Replies

1. 
   xxxxx | Jul 04, 2006 06:03am | #1

   Bob,

   I've built that chair by the dozens in a hospital vocational therapy shop.  It is an excellent chair, very comfortable and as the article suggests, suitable for limited production runs.  It will be necessary to build a couple jigs to accurately assemble the sub-components.

   FWW articles (IMHO) are not 'lead you by the hand cookie cutter plans'.   It is necessary to read and re-read the text and carefully study all pictures and do full size layouts of all parts.  Plus, do a couple mockups of parts that still aren't clear.   ALL necessary information is given in the article.  Once you've worked out all the details, make full size templates of all parts, including locations of all screw holes.

   It may seem like a lot of work if all you are interested in is a couple of chairs but when your friends see and sit in those chairs, they will want some for themselves.  Could be a way for you to recoup the cost of some of those tools you bought.

   The only changes I made was to build them out of 5/4 x 6 radius edged cedar decking.  This gives you the desired 1" thickness and a width that works out to very little waste.  I did build a couple out of angelam pedra (sp?) But ipe or some of the other exotic deck woods would work as well.

   One other thing I did was, as a favour to a tall couple, build a pair of chairs 2" higher in the seat by extending the bottom of the front and back legs.  The change was found to be so comfortable that all the chairs we built after that had that extra two inches.

   Bob, I may not have replied as you wished, but if you go back to my second paragraph and apply it to the article you will find all the information you need  and be able to fudge the rest of it to make a very acceptable, even if not exact, copy of the author's chair.  I would expect that you would also find it more satisfying to have worked things out on your own. 

   However, just in case you still get stuck,  I have all my own plans on disc and a full set of templates in my shop.  If you need details, let me know which ones and I'll help you out.

    

   Paul

1. 
   Woodmaster1776 | Jul 04, 2006 05:16pm | #2

   Paul, Thanks for your feedback. I'll continue with trying to produce the patterns and if (when) I get stuck I'll take you up on your offer of additional help. The 2 inch modification sounds like a great idea--comfort is a key factor. --Bob

2. 
   Woodmaster1776 | Jul 19, 2006 05:16pm | #3

   Paul,I was almost on my way to pick up some of the decking you suggested when I wondered about the best way to glue it--had planned to use Titebond III which has become our standard. So I sent a quick e-mail to Titebond and received this reply:"Thank you for your inquiry. In general, our wood glues tend to have a hard time bonding treated lumber. Creating a strong bond requires clean gluing surfaces. Titebond III should only be applied to a freshly cut surface of the treated wood. Another concern is the moisture content of the treated wood, which tend to be quite wet. The higher the moisture content, the slower the wood glue will dry. In some cases the glue will not be able to begin drying until the wood first looses some moisture. I hope this information is helpful to you.
   Marc Bergdahl
   Technical Specialist
   Franklin International"Makes me a little nervous about using Titebond III, so I wanted to check with you (the guy who has actually been building the project) --what glue have you used on your Adirondack chairs, where treated decking was the lumber?Thanks for your help.Bob

   Edited 7/19/2006 10:20 am by Woodmaster1776

1. 
   krenovian | Jul 20, 2006 02:53am | #4

   I am just wondering, but is it a good idea to use treated lumber for something you are going to sit on, or put your arms against? Knowing how irritating this material can be to handle, I think I would use something else than a toxic material for seating.

1. 
   Woodmaster1776 | Jul 20, 2006 03:03am | #5

   Good point, although my understanding was Paul had used that...it's possible I misunderstood.Bob

1. 
   peakbagger | Jul 20, 2006 05:04am | #6

   I read above that it was cedar decking, not treated wood decking.For my first Adirondack chairs, I used polyurethane construction adhesive with three stainless bolts for the leg connection. No problems after two years at the beach, but I was probably over-building and haven't changed that combination on later chairs (I build them as gifts, not for profit). On a recent visit to the Adirondack museum in NY, I had a great conversation with the gentleman who bulds them for sale there. Using his grandfather's plans, he still uses pine, but assembles them with Titebond III, deck screws, and finishes them with Cabot Austrailian Timber Oil.So it looks like Titebond III may be OK.Jim

2. 
   Woodmaster1776 | Jul 20, 2006 05:24pm | #7

   Thanks for the tip. I'm goin' with pine and Titebond III for the first one...maybe save up for some cypress or mahogany after that.Bob

2. 
   xxxxx | Jul 21, 2006 02:47am | #8

   Bob,

   Sorry for any misunderstanding, but I would never recommend treated wood for a furniture project.  When I was into ad. chair building, I was lucky enough to find 5/4 x 6 clear cedar shorts (2,3,or 4' long) at less then half the price per foot then 6' or longer.   Greatly saved on my cost for material.  I've also seen pine in the same size, which would probably work fine but may not last as long if left outside year round.  If you have the room for indoor winter storage, pine would be great.  However, these are large chairs.  Make sure you can get them out of your shop if you're working in a basement. ;-)   Seriously, if that would be a problem, don't assemble back to the seat until outside.

    

   We did assemble chairs with  Outdoor Glue, I think by LePages, Seems to be an equivillant to Titebond III.   A note to those who haven't used any of these 'outdoor' glues, if you have the bad habit of getting glue on your clothes,these won't wash out in the laundry like most woodworking glues will.

   We also used ordinary deck screws.  Unless you're going to a high end product, stainless seems to be a high priced overkill.  IMHO

   Sounds like you're making good progress.  Keep up the good work & if you run into problems, there's lots of good help here on the site.

    

   Paul

2. 
   MRGreer | Jul 21, 2006 07:03pm | #9

   Sorry to chime in late, but I'm also preparing to make Adirondack chairs right now.  I plan on using plans from The Woodworkers Journal Vol. 10, No. 4 July/August 1986.  This chair is remarkably similar to the one in FWW No. 136 except has the curved seat that the FWW author reportedly started out making.  You could use some of the dimensions from the WWJ plans to figure out the radius for certain curves etc. for the FWW chair. 

   Another option and one that I use when making plans from pictures or drawings, is to blow up the plan on a copy machine and then use an architects scale to determine the dimensions that were not provided.  The drawings in FWW make it easy to "scale up" the other dimensions.  I usually trial and error with the copy machine until I get a known dimension to fit one of the scales on the architects scale and then I just measure all the other necessary dimensions for my drawing.

   I know there has been some discussion of woods and I have found cedar in thicknesses necessary for a chair to be difficult to find.  I don't feel Pine is adequate for outdoor exposure, even painted, so I plan to use Cypress.  Another reasonably priced option is white oak or perhaps redwood if you are in the right location for that to be readily available.  I plan to paint the chairs I build so I can't see a reason to use a beautiful and expensive wood.

   Good luck with your chairs,

   Mike