Guild - Adirondack Chair

Purchase of MDF Template

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:46:47 +0000

Hi All,

I was interested in trying to build a couple of these chairs and I can't seem to find where to buy the MDF template for the cloud/curve cut. Am I looking in the wrong place (tried shop.thewoodwhisper.com)?

Thanks,
Aaron

Chair is Complete!

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 02:35:44 +0000

After months of building, I was able to enjoy the afternoon relaxing in my completed adirondack chair. I didn't deviate from the plans and I ended up using african mahogany lumber. The finish I choose was Penofin as I wanted an easily renewable finish.

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Ebony Plug aid

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 01:51:25 +0000

I was working on the ebony plugs for the chair and it just seemed to take forever to get them to a nice polished rounded end. I was using Marc's tip of using the drill, but it still was taking a while. I kept thinking about something else I could use to polish them when it hit me. I have a Work Sharp with 3200 grit on the top wheel sitting on my workbench. I turned that on, and using the drill spinning the ebony against the Work Sharp, it polished them to a nice shine in a fraction of the time. It takes some practice to keep a steady hand, but worth it.

Hope that helps someone else.

Buzz

Adirondack chair completed

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:45:18 +0000

I enjoyed this guild build and was able to keep up with Marc. I didn't change any of Marc's and Aaron's design feeling that the look of the chair was exceptionally pleasing. In the past guild builds, I have made changes according to my needs and tastes. So thanks Marc. I'll be looking forward to the Roubo bench build.

Gerald

Attached Thumbnails

Done with my Chair

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 04:24:03 +0000

This is my Guild Build Adirondack Chair

I used cypress for all parts except the front legs. They are from a mystery hardwood. My brother-in-law was a shop teacher and would comb the ads for cheap wood. He followed an ad down to the docks where someone was giving away 3"x3" hardwood boards used to separate some kind of metal pipes or beams on a freighter from Asia. He gave me some boards to mess around with and I built the chair for his wife who was in a bad car accident and will be sitting around the house recuperating...why not sit in style. So I thought I through in the wood he gave me somewhere in the project. It has a lot of checking and knots and things but I think it still looks nice.

I am a beginning wood worker so I decided not to do some of the details. This was the first time I have done mortise and tenon joinery so the joints weren't perfect but I think with the added screws and careful glue-up it'll be o.k. over time.

For the front apron I just used the template to add a cloud lift detail and called it good. After watching Marc's video on how to do it with the table saw I regret milling my wood to size before watching the video or would have probably tried doing it the table saw way. I just didn't want to spend the time to mill up and then glue up the stock. My cypress was all 4/4 and about 5"-6" wide. I also opted out of the cool arm brackets and again just used the template to make some little curves in a single piece. Finally, I used walnut dowel instead of the ebony, not as cool but a good alternative for me. Finished it with two coats of the Teak Oil...smells so nice.

This was my first guild build and I learned a ton thanks to Marc's videos. I'm a visual learner so this is the way to go for me to learning woodworking and building my skills.

In hindsight I think I would have utilized Marc way more by emailing him pictures as I go and questions. Sometimes I would think "well I'll figure it out" and...no I didn't, I screwed it up, but I'm totally down with the learning process. I would have also used a harder wood.
Peace out!

Oh, put me in, coach - I’m ready to play today

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 22:40:03 +0000

My apologies to John Fogarty (topic title lyrics from Centerfield).

Well the lumber is bought and just hit my shop by lunch time today - just barely shy of 110 bf total of cypress.

Marc when my wife asks why so much I'm blaming you - you said if its possible overbuy - I got you on video saying it - LOL!!!! Really I am hoping its enough to pull off two chairs and accompanying footrests and a cocktail table for in between the chairs on the deck with a bit left over.

When I was in the lumber yard with the fork lift driver puling stock all we could find is about 6" wide 4/4 stock and i was trying for about 7 to 7.5" wide on most the boards (except for the 10.75" wide pieces to cover the center back panel of the chair). The jump- up from 6" that we found in the stacks was to about 9.5 to 10" wide boards (which came with a wide board up-charge unfortunately). When I took the pull ticket back in the inside sales guy swore there was 8" wide boards out there but after being in the heat and rummaging through the stacks I decided to just pay the up-charge then go on a hunt for the narrower 8" boards.

So this afternoon is all about cutting down rough stock and milling it. Hoping to have four front legs done by end of day tomorrow - will depend on how my energy and motivation holds up - LOL (and the wife wants to go see Transformers this week and we have family BBQ to attend so we'll see how much family duties/activities pulls me out of the shop as well).

Finished 1 of my chairs!

