In message , Bev writes
On Sun, 21 Mar 2021 19:47:45 +0000, Tim Lamb wrote:

In message , Andrew
writes
On 21/03/2021 16:04, Tim Lamb wrote:
My wheel back dining chair seat has disintegrated (no corpulence
aspersions please). The puzzle is what was the original material.
The appearance is a thin version of hardboard!
Plenty of chair webbing and instructions on the web but I think
cutting and re-nailing sheet material looks easier.
Could it have been Elephant hide? Chair age unknown but possibly
Edwardian.

I think you need something that has a bit of 'give', like proper webbing
but the Uniroyal stuff is very expensive.

Maybe it was just a tough bit of leather ?.

Generations of bums have created a curved base which is now split. I
have a roll of webbing although nothing fancy.

The wooden tool used for stretching looks easy to make. The problem is
likely to be the lack of horizontal surface for applying the recommended
5 nails/staples. The original has a single row of domed brass pins.

Just reading some of this - it does sound as if it was originally
leather.. Is there a tannery anywhere near you or an upholsterer? You
may be able to get some furniture quality leather that way which you can
then use the domed pins with to finish it as before.

Not so. I have an offcut beside me. 2.5mm thick, plastic imitation
leather finish and 6 or so laminations of what looks like cartridge
paper.

I suspect that a rigid sheet material may be very uncomfortable and
potentially unsightly but as a 'fix' you could try hardboard covered with
leather. This will have a bit of 'give' in it and will retain the
leather appearance on the top whilst providing additional support.

I am allowed to use a cushion:-)

--
Tim Lamb