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      adirondack chairs FREE DIY PLANS   BUILD ADIRONDAK CHAIR PLANS   
   
   
     
   
  
      
   
   
     
   
   
      
      
   
   
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               What tools will I need?  
             
             
                
             
             
               In most cases all you will need are the following: 
                Table Saw (if available) 
                Tape Measure 
                Square 
                Clamps 
                Drill/Driver 
                Drill Bits 
                Jig Saw 
                Goggles 
                Hearing Protection 
                Dustmask 
                Palm Sander (if available) 
                  
             
            
                What kind of wood should I use?     
             
             
                     
             
             
              You are safe using cedar or redwood in most climate zones. Pine, with an applied finish, can be used in temperate zones. Most woods are safe within arid zones. Limit woods to cedar or cypress in tropical zones. 
                For more technical information please click on the Decay Map  or  follow the USDA links below:  
             
             
                
             
             
              U.S. Decay Map
                
                  
                  Click on Image  
             
             
                
             
             
              
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    Frequently Asked Questions 
      
      
        
     
   
      
      
      
       
      
      
      
     
   
      
     1. How long does it take to make an adirondack chair?  
       2. What level of skill do I need?   
      
     3. What tools will I need?    
       4. What kind of wood should I use?    
      
     5. What type of finish should I apply?   
       6. Which adirondack chair plan should I choose?   
      
     
   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
     
  
      
     
   
      
      YOU  CAN BUILD an Adirondack Chair
       
      
      A FEW POINTERS 
      One of my most pleasant childhood memories takes me back                  to the summer of '56 and watching my great-grandfather Wiberg whittling                  wood sticks, sitting in an old wooden chair, at the cabin up on Opal Lake. He seemed to love                  that chair as much as he loved carving those sticks, into twig whistles for a                  swarm of eager kids.  
      I                  was the eldest of said passel of pipers,  which comprised a brother,                  two sisters and a dozen  cousins- yep, that's a lot of whistles! I wouldn't                  mention it except to say, depending on your position in                  line, it could                  take some time to get your very own twig whistle. I didn't think about                  it then, but that old wooden chair must have been pretty comfortable                  for Grandfather to sit in all day whittlin' twigs. Now I wasn't                  particularly concerned with comfort back in '56, I was concerned with                  whistles. But today I am of an age where a comfortable outdoor chair has                  become of increasing importance!  
       The most comfortable                  and useful outdoor chair ever invented...  
      Anyway,  I asked some of the                  relatives if they could remember what Grandfather's chair looked like.                  Each told me what they could remember about that fabled chair, while I listened                  attentively, trying to form a picture, of it, in my mind. Then it occurred to me-they were describing                  an old adirondack chair. The discovery  made sense because the adirondack chair                  is known for being, hands down, the most comfortable                  and useful outdoor chair ever invented. The back of                  the chair is elongated, and gently contoured, and meets the seat at just the                  right angle to be soothing to your back. You can sit for hours and remain comfortable.                  The arms function as an armrest but are wide                  enough to conveniently place a beverage.  And they're sturdy. The Adirondack chair,                  truly, is the great outdoor chair. For these reasons, and a bunch more,                  they have been popular for a long time and                  will, probably, remain so, for a long time to come.  As to the chairs'                  origin, there are                  two versions. If your                  interested,  go to Wikipedia  or to the  New                    York Times  and                      read both. Anyway, after gathering some                      information, I decided to build my own Adirondack chair.                  
      
    I've always had an affinity for carpentry, but never gave it        enough time to develop the expertise to build anything without a plan. So        I embarked upon the internet to see what was available in the &quot;Building        Adirondack Chairs&quot; department. 
       Which Adirondack Chair plan should I choose? 
      I looked at several free plans and photographs and        decided, design wise, I did not like any of them completely, but they all        had one or two things that I liked a lot. So, I used one of the plans for        the basic dimensions of each of the  chairs different pieces, but I incorporated design        variations that appealed to my personal tastes. In other words, I used the        templates but I &quot;improved&quot; them with my own ideas. I elongated        this piece, widened that one and notched yet another. I ended up making eight variations, six of which were awesome and        the remaining two being the favorites of other folks, but not me. 
         How Long Does it Take to Make an Adirondack Chair?  
       It took me one day, from start to finish, to cut the pieces and        assemble the first chair. It took me about four hours to cut and assemble        chair number eight.  
        What type of finish should I use? 
      After a thorough sanding, (don't be anxious and cheat        on the sanding part!) I applied a  Minwax        Helmsman   &quot;satin&quot; spar urethane to my chairs. (You can        use any sheen you prefer. I like the &quot;hand rubbed look&quot;, so I        chose satin) The finishing process was approximately one hour per coat, including light sanding in between. The        type of finish you apply will depend upon the species of wood you use        for your chairs and the final look you want to achieve. I had a lot of        pine around, so I used pine and finished it with three coats of the spar urethane. With        cedar you may want to use an exterior stain, with teak you may want to use        oils like a linseed or tung. For information about choosing the right        finish, there is a great article I found called  Understanding        Wood Finishes .  It is very informative and I highly recommend it. No matter which finish you        decide on,   ALWAYS  test the product, on a sample piece of  IDENTICAL  wood,   BEFORE  applying it to your new adirondack chair. Different woods take stains and        finishes differently and rarely do any of them look like the tiny sample        at the paint store. The finish that I used, for example, although        &quot;clear&quot; is slightly amber, when applied.  
      
    Why Try? 
      Building adirondack chairs        is both fun and rewarding. I was pleased with the results of my efforts and I trust you will be        pleased with yours. In this site, I list several web sites that I        found helpful in gathering the information, dimensions and ideas I needed to        build my chairs.  
       What level of skill do I need?  
       I want to encourage you. I am not a carpenter. I simply        like carpentry and was willing to try something new that had a chance of        coming out well- and it did! Try for yourself and see!  
       Forget it! Let's go fishing...  
      For anyone who is still saying : &quot;Building my own chairs is        not my idea of a good time, we'll just buy some, let's go fishing!&quot;, I        put a link, under &quot;Adirondack Chairs for Sale&quot;, that offers        &quot;Rustic &amp; Rugged Adirondak Chair&quot; version which, I think you'll agree, are pretty slick.        I have also included a link where you can purchase adirondack chair kits,        which simply require assembly of precut pieces. I'll post more sites when I        find some I really like.  Please feel free        to look at the various web sites and/or write back with any questions,        comments or suggestions. If they are helpful to others, I'll post them        here on &quot;How To Build Your Own Adirondack Chair&quot;. 
       The foremost reason I love Adirondack chairs...  
      By the way, that old adirondack chair was still up on Opal         Lake long         after Grandfather left us. It remained outdoors and  the wind and snow and         years took their toll on its rugged old frame. Nevertheless, &quot;getting rid&quot; of that         chair never was talked about. Every time you looked at         it, you could almost see Grandfather sitting there carving our whistles. I guess the twig whistles were something of         Grandfather himself, something he gave us with a kind smile and an         approving nod. He never talked with us- he didn't speak English and we         didn't speak Danish. But we knew he loved all of us. He's the best reason I can         give someone who asks me for the &quot;foremost reason&quot; I love these          chairs. 
       
      
     
   
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
     
   
      
     
   
      
      
      
      
      
     
   
      
     
      
     
      
     
      
     
   
      
     
 

   
        
           
           
            
         
     
     
      
   
   
      
   
   
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