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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 ¾” flat-head stainless steel screws (may substitute 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” thick after planing - too little strength given the wood’s structure. To
minimize splitting, store on end with air circulation in shop for a few days
first.
Cedar Alternatives:
Other good outdoor woods are: treated lumber, teak, cypress, redwood, and
mahogany. Thickness may be reduced to 1” stock if using teak, cypress, or
mahogany (reduce seat notch depth to ¾” and adjust the center of all predrilled
countersink holes in this plan if using ¾” thick wood instead).
Cedar Grades:
“Clear” grade has almost no knots in the grain. #2 grade has more knots, but
small and tight, and the price is much less than clear. #3 grades and lower