Next, rip a 73º bevel on the forward-facing edge of the back arm brace. That's 17º from square on your tablesaw bevel scale. Attach the arms to this part by driving screws up from underneath. Position the arm brace and arm assembly so the arms rest roughly in the correct position on the arm supports. Adjust the part positioning to get the arms level and the back brace neatly intersecting with the back slats. Use a couple of spring clamps at the union between the arms and arm supports to hold them in position as you experiment.
When the joints fit well, make the connection permanent with screws and glue. The arm blocks allow the screws to be driven in from underneath, so there are no visible fasteners on the surface of the arm to collect water. When driving the screws through the faces of the back slats into the back arm brace, make sure you set them at an angle that corresponds to the angle of the back.
Finish, then start again
Adirondack chairs are often painted, but I like to let the cedar wood grain show through. That's why I opted for a few coats of Sikkens Cetol 1.
Once the first chair is done, the offset-arm design just begs for another chair. Only this time, reverse the long and short arms to make a mirror image of the first.
Once you show off the matched pair of chairs, I have a feeling you'll be making more of these summer classics (and you'll be glad you made those templates for the contoured pieces).
Read more in Woodworking Projects and Outdoor Furniture
4 Comments
How do you get the blue prints or specifications to this design? For example how tall are front legs that support the arms? How wide are the seat slats? How tall are the back pieces?
It would be very convenient if these articles, with plans, would be summarized into one downloadable PDF. It's really tedious to have to print each page and pdf individually.
william_ryan it tells you everything you need in the "you will need" list. all the dimensions are right there.
In the picture it looks like the screws attaching the seat slats are hidden but the instructions don't indicate how. Is there a step missing?