Build an Adirondack Chair: the Ultimate Outdoor Furniture
(Page 6 of 7)
June/July 1997
By John Vivian
Finishing
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Staining construction-grade softwood lumber isn't a good idea except for furniture that will stay under cover—on the porch, say. Traditionally, Adirondack chairs were painted dark green. More recently, white seems in favor.
For lawn furniture that will live outdoors (if you haven't pre-treated/primed as recommended above) saturate the wood in a good fungicide-containing, penetrating deck preservative and let dry in the sun for a week. Then sand, prime with an oil-base primer and paint with a hard, high-gloss oil enamel. Oil base is still the most reliable finish for outdoor furniture.
Lawn furniture tends to get dragged through the grass, abrading paint around the leg bottoms that are in constant ground contact and prone to pick up molds, rots, and boring insects. Using PT lumber for legs is the best long-term solution. The best non-chemical preventative we've heard of is to set the legs in shallow containers filled with rock salt and covered against rain with more foil. Used aluminum-foil cake pans are one idea for good leg-bath containers. What better fate for the reside of a fresh piece of cherry pie.
MAKE A DOUBLE CHAIR
1. This is fun. Make three "N"s as above, but for the center one, cut two lower-leg/seat supports from 1"-thick lumber. Sandwich the front leg and rear back support between them.
2. Trim top of front leg board even with top of rear leg boards.
3. Block up the "Ns" with center leg assembly in the middle; measure and tack in place double upper and lower back-supporting cross-braces. Adjust width as you like; the middle "N" allows a really wide settee if you want.
4. Measure and tack on front leg braces behind front legs.
5. Make and fasten seat slats and two side arms as above.
6. You may want to fill the space between thin-stock middle legs with a length of 2x4 and fasten.
TOOLS & MATERIALS
You'll want a good-sized, level, rugged work surface. A picnic table, 8-foot-long planks on sawhorses or a porch floor are fine.
A pencil and carpenter's try-square are needed to mark 90° cuts and assure that parts are square and perpendicular to the work surface for assembly.
You need a saw that will cut 2-bys. A crosscut handsaw will do; an electric-powered bandsaw or hand-held jigsaw is better (and will let you make more elegant curved cuts). A7+" circular saw makes straight cuts easier still. If you have a tilting-arbor power saw, you can rip boards lengthwise and not have to use standard-width lumber, and you can cut seat slats at miter angles for an elegantly fine fit.
An electric drill is needed along with several 3/32" pilot-drill bits (they break easily) and a 3/8" countersink so you can bury fasteners and make wooden plugs to seal the holes. If you have a drill press, a 3/8" plug cutter to match your countersink will let you make your own plugs. A small container of one of the new exterior/weatherproof yellow wood glues is good to bind the plugs in for outdoor use. "Gorilla" glue is better. Best is 2-part epoxy.
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