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Materials
48
linear feet of 5/4 x 6" Western Red Cedar
6 ft
of 4x4 cedar post (fewest knots)
80 -
#8 – 1 5/8" long (or 1 ¾") flat-head stainless steel screws (may substitute with
galvanized)
1 -
tube of polyurethane type glue
Lumber Store Cuts:
For hauling, segments may
be cut into 5 or 8 foot lengths.
Cedar: Western
Red Cedar is recommended. 5/4" thick stock is net 1" after factory planing
(commonly available as decking material). Substituting with 1" stock leaves only
¾" net thickness after factory planing which may leave too little strength given
the wood’s structure. To minimize splitting, store the wood in an environment
with good air circulation and stable humidity for a few days before starting.
Cedar Grades:
"Clear" grade has almost no knots in the grain, but can be expensive. #2 grade
has small knots and costs less. #3 grades and lower are usually undesirable.
Reinforce knots with polyurethane glue.
Cedar Alternatives:
Other outdoor woods include treated lumber, teak, cypress, redwood, and
mahogany. Thickness may be reduced to 1" (net ¾" after factory planing) if using
teak, cypress, or mahogany.
Stainless Steel Screws: Using stainless steel screws will result in less
staining and chemical reaction with the wood over time, and may be substituted
with outdoor treated screws or galvanized. Buy more than 80 to allow for defects
in the soft stainless steel.
Polyurethane Glue:
Use polyurethane-type
glue only. Brands may include Polyurethane Glue, Gorilla Glue, or others. Don’t
get polyurethane glue on your fingers, but if you do, first scrub with
vegetable oil for a several minutes, then use soapy water.
Deck Sealer:
You may apply deck sealer to the finished chair, but this is not generally
needed in the first year. Western Red Cedar is naturally resistant to the
effects of the outdoors.
Paint: If you plan to paint the chair, first apply a coat
of wood primer before the coat of paint.
Tools
*Please abide by all safety
instructions*
Required: Screw
driver, drill, countersink bit, two 1 foot-long quick release clamps, and a
coping saw.
Hand (electric) jigsaw In
absence of a tablesaw, bandsaw, scrollsaw etc., and for little cost, this is the
best choice. Good features include a line-of-cut blower and a tilting foot. Buy
extra blades since they break often. Bimetal blades tend to break less often.
Table saw w/ miter and fence
Tune and calibrate for
accuracy and safety.
Bandsaw or scroll saw with tilting table
These are
useful, tilting feature is useful for cutting the back support.
Hand coping saw
Even if you own a bandsaw or scroll saw, you’ll need this briefly.
Sanding hand block
Always start with course, follow with medium, and finish with fine.
Router / router table
Optional, a ¼" roundover
treatment results in a neat appearance.
Countersink drill bit Countersink
and pre-drill screwholes in this project to avoid splitting.
Drill press
Handy for pre-drilling some countersinks.
Square, Level Not
required but these are helpful.
Phillips driver
Hand or cordless: if you’re using a cordless Dewalt, start with torque 7 and
adjust from there.
Biscuit joiner
Can be used for the optional method of assembling the arm-back support piece.
Clamps
For arm-back support piece construction, an inexpensive set of four 36 inch
clamps is recommended. You could also substitute these (36" clamps) with
something heavy and numerous…perhaps several bricks. A pair of foot-long padded
clamps with quick release for attaching the front legs is very helpful. |