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:33:33 +0000

I had a little trouble with the square plugs breaking when inserting and I believe they took me the longest to make. These chairs started at 8/4 cypress with purple heart plugs. I finished with a seal coat of shellac and covered with 2 coats of (50%) thinned epifanes clear.

Thanks for the build Marc - it was very rewarding!

See more of the progress and my cramped garage shop here:

https://picasaweb.go...feat=directlink

Attached Thumbnails

Arm Brackets

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 01:35:29 +0000

I have a question to those having completed the arm brackets.

Do you think these provide sufficient structural strength laterally from pivoting on the leg support with 1 screw? I like the look of the design very much, though I am curious, do you think a steel plate recessed under the arm is needed for additional support, or is it plenty strong as designed?

Thanks
Chris

Finis

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:33:48 +0000

Finished my chair yesterday. I am not sure, but I think I used almost every power tool that I have and most of my hand tools. Heck, I even had to buy a tool (mortiser). I did learn an important lesson: I used hard maple and found that hard maple is called "hard" for a reason. I think my next chair will be pine.

Adam

Adirondack chair2

Album: Adam's album

Uploaded 06 Sep 2011 - 08:01

Done!

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:30:56 +0000

I gave myself a deadline to finish the chairs by this weekend and I made it! Here is a link to some finial photos. I had meant to take more pictures along the way, but just didn't have the time. I'm really happy with how they came out. They are very comfortable to sit in. The wood is White Oak, and I went with the Penofin finish. The finish gave the oak a nice golden color, which my wife and I really like. We will see how it holds up to being outside.

https://picasaweb.go...AdirondackChair

Mike

Alternate Apron Designs

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:49:54 +0000

A few weeks ago I posted some alternate versions of the side legs for the Adirondack Chair. Seems like I can't leave this design alone, and I have been playing with some different versions of the front apron. There were some good suggestions in the other thread, and pixels are free in SketchUp so here are some pics of my alternate versions.

As a reminder, this is the original published version of the chair, as Marc is building it. The bottom of the side legs have a simple curve and the slots in the front apron are straight, like the Gamble house dining table used as inspiration.

This is the alternate leg that I decided to use for my chair. It has a single cloud lift under the front edge.

After seeing this, some folks suggested a version of the apron that has the cloud lift element also. Voila, here it is...let's call this "Alternate 1".

and again from the front...

"Alternate 1" might be a little plain, since I removed the slots in the apron. Whatcha think?

Here is "Alternate 2", with the original slots added back to the apron and keeping the cloud lifts...

Too busy? What do you guys think?

Finally, here is "Alternate 3" with a different set of slots in the front. I thought about simply routing them with a 1/2" and 3/4" bit, following the top curve of the template. This makes an interesting set of curved slots that pay homage to the original Greene & Greene design but kind of go in a different direction. All the edges would be softened of course in the real world.

...and a view from the front, still "Alternate 3"...

Thanks for any feedback on these aprons. As always, I'm eager to hear what you guys have to say.

Aaron

Oops!

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:37:39 +0000

Marc-
I think I read the scale on the plans wrong!

Greetings from the Adirondacks!
Chris

Stool & table designs to go with chair

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:08:41 +0000

Ok I have been spending less time today in the shop, between going to the new Transformers movie with family (it was good but maybe not quite as good as first two) and time on Sketchup working out some design details for a table and stool to go with the Adirondack chair. First I need to really thank Aaron for some help on Sketchup - he knows what hurdle he helped me get over but it really was easy once you knew the trick (kind of like many things in woodworking actually). Here I thought I was pretty good in Sketchup - but like with most things there is always something new to learn. His input and critique on the design itself has also been helpful and I appreciate all his design advice as well.

OK so now I am throwing these out here for ya'lls (yes I am a southerner from Texas so we spell the plural you - ya'll - sure beats youse guys - LOL) input.

First off the simple design issue is the stool - there is very little involed in its design. The only elements you can bring in from the chair design is the front legs, the front apron, the seat slats, and the side legs. Given there is hardly anywhere to incorporate the cloud lift in the stool I choose to use Aaron's 2nd alternative side leg design with a half cloud lift on the bottom edge of the side leg and I will be doing that in my version of the chair as well so that the chair and stool flow together.

Structurally the slats of the stool probably give enough support for the side legs that the second apron down at the low - I suppose that's the front - end of the stool is maybe not needed, but I felt it really helped make the chairs front face apron more of an element in the set. Plus when the stool is up near the chair it hides the front apron on the chair.

The table is giving me more grief in terms of design details and I am not sure I am satisfied with the design ideas I have thus far. One of the features I wanted is a small shelf below the table top so that it would be a convenient place to put a citronella candle without it eating up space on the small table top. They say things are bigger in Texas and damn it!! - its suretainly true of the mosquitoes. Here, let me just throw the different combinations of design ideas I have thus far out there on the table (pun intended).

