Build an Adirondack Chair: the Ultimate Outdoor Furniture
(Page 4 of 7)
June/July 1997
By John Vivian
5. Tack-fasten the front cross-brace to front legs so it is snug up against lower edges of the back-leg/seat-support boards.
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6. Loosen all tack-screws and reset framework as necessary so legs are all flat to the floor, and the frame is square, plumb, and level in all dimensions. Loosen screws if necessary and insert thin, wood shims into joints to square misaligned joints.
7. Fasten permanently.
Backrest
1. Select a backrest pattern from the examples (or design your own).
2. Cut back slats to size using Cutting Guide.
3. Tack a piece of straight wood as a temporary seat slat across back legs, a good 2" out from back supports (so you can mark on it to align back slats).
4. Mark center-points on temporary seat slat and both back crossbraces, then align the centerline of your center back slat with them. Fasten (two screws if 6" wide, one screw if narrower).
5. Arrange remaining slats and fasten. (If you prefer a fan-shaped back with a top that spans out to the sides, it is easiest to cut a narrow triangle from the outer sides of both outer slats. Or, if you have time, you can divide the excess upper-over-lower span between boards and shave lower edges of each.)
Seat and Arms
1. Cut your seat slats. They can be any narrow-width stock along the flat of the seat, though nominal 2" boards are specified. Leave equal and ample slots between boards for water drainage. Over the curved lip in front, use 1x1 boards to form a smooth curve. For a closer fit, you can cut these boards with angled sides (in a truncated triangle) or shave a 1/4" sliver off the lower edges of each board.
2. Lay slats atop seat supports. Measure carefully so slats will be evenly spaced.
3. Fasten narrow boards in front with thin (#4) 1½"-long brass screws. Cut counter sinks carefully in this narrow stock. If it splits, replace marred boards and then fasten with 1½" galvanized finished nails.
4. Fasten 2" and wider boards with single 1½" conventional #8 galvanized drywall-type screws.
5. And finally, attach the arms with two screws side-by-side front and back. For best fit and longest-lived joints, bed the arms in epoxy cement pressed well into the end-grain of the end-grain of the verticals and supporting cleats.
6. Plug all holes. Sand and finish to your liking.
The Footrest
1. Cut four legs per the Cutting Guide.
2. A footrest takes a lot of abuse and must be fastened especially well. With four carriage bolts or triangles of 2½" screws from each side, fasten front legs to back legs so forward-upper angle-points of both boards form a straight line and leg bottoms are flat to the ground. They should be mirror images.
3. Block up leg assemblies so they are parallel and square to one another, and fasten the 2x4 back-brace using one of the end-grain-fastening methods described above.
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