Adirondack Attitude

ADIRONDACK ATTITUDE

Text and photographs by Neal Barrett, with Rod Baker

It’s a good thing plastic patio chairs are designed to be stacked and that aluminium ones fold fl at. Because it means we can stash these eyesores out of sight as quickly and efficiently as possible. But, if like us you think outdoor furniture should enhance your home and garden, why not consider building the Adirondack chair. Having evolved on the classy porches of summer homes and resorts of upstate New York, USA, it’s a piece of furniture you’ll never want to hide.

Our version has come a long way from the earlier styles with their flat backs and seats — and we’ve added a matching table, so you’ll have a stylish surface for cool drinks and a good book. Although there are a few angles and curves to cut, there’s no fancy joinery – every thing’s held together with corrosion-resistant deck screws (alternatively, you can use stainless steel or brass screws).

Meranti is the wood of choice as it stands up well to the elements, and it’s available in the required 22 mm thicknesses. But you could also use SA pine if you plan to keep the chair under cover.

If you’re building more than one chair, it pays to make templates for parts like the side rails, arms and back rails. The patterns will also come in handy when your friends see your handiwork and ask you to make chairs for them too.

Hint: if you are going to make more than one chair, or table for that matter, cut and dry-fit each piece first, then secure with a single screw where necessary to ensure the fit is just right. Disassemble, trim and adjust if necessary – and only then use the parts of the first chair and table as templates for the others. 

Making the chair seat

Lay out the side-rail shape on your stock, cut to the lines with a jigsaw and sand the edges smooth. Then, cut the back rails to size, and saw the curves that give the chair back its concave shape. Note that the cut on the top rail is square, while the bottom rail has a 7-degree bevel.

Cut the seat slats to size and round the upper edges of each with a 6 mm quarter-round bit in a router table or hand-held router. Then, round off the exposed edges – those that won’t abut other parts – of the side and back rails. Keep the router table set up for this job so you can round the edges of the other parts as they’re made.

Because of the shape of the seat, most of the slats require bevels on one or both edges. Use a table saw, jigsaw, hand plane or power planer to cut the bevels.

Start the seat assembly by screwing the lower back rail to the seat sides with one screw at each end of the rail. Then, add slat No 4, again using only one screw at each end. Measure opposite diagonals of the subassembly and adjust it until it’s square – when you obtain the same measure on each diagonal, it’s square! When you’re satisfied, add a second screw to each end of the two slats to lock the pieces in position.

Use a 22 mm-thick block as a spacer to position the rear seat slat. Then install the remaining slats. Because the seat is curved and many of the slat edges are angled, don’t try to measure these spaces. Instead, simply arrange the slats by eye so that they appear uniform.

Cut the front legs to size and round the long edges on the router table. Mark a line on the inside face of each leg that indicates the bottom edge of the side rail. Then, attach the legs to the seat assembly with screws driven from the inside of the side rails [shown alongside]. 

Adding the back

The back slats are tapered to create a fan shape when installed. Cut each 900 mm-long slat blank so one end is 82 mm wide and the other is 57 mm wide. We did this on a bandsaw, but a jigsaw works just as well. Smooth the sawn surfaces, cut the curved top ends and round the edges.

Cut the rear legs to size, angling the top ends at 64 degrees. Clamp each rear leg to a side rail, bore and countersink screw pilot holes, and secure the legs with screws. Next, screw the top back rail to the top ends of the back legs, and lay the chair on its back to install the back slats.

Place a 100 mm block under the upper back rail to provide clearance for the long back slats. Mark the centres of the top and bottom back rails, align the centre back slat with these marks and screw it in place. Then install the outer two slats. Secure the remaining slats so the top curved ends are aligned and the spaces are uniform.

Installing the arms

Cut out the arms and arm supports, and round the edges. Temporarily clamp the supports in place and secure them with screws. Then, attach the arms to the front and rear legs with screws.

Making the table

The table is built the same way as the chair – all exposed edges are rounded on the router table and the parts are simply screwed together. Lay out the feet on 22 mm stock and cut to the lines using a jigsaw, then cut the remaining rectangular pieces to size.

Attach each foot with three screws, then bore pilot holes and screw the two stretchers to the legs. To assemble the top, it’s easiest to first clamp the pieces together with a couple of short lengths of 10 mm dowels as spacers placed between the top slats. Then, attach the cleats – use the base subassembly to make sure they’re spaced properly. Finally, screw the base to the top cleats.

Finishing

Lightly sand the chair and table with 120- grit paper. Keep in mind though that meranti comes in a variety of qualities; some is relatively hard, while other examples are very soft and feather easily. For a smoother finish, select your wood carefully and go for the former. In any event, you don’t need to achieve the silky smooth surface one finds on indoor furniture.

Having said that, sand all surfaces to a smooth finish to prevent the snagging of any clothing fibres. We finished our pieces with PCP wood preservative (Colbrite) and an exterior polyurethane finish (Woodoc). First, wipe all the sanding dust from the wood, then apply a coat of finish with a natural-bristle brush.

Allow each coat to dry as per the manufacturer’s instructions before applying the next. Should you decide to apply marine varnish, dilute the first coat by 10 per cent turpentine, allow to dry, sand, and then apply a second coat of undiluted varnish.

Allow to dry, sand lightly, and then apply your final coat. Three coats should provide adequate protection from the elements, but it’s a good idea to cover the pieces in the off-season if they’re going to be left outdoors.

Hint: to ensure the parts that touch the ground will get a good soaking of preservative and finish, place them in kitchen foil pie trays, add the solution, and allow the wood to really soak it up.

Materials list:

QTY. SIZE DESCRIPTION

• 2 22mm x 135mm x 845mm Meranti side rail
• 1 22mm x 110mm x 590mm Meranti top back rail
• 1 22mm x 90mm x 590mm Meranti bottom back rail
• 9 22mm x 60mm x 590mm Meranti seat slat
• 7 22mm x 85mm x 900mm Meranti back slat
• 2 22mm x 110mm x 520mm Meranti front leg
• 2 22mm x 65mm x 736,6mm Meranti back leg
• 2 22mm x 70mm x 165mm Meranti arm bracket
• 2 22mm x 135mm x 710mm Meranti arm
• 2 22mm x 135mm x 405mm Meranti foot
• 2 22mm x 37mm x 490mm Meranti cleat
• 2 22mm x 125mm x 420 Meranti leg
• 2 22mm x 125mm x 445mm Meranti stretcher
• 5 22mm x 95mm x 610mm Meranti slat
• As required 40mm No. 8 Fh deck screw

Click here to access chair and table plans

This article was reproduced with permission from Popular Mechanics. For more DIY projects, visit the Popular Mechanics Web site at http://www.popularmechanics.co.za/content/home/main.asp