The first is putting slats in for a table top and for a lower shelf. I did discover in this version that the shelf slats end up slightly above the top of the cloudlift side stretcher - though that could probably be fixed with some tweaking of the dimensions.

The second version is my attempt to bring in another G&G element that is not used in the chair or stool - through tenons that are rounded over. I am a tad concerned its bring in an element that's not needed for the set, but I do think its a much cleaner design then the slats and ebony plugs design.

Lastly a bit of a hybrid of the slats and ebony plugs for the table top mixed with the through tenon design for the lower shelf.

One of the main features of the table is to repeat the arm brackets in a way commonly used by the G&G brothers as brackets between a table apron and table legs. It helps tie that element well between the table and the chairs, but it does mean not using the cloud lift profile on bottom edge of the aprons. As far as I know, and granted I am by no means fully versed in everything G&G, the G&G brothers never mixed those two design elements in the same piece. So the best way I saw to bring in the cloud lift was to do something I have seen done before (either by G&G themselves or in G&G inspired furniture designs that came after them) is to make a table stretcher in a cloud lift profile.

Well that's the design ideas I have thus far on this. I think for the most part it all fits well together as a set - here see what you think of them together in a set:

So please comment and throw ideas out there and feel free to critique to your hearts content on the designs I have proposed. Nothing is set in stone - or maybe more appropriately cut in wood yet. I am not even going to begin building the stools and table until after I have two chairs built so, for me at least, there is still plenty of time to solicit comments and input from my fellow guild mates.

Has anyone else thought through a table or stool design yet? If so care to through the design out here to share with the rest of us? Hell if its paper and pencil design scan it in and through it out here. I am sure we can all come up with some good inspiration from it.

Well I am off and back to the shop to finish my two sets of chair front leg mortises and bottom leg details.

Tom's build

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 06:06:57 +0000

I'm making some progress but definitely behind Mark. Since I want to share this build outside of this group I've documented it here http://toms-wood-musings.blogspot.com/ . I've used some different methods and tools than Mark which you may find of interest.

Started Over

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 21:12:17 +0000

Had a horrible time with my first set of front and side legs. First, the lockdown on my router edge guide slipped/loosened while I was routing the mortises. Ended up having some odd shaped mortises. I cleaned them up, but they were awfully wide. Then I somehow made an extra set of mortises on the front legs. I don't know what I was thinking because everything was marked on the correct faces.

My next fiasco occurred on the side legs. Trying to create tenons to match the mortises was a royal pain in the a**. I persevered and got them to mostly fit. One tenon is a bit too loose, the other fits fine but won't seat all the way. That has me stumped as I back cut (or is undercut) the area near the shoulder. I know the tenon is not too long because that it what I initially thought so I trimmed them down. Seats at the same place. Further attempts to fix just made things worse.

So, I bought a Jet mortise machine and started over. After some "DOH!" moments with the machine, I am happy to say that everything looks like it's moving forward. I am at the point of fitting the tenons. They are just a few hairs to thick, but so far everything looks good.

Adam

My adirondack chair build

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:17:35 +0000

Here are some pictures of my completed chair. While it is a traditional design, I still followed along with Marc's build on this one. Many of the tips given by Marc still applied while building this one, such as how to position where the screws for the back slats. If i hadn't caught that video, I guarantee you I would have had a screw or two blow through.

The only issue I ran into was I should have cut my boards down sooner after planing. As stresses released, and the dramatic change in humidity I ended up having a couple boards that badly split. The adjustment I made as a result, otherwise, i wasn't going to have enough wood is the number of back slats. The plans called for 7, I made 5. It was either that, or not have enough for the seat slats.

However, as you can see in the pictures, the chair is very comfortable to sit in! It was a fun project to complete!

Outdoor Finish - Watco Teak Oil and Sikkens Cetol

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:22:05 +0000

I used Watco Teak Oil for the chair on the left and Sikkens Cetol for the chair on the right.

Watco Teak Oil

Very easy to apply: just flood on the surface and wipe off the excess. Its primarily boiled linseed oil with some additives to make it more outdoor-friendly. I applied a total of two coats, applying the second coat with a 1000 grit sanding pad and wiping off the excess. Resulting surface is incredibly smooth. I am very curious to see how this relatively light finish does over time.

Sikkens Cetol Marine

This was actually an accidental order. But since I had it on hand I figured why not give it a shot. This stuff is really just a varnish with pigments and other additives. The pigments are what might throw you off here. It gives the stuff working properties similar to Polyshades. So if the finish is thicker in one area, it will be incredibly noticeable because the color changes. The pigments will help to even out the wood tones, which may be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective, and they also help block UV. I didn't follow the manufacturer's instructions simply because I don't want a super thick film finish on my chairs. So I diluted the finish a bit and wiped on two coats. Time will tell....

