Building an Adirondack Chair

Overview:

Adirondack chairs have been popular for decades and although primarily used as outdoor furniture they are increasingly being used for indoor use too. If you want your own, building an Adirondack chair is an easy woodworking task that can be built for a reasonable price. As there are many different designs for Adirondack chairs an experienced woodworker only requires rudimentary instruction to come up with his/her own design.

Start by cutting ¾ inch boards to the various lengths to match the requirement for your chair design and then cut the boards to the various widths needed according to your specific chair plan. Label the boards with a pencil as to where you plan to use them, i.e. back, seat, and arms. The backboards are actually called splats, which slide together to form the back of the chair. Use a compass to draw a half circle onto the back boards in the radius of 3.5 inches from the side and 3 radius on each end board, or whatever your plan requires. Us a jigsaw to cut on the outside of the pencil marks and sand the surface down to the pencil mark. This will give you a smooth surface.
Angle cut the front slats so they can wrap around the front edge. In addition you want to angle cut the cross piece that is used for support of the back slats.
For the rounded slat supports, cut them and assemble the seat section of the chair. Cut the arm rest according to your plan and then tack them together.
Mark armrests lap joints along with the middle back support. Cut them square so the armrest ends. Overlap each other on the ends of the support.
Pre-drill, glue, and fasten the armrests to the support. Countersink the holes, and plug them so they are not noticed.
Cut the back legs out so they will support the slats. Keep in mind that the cuts on the legs can be a bit challenging. The legs will be narrower at the bottom and wider at the top. Mitered cut the ends of the legs.
Cut the front legs and pie-shaped armrest support. Mark and pre-drill the screw holes through the legs and the seat supports, and fasten the legs to the slat supports.
Glue and screw the splats to the upper and lower cross member supports. Evenly space the splats to the support.
Turn the chair over and clamp the upper support then turn the chair over again and gap the splats. Now fasten the upper support.
Fasten the armrest assemble to the front lets and the splat unit is set on the support and fastened in the back.

That is all there is to building an Adirondack chair. You can leave your chair natural with whatever wood you chose or if you prefer, you can paint it. If you plan to use your chair indoors you could give it an antique finish or paint or stencil it. If you choose to paint it for indoor use any bright color will do. For outdoor, use I recommend a weather resident stain. Do not varnish as it will weather and peal within the first season of being outdoors.

Outdoor Furniture

Teak Wood Outdoor Furniture

For more DIY information Check out these Resources