My "Truss-Worthy" Chairs

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Naturally, once you've assembled the left side frame and stashed it away to dry, you'll be ready to whip together the right side of the chair. Remember, though, to reverse the position of the back rail and the front support. The longer D piece should be to the right of the triangle, and the support (E) to the left.

A Day Passes . . .

To finish your chair, just position the seat slats 1/2" apart across the side frames, mark where the slats overlap the top rails (each end should extend outward by 3/4" or so), apply glue to the contact areas, and hammer the slats in place, using a pair of 2" finishing nails at every joint.

You'll need some patience when you attempt to attach the first few slats, as you'll have a hard time keeping the side frames upright and aligned while you hold the slat in place . . . but you'll be OK as soon as the first couple of slats are nailed down and the chair gains some rigidity. Make a point to check each slat with a try square to make sure it's perpendicular to the frames.

Next, go to work on the back crosspieces. Position the first slat with its lower edge 5" above the seat, and space the remaining three pieces 1/2" apart. The ends should extend 1-1/2" beyond each back rail.

Before you flop your carcass onto your newly built handiwork, glue and nail the front and back bottom braces (G) in position, as shown in Fig.2. Place each one so that its lower edge is pretty much even with the top edge of the bottom rails (B). Set all the newly sunk nails, give the whole thing another 24 hours to dry, and then you and your chair will be ready to meet seat to seat.

I didn't apply any finish to my rustic set of yellow-poplar dining chairs because the lumber came from the floor of a centuryold house, complete with gouges and nail holes, and I liked the look. The functional simplicity of the furniture seems to call for a natural treatment, so I just sanded the pieces slightly and left them unadorned. If a conventional softwood were used, I'd suggest a finish made of a medium-dark stain blended with a bit of boiled linseed oil, to give some color to the "fresh" wood.

My wife and I liked our quick-and-easy chairs so much that we decided to make living room furniture in the same pattern. Our walnut rocker required that we make only a few modifications to the original design, and I suspect that even further variations on the theme (making a larger chair on a larger jig, for instance) are possible . . . and waiting to be discovered by some imaginative soul. Could that person be you?

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