Outdoor Finish - Penofin

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 05:52:13 +0000

This will be my thread to track how the finish I chose holds up over time. I chose to use Penofin, which is a penetrating oil finish. They have many different types, and I used their Hardwood Formula. My chairs are made of White Oak. This oil does have a slight tone to it. It gave the wood a nice golden color that we ended up really liking. I applied a heavy coat of finish and let is soak in, for about 10 minutes. I then wiped off the excess and let it dry. Just one coat, as the instructions said. I plan to reapply the oil each year. I also live near Seattle Wa, so we do get some rain and snow here. I do plan to leave my chairs out year round, but I did pick up some covers for them.

https://picasaweb.google.com/110200925786248116506/AdirondackChair

Next update, Spring 2012.

Mike

Finished

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 02:14:54 +0000

Finished my chair thought I would share. I just need to add the under arm detail. one thought thought, i book matched the back and it really added a whole new flavor.

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Alternate Side Leg

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:00:44 +0000

Hi guys. I am hoping to get some opinions on an alternate design for the current Guild Build, the Greene & Greene Adirondack Chair. I've got "analysis paralysis" and can't decide which way to go.

I'm playing around with the curves on the side leg. For reference, here is a picture of the plan as published.

We can't really change the top curve without messing up the seat, but I was looking at that gentle 1/4" curve on the bottom of the side leg. How about using the "cloudlift" template down there? Marc and I had discussed doing this during the design phase, but we thought it might be pushing the G&G elements a little too far.

What do you guys think? Here's a picture of the idea.

Is it too much? Take a look from a different angle. Maybe the combination of the arms & back slats & sides would be too much?

I've been staring at this design for so long that I've lost any objective view, so I am hoping for an intervention here.

Thanks in advance for the comments!

Outdoor Finish - Epifanes

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 16:08:23 +0000

So for my chairs...yes my wife liked the first one so much I had to make a second.

The first one has photos on the thread below. At marks suggestion I used Epifanes on the African mahogany of my chair. So at first I was um..ok but WOW over the past month I had it near a window the chair is oxidizing a bit under the coating and its taken a life onto its own.

On the mahogany chair I applied the Epifanes to the bare wood. Diluted it as the directions said and sanded between coats. If you have a lot of chatoyance or deep colorful lines like the backs and arms have on mine its perfect. As it cures the Epifanes makes a glass like surface thats high gloss and fantastic ( there is a matt).

When sitting in the chair the Epifanes isn’t sticky or uncomfortable on the arms.

For the second chair i used tiger maple. I sealed it with .75 cut shellac with Light brown dye to pop the grain x2 coats. Soft sand then 2 coats of 1.5 cut shellac with a dark mahogany dye for visual contrast. Epifanes was then applied, 4 coats and learning from the first chair i just did a 50% dilution 4 coats. There is a beautifully thick mirror like gloss with the grain that pops out ( with i used more figured wood). Ill post photos of the tiger soon.

That’s my experience so far.

Thanks Mark for the great project (Aaron too)

Slats & Finish Prep: Sanding vs. planing?

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:31:41 +0000

This might be an ignorant question, but would this project have been one where a planed surface would have been an alternative to sanding? Would there be any advantage to doing that way or does the inclusion of curves and roundovers in the design make the prospect of using planes for stock prep a nightmare?

I have no experience with hand planes, so I have only a fairly fuzzy concept on where it can be used to great effect. Up till now, I just sand the heck out of everything. But I'm hoping this question might spark a discussion that I can learn from.

Josh

Center back slat with split

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:25:22 +0000

In Friday's video, Marc mentioned the possibility of splitting the center back slat in half instead of doing a glue up. I liked the idea and decided to give it a try. Here is a photo. Looks pretty darn good in my opinion.

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Cool Finishing Idea

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:14:34 +0000

Since there are quite a few people making the Adirondack Chair, I thought it would be a good opportunity to road test some outdoor finishes. I'm sure most of us will wind up using different products and of course we all live in different climates. So it would be super duper cool if each of us starts a thread here in the Adirondack Chair forum where we discuss the finish we used and post a picture or two. Then as the seasons/years go by, we can each come back and update our post to reflect the current condition of the finish. What do ya say?

Leg details

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 19:08:20 +0000

I liked the carving detail the Marc did and I decided to go for it since I've already have done the tapered inset. I also decided to do the mortise with hand tools since my router skills are a bit shaky. Thanks to excellent teaching from Marc and the Handtool School I was able to hit the target of last week's guild podcast. (first time no do overs required ). So I thought I'd just share a few photos.