Any carpenters in the Lounge tonight?

[Maddy McCall]

I want to build some chairs! I have a cool iron fireplace that sits on the edge of the bluff overlooking the creek behind my house. I want chairs that are comfy and big enough in which to curl up and read.

I like adirondack chairs with the ottomans but I am open to suggestions. Are adirondack chairs comfortable to sit in for a while?


Also, can you DU woodworkers suggest a good internet site that provides free plans for this kind of project?

Here are my next three projects:

2 chairs
Picnic table
Pie safe or baking rack with drawers

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Adirondack chairs are basics...

as are Morris chairs. They both are lounge chairs and are similarly designed to be comfortable for long sessions with books and drinks. Yhey're pretty easy to build, and you use cushions, so you don't have to go through the upholstery hassles.

Googling on either one will get you a gazillion plans. Don't forget to google "groups" and check out the plans recommended in rec.woodworking. Those guys are pretty good and rarely let you down where plans or techniques are concerned.

Picinic tables are even easier than the chairs, and again, plans abound. I think there were a few posted here a month or so ago.

For the pie safe, I would think about going for an old-fashioned tin or copper one. I remember seeing plans in a woodworking magazine years ago and it was impressive, and not terribly difficult. The trick is to punch holes in a fun design through the tinplate.

[LeftCoast]

2. I think you want the Christian save haven thread

:evilgrin:

[LynneSin]

5. I was just going to say that Jesus was in the lounge

:shrug:

[GOPisEvil]

3. I think the show "Hometime" buit Adirondack furniture.

You might cruise their website for plans. In fact, I think they purchased their plans from somewhere.

[alwynsw]

4. Google Woodworker's Supply

They have the plans for either free or VERY cheap. You could do what I did: borrow a chair that you like and make a plan from it.

Be sure to use cypress, redwood, or oak - or another wood that takes weather well or you'll be digginf splinters outta your butt next spring.

edited to add: You likely know these two things: Dovetail the drawers and GORILLA GLUE. GG beats woodworkers glue all day long. eing a polyurethane base, it expands as it dries, so wipe the excess well.

[jmowreader]

9. If you use Gorilla Glue...

store it upside down. Really.

Gorilla Glue cures in the presence of moisture. By storing it with the nozzle pointing down, and never, ever pointing it any other direction (you have to give it a pretty good squeeze to get it to come out with the nozzle open, so you won't come downstairs tomorrow to find a big puddle of expensive glue on your workbench) the air above the glue will remain moisture-free and you'll be able to use all of the glue.

This goes for any polyurethane glue, and there are several. But Gorilla Glue is the best, it's what I buy (except for turnings, where I use Titebond 2 in gallon jugs), and you'll like it.

A couple other recommendations: do *not* use redwood. The redwood stands are in such bad shape they need to put this tree on the CITES endangered species list. There are several trees there already; Lignum Vitae is the most prominent one. (Lignum Vitae is treasured for its hardness and oiliness; it is about as hard as mild steel. It is so dense it will not float. It is so hard you can't cut it with a wood saw. The Navy has a permit to import about one tree's worth every year; they turn screw-shaft bearings for submarines out of it, which last longer than any metal bearing. They turn it on machinists' lathes.) Oak is a good choice; it is in very plentiful supply. I would make your chairs from white oak, which has a closed-cell grain. Red oak has grain cells that are so open you can blow air through them. Other good woods for outdoor use are any of the mahoganies, Spanish cedar, ipe, purpleheart and redheart. Unless you've been working wood a while, don't get purpleheart; it's not much softer than lignum vitae. Ipe is slightly softer than purpleheart. Spanish cedar and mahogany are really easy to work; if you can get Golden Virola, a South American mahogany, that's going to be your best choice both from a workability perspective and from a sustainability one. Farmed teak would also be good except that it's extremely difficult to get glue to stick to it because it's so oily.

[Whitacre D_WI]

6. How about these:

[AngryAmish]

12. heh

[DancingBear]

7. Here's an easy solution

Go to your local neighborhood bookseller and get the following book:

Yard & Garden Furniture: Plans and Step-by-Step Projects - Bill Hylton

This will walk you through anything you need to know - Hylton is well known in the woodworking community, and his books are good for novice and veteran alike. Now, for some thoughts:

1) Use Titebond II wood glue for the project, not Gorilla Glue. That (GG) is used primarily for bonding dis-similar materials (i.e. PVC to wood) - it'll work, but Titebond II (or any other "yellow glue" rated to be waterproof and for outside use) is the better choice. This is just personal preference on my part - I have seen MANY plans that call for using a polyurethane glue such as GG for outside projects.

2) If you've never cut dovetail joints, or don't know what they are, you may want to practice... :) (you'll not have any need for dovetails in the Adirondack chair, however)

3) I think Norm Abrams has a plan for a pie safe lurking around - Google "New Yankee Workshop."

4) Woodworkers Supply, Highland Hardware, Woodcraft, Lee Valley/Veritas are all great places to find plans as well. They are all stores/Internet sites that cater to the woodworker. I love 'em!!

[jmowreader]

10. Google nothin!

Go to http://www.newyankee.com --yes, he has a pie safe.

Also try http://www.constantines.com -- lots of neat stuff, priced high but so is the quality.

For finishes? Don't play around, go to http://www.epaintstore.com/paint/sikkens_menu.htm and get some Sikkens Cetol.

[DancingBear]

11. There ya go!

I built Normie's router table a while back - works OK, except if I did it again I'd rework his sliding fences.

I'm taking a break now from a Shaker step-back bookcase w/arched glass doors on top, hidden drawers below. We'll see if the box-joint jig still works...

(drawer sides and back only, of course - hand cut 'tails up front) :)

[Zomby Woof]

8. PM ZenLefty

He is awesome with woodwork.