The Easy Chair

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Materials
2 pcs hardwood 1"-2" dia. x 40"
(backless)
2 pcs hardwood 1"-2" dia. x 18"
(front legs)
6 pcs hardwood 1" dia. x 16"
(depth-stretchers)
8 pcs hardwood 1" dia. x 17"
(width-stretchers)
5 pcs hardwood 12" dia. x 19"
(backrest rounds-optional)
Seat material-hide, fabric, can vas, burlap, etc.
Wood glue and 5/8" tacks

Tools
Hand saw, drawknife or pocketknife, drill, clamps (rope, bar or pipe), scissors

Assembly Made Easy

After you've drilled the above holes, the chair is ready for dry assembly (see illustration). Since the stretchers are an important structural feature of the chair and demand a tight, uniform fit, you'll need to create a small jig or template to assure a rigid construction. Simply mimic the chair legs by drilling a 1/2"-diameter, 3/4"-deep hole in a 4"x4" block of hardwood, then whittle the ends of the stretchers to fit in the hole. They should be snug enough that you have to twist the wood into the hole. Whittle and test all the stretcher ends before fitting any of them into the actual leg holes. Now the chair is ready to glue and clamp.

Glue can be made by boiling deer hooves with a bit of offal mixed in. Rendered and skimmed, this was the adhesive of the Native Americans. Today this is referred to as hide glue, and it can be purchased from your local hardware merchant. Nevertheless, any high-grade wood glue will serve the purpose.

First, glue up the long back legs where there are five 17" stretchers for the legs and the backrest. I spread the adhesive liberally on the stretcher ends and drop a dab in each hole. From here, simply twist the stretchers snugly into the chair leg until they're seated and glue oozes out. You can clamp the chair with bar or pipe clamps, but I use a good old-fashioned rope clamp by looping three lengths of rope or cord-placed equally apart at the bottom, middle and top-around the assembled back. After tying the sections off snugly, insert a short stick in each rope opening and wind it until the stretchers are forced into the legs. When the joints are tight, tie off the sticks.

Assemble the front legs and stretchers using the same process, then insert the remaining six stretchers to create the chair depth and draw them tight with more rope clamps. When you're finished with the basic chair frame, and while the glue is still pliable, check to make sure the chair is square by setting it on a level floor. If all four legs don't meet on the floor, then "rack" the frame by twisting or shifting it until the legs are flush and the back is slightly angled to the rear of the seat.

Sitting Down

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