WHAT IT TAKES
TIME: 1 weekend
SKILL LEVEL: Beginner to intermediate
Plop down in one of these solid wood chairs and you’ll appreciate the comfort of this traditional design. You don’t have to be an expert to build it either. All the parts can be cut with a circular saw and jigsaw, then assembled with a drill with a Phillips-tip bit, a few clamps and glue. Even if you’re a novice, you’ll be able to follow our plan drawing and clear step-by-step photos. And the Materials List and Cutting List will help you spend less time head-scratching and more time building.
We made our chair from yellow poplar. Poplar is lightweight, strong, inexpensive and easy to work with, plus it takes paint beautifully. If you have trouble finding it, almost any other wood will do: Alder, aspen, maple and white oak are excellent hardwood choices, and cedar, cypress, fir and pine are good softwood choices. Keep in mind that hardwood will be more durable, but softwood is certainly strong enough for this project.
Traditional Adirondack chairs are painted, but you can choose a clear outdoor deck finish if you prefer. If you do opt for paint, check out the painting tips located here to help achieve a tough, long-lasting and good-looking painted finish.
Enlarge the grids directly onto the board, or make a full-size pattern and transfer the shape to the board.
Once the shape is drawn, follow the lines with a jigsaw (Photo 1). Write “pattern” on the first leg and arm pieces and use them to make the others. If you’re making more than one chair, now’s the time to trace all the arm and leg pieces for each chair. The left arms and legs are mirror images of the right. Also, trim the small cutout piece of each arm (C) to make the arm support (K) for each side.
The two tapered back pieces are tricky to cut, and the safest way to do it is to cut them from a wider board. Draw the tapers shown in Figure A onto a 1x6 cut to length. Nail each end of the board to the tops of a sawhorse, placing the nails where they’ll be out of the saw’s path. Use a No. 4 finish nail on each end and hammer it in flush with the surface. Set the depth of your circular saw 1/8 in. deeper than the thickness of the board, and cut the taper from the wide end to the narrow end. Next, draw a straight line on the remaining part to define the second piece and cut it. Note: Before you begin assembly, sand all the pieces and ease the edges with 100-grit sandpaper, followed by 150-grit.
Lay the back pieces face down on your workbench (Photo 2). Line up the bottoms and insert 1/4-in. spacers between the slats. Cut your 1/4-in. spacers from scrap boards or scrap 1/4-in. plywood. Screw each of the horizontal back supports G, L and N to the slats with 1-1/4- in. exterior deck screws. Predrill and countersink each screw hole.
You’ll need to cut a bevel on the top side of the center horizontal back support (L). A table saw works best, but you could use the same circular saw method you used earlier to cut the tapered side back slats (H). Just set the bevel on your circular saw to 33 degrees, nail the 1x6 board to the sawhorses, mark the width and make the cut.
With a framing square, check that the back slats and horizontal supports are positioned 90 degrees to each other as you glue and screw the assembly (Photo 2). Once the back is fastened, turn the back assembly over, mark the top radius and trim it with a jigsaw (Photo 3). Screw the chair frame together Using your jigsaw, cut the notches on parts E as shown in Figure A. Glue and screw the front seat support (D) to the front legs (Photo 4). Next set the front assembly vertically on your workbench and glue and screw the back legs B to the front legs (Photo 5). Again, drill pilot and countersink holes for each screw. Then glue and screw the arm supports to the outer sides of the front legs (E).
Position the arms on the tops of the front legs and the arm supports (K). Make sure the arms hang 3 in. over the front leg and 1/4 in. over the inside edge of each leg. Before fastening the arms, make sure they’re parallel (Photo 6).
Screw the back leg support (M) to each leg (see Figure A) and then set the back assembly into the frame and clamp it in place (Photo 7). Make sure the back of each arm projects 3/4 in. past the center back support (L). Glue and predrill each joint, screw the assembly together and then remove the clamps.
To finish the assembly, predrill and countersink holes in the ends of the seat slats. Position them approximately 1/4 in. apart and screw them to the back legs as shown. Use a power screwdriver where possible, and a hand screwdriver in tight places.
You can use either a water-based or oil-based exterior primer and enamel topcoat.
Start applying the primer with the chair upside down. Use a 1-in.-wide sash brush for coating the edges of the seat slats, and then use a 3-in.-wide roller to apply primer to the flat surfaces and a 2-in. brush to smooth out the primer. Prime the back, then turn the chair over and prime the other surfaces in the same manner.
Let the primer dry overnight, then use a paint scraper to remove any runs and 120-grit sandpaper to lightly sand the entire surface. Apply the topcoat in the same order you applied the primer, then let the paint dry for at least three days before use.