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Offline Flyin6

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Adirondack Chair Project
« on: June 22, 2018, 10:52:41 AM »
This will be a project thread on how to build Adirondack chairs.

I did not invent these plans but sourced them from a talented lady who has a web site, "Skip to my Lou"

The classic and simple outdoorsy chairs are beautiful and very comfortable in my opinion and my plans have always been to make a bunch of them and set them about my farm and primary home. They make great house warming gifts as well and possible heirlooms for the kids/grandkids.

Here is a link to the website and free download of the plans for the chairs:

https://www.skiptomylou.org/free-adirondack-chair-plan-printable/
« Last Edit: June 22, 2018, 11:11:57 AM by Flyin6 »
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2018, 10:53:49 AM »
Get the download, transfer it to a thumb drive and drive over to your nearby staples to have them printed on two 24" X 36" sheets
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2018, 10:54:30 AM »
Cut out the 12 patterns for the various pieces of the chair
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2018, 10:56:48 AM »
You can simply trace that out onto your materials or go one step further like I did.

My concept is to make many of these throughout the years as gifts, so I transferred the patterns onto some 1/8" masonite. I used some spray adhesive to permanently attach the paper, then cut out the sections on a jig saw
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2018, 10:59:06 AM »
Now this the cool part that both craftsmen and hippies alike will appreciate. Since I own a sawmill machine, I selected some Cedar trees, dropped them, then cut them up on the sawmill into 1" thick boards. I then further processed those rough cut boards squaring them up on a table saw
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2018, 11:03:46 AM »
I decided to start by building two of these chairs. The plans which are well laid out use boards from three different thicknesses. "Lou" created her original design using 5/4" X 6" Pressure Treated Deck Boards from Lowes. She was in fact contracted by Lowes to design something interesting for the back yard by that corporation some time ago and won some competition with her elegant design.

I'll publish the widths in a bit, sorry, but I don't have the numbers at the moment.

I ripped my rough sawn timber into the proper widths and cut out all the blanks for the two chairs:
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #6 on: June 22, 2018, 11:06:40 AM »
At this point, I did not have all the various archs and curves cut out, but it was time to plane or sand the boards to get them to a useable thickness.

Not a part of this build process, but I purchased a DeWalt Planner to take care of that task. This is one terrific machine, which I constructed a hasty table for.
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #7 on: June 22, 2018, 11:08:41 AM »
This particular machine runs at two speeds. The low speed makes a smooth cut that, frankly leaves a board which needs no sanding at all. The higher speed creates furniture grade cuts, which seem unnecessary in this material. Here is my first cut:
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #8 on: June 22, 2018, 11:10:05 AM »
After planing all pieces on both sides, here is the finished pieces ready for the schroll cuts:

This wood is absolutely beautiful!
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #9 on: June 22, 2018, 11:10:38 AM »
I completely love this new machine!
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Offline Bob Smith

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #10 on: June 22, 2018, 11:23:17 AM »
That wood should turn out some really nice looking chairs. Like your style for sure.

Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2018, 11:25:05 AM »
That wood should turn out some really nice looking chairs. Like your style for sure.
I am shocked at how beautiful that wood actually is! And to think these things are thought of as junk trees! Around here people burn them or cut them up for fence boards!
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2018, 11:41:47 AM »
Any consideration taken to drying the lumber?
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

Offline Tommy13

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2018, 11:59:31 AM »
Thanks for posting this up Don.  I'm considering tackling this exact project.  We need some chairs for the new casa.
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2018, 01:33:07 PM »
I completely love this new machine!

I give two thumbs up for that planer as well. In NJ we had a cedar back deck that was 26' X 90'. Spanned the entire length of the house. I pulled up all of the cedar board which were nailed down and planed the underside. Then screwed them back down. Most of the boards were at least 24'. Had to replace some of the boards but it turned out nice. That planer paid for itself many times over. Didn't have to sand anything.  :likebutton:
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #15 on: June 22, 2018, 02:42:13 PM »
Any consideration taken to drying the lumber?
About half of the boards were cut over a year ago. The others from logs that were sitting around for a couple weeks.
I'd like to dry the wood, but after thinking about it, these chairs will stay outside forever, so i just decided to run with it.
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #16 on: June 22, 2018, 04:06:45 PM »
Copy, looks good!  :likebutton:
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #17 on: June 22, 2018, 05:56:07 PM »
Wanna send me some planks in the mail so I can line my closets with it?


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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #18 on: June 22, 2018, 06:22:44 PM »
I bet your shop smells great right now!
Always loved the smell and look of cedar. I bet you feel great using wood from your land, milled in your machine, and eventually wood that you will rest your body on, sore from all of the hard work!
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #19 on: June 22, 2018, 06:45:44 PM »
I bet your shop smells great right now!
Always loved the smell and look of cedar. I bet you feel great using wood from your land, milled in your machine, and eventually wood that you will rest your body on, sore from all of the hard work!
I do love it

It seems so cool to just process my own stuff into other stuff I and others can use.
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #20 on: June 25, 2018, 10:59:40 AM »
Next, I spent some personal time with my saber saw, a 20 volt DeWalt unit which did a great job in this soft cedar wood
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #21 on: June 25, 2018, 11:01:50 AM »
The templates I created has the drill points for the various holes that are needed. I drilled 1/8" holes at all points, then enlarged the bolt holes to 5/16" using a forstner bit drilled from each side to prevent any unwanted breakout of the wood
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #22 on: June 25, 2018, 11:05:41 AM »
I am using 2" X 5/16" carriage bolts, washer and nuts. With my thicker than recommended pieces the bolts were a bit too short. I will increase the bolts to 2.5" for the next evolution. These two chairs are my test build set. I just wanted to work through all the processes to streamline the process. Next I will build four of these chairs as house warming gifts for the girls, but in the future, I plan to build many of these, mostly as gifts for peeps. I'll have this whole thing figured out by the end of the day...
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #23 on: June 25, 2018, 11:08:43 AM »
With all the holes falling within spec (Aligning well) I assembled all four legs
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #24 on: June 25, 2018, 11:09:13 AM »
And then the front cross piece
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #25 on: June 25, 2018, 11:10:14 AM »
Followed by the lower back upright support
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #26 on: June 25, 2018, 11:11:17 AM »
The front arm rest supports go on next using the two predrilled holes in the front legs
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #27 on: June 25, 2018, 11:13:00 AM »
On top of that, I screwed the arm rests in to the upright with one screw only to facilitate later on fine positioning of the backrest
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #28 on: June 25, 2018, 11:15:09 AM »
The only technically challenging part of this build is the required 30 degree angle cuts of the top backrest attachment point and the lower first seat board. I used a band saw set at the 30 degree angle and did A LOT of cutting!
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Offline cudakidd53

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #29 on: June 25, 2018, 01:30:33 PM »
Looking good there Don!
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #30 on: June 25, 2018, 04:04:21 PM »
Next I had to create a 30 degree angle on the top cross piece which captures the uprights. There are a variety of ways to do this. A belt sander makes a pretty easy job of it, since absolute precision is not required, I think it is a great expedient.
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #31 on: June 25, 2018, 04:06:22 PM »
That piece is supposed to get secured to the rear of the arm rests with carriage bolts, but my 2" long units proved to be too short, so I temporarily just screwed the pieces together until I can secure some 2.5" bolts.
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #32 on: June 25, 2018, 04:08:44 PM »
Then a guide board was clamped to the bottom of the lower rear brace so the back rest boards can be placed for measurement and checking. Everything came out just on the mark so after some squaring, it was on to securing those boards
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #33 on: June 25, 2018, 04:10:26 PM »
Although the plans did not call for it, I added a brace across the back of the center three boards to keep deflection to a minimum
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Offline Flyin6

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #34 on: June 25, 2018, 04:12:23 PM »
Then the angle cut curved piece which was a bit challenging to create was sanded and screwed down. THis piece is the base from which you add the rest of the seat pieces, so attention needs to be paid to getting this piece square.
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #35 on: June 25, 2018, 04:13:36 PM »
Then five of the seat pieces were sanded, spaced then screwed down to complete the seat part of the chair.
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #36 on: June 25, 2018, 04:18:22 PM »
I added an additional screw to the armrest, catching the supports and really stiffening up the whole chair.

So this is it, ready to provide years of comfortable shade seating or in the case of these chairs, on to finishing where some protective something will be sprayed on accumulating several coats before final deployment to the forward area reconnaissance mission (FARM)
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Offline Tommy13

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #37 on: June 25, 2018, 05:05:36 PM »
Looks great Chief!  The only part I think I'll have any issue with is the 30 degree cuts.  Maybe a bandsaw is in order?  :popcorn:
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #38 on: June 25, 2018, 05:41:19 PM »
Looks great Chief!  The only part I think I'll have any issue with is the 30 degree cuts.  Maybe a bandsaw is in order?  :popcorn:
Either that or a belt sander, aggressive belt and a steady hand
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Offline stlaser

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #39 on: June 25, 2018, 06:46:51 PM »
I just had a vision of these chairs being delivered, sweet tea and the hay fields overgrown and new cedar trees sprouting up everywhere over running the place. Probably some used appliances on a front porch even...  :popcorn:

Somebody falls asleep and no work ever gets accomplished again
« Last Edit: June 25, 2018, 07:03:37 PM by stlaser »
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

Offline cudakidd53

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #40 on: June 25, 2018, 07:32:42 PM »
^^^ That’s the point of the chairs - RELAXING - gotta grow more cedars to build more chairs anyway.
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #41 on: June 25, 2018, 09:12:14 PM »
I just had a vision of these chairs being delivered, sweet tea and the hay fields overgrown and new cedar trees sprouting up everywhere over running the place. Probably some used appliances on a front porch even...  :popcorn:

Somebody falls asleep and no work ever gets accomplished again

That's not a vision

That's a nightmare!
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Offline Bigdave_185

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #42 on: June 25, 2018, 10:54:04 PM »
When can we start placing orders for these? Mr Massproduction set up.   I’ll take two


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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #43 on: June 26, 2018, 01:18:14 AM »
Looks great and comfy!

Always wanted a planer, just can't really justify it.

Mass production, hello pre-rangers,,,,,,,,,
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #44 on: June 26, 2018, 10:48:13 AM »
When can we start placing orders for these? Mr Massproduction set up.   I’ll take two


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I knew this was going to happen!

So I am in the midst of making four more...for the girls...two each, both are moving next month into their new houses...

So last night, wife asks if I'll make two for a friend who is helping us do a wedding...
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #45 on: June 26, 2018, 10:59:59 AM »
They are nice looking Don, Quality piece for sure.
Living in the remote north hoping Ken doesn’t bring H up here any time soon…..

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #46 on: June 26, 2018, 11:12:34 AM »
They are nice looking Don, Quality piece for sure.
Thank Ya!
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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #47 on: June 26, 2018, 01:04:17 PM »
Bench in a box kit!!
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Offline moto123

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #48 on: June 26, 2018, 01:24:24 PM »
So .... did you sit in it?  My issue is typically the backrest is too short and my head lands halfway on the top board.  Building from scratch it would be easy to lengthen those pieces by a couple inches.  Just wasn't sure if that was necessary.

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Re: Adirondack Chair Project
« Reply #49 on: June 26, 2018, 01:31:53 PM »
Me likey!

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