typing.www.snowshoe.com
<www.snowshoe.com>
www.snowshoe.com

[jim in Albany]

Thanks to all who weighed in. I was aware that varmints might find rawhide seats a tempting treat but hope that after treating them with boiled linseed oil and varnish, they'll more dimly viewed. I figure I'd pull the seats out in the winter and keep them inside.

I had originally planned to weave plastic cane seats (ergo, the holes) but then couldn't bring myself to do it; I couldn't get past the artificiality of the stuff. True, the canoe uses plenty of man-made, even "space age" materials but they're mostly hidden from site. Besides, why not stive for authenticity where you can?

Hey, Glen, thanks for the link. You saved me 50% on the rawhide!

Maybe I'll have enough left over for a pair of snowshoes...

-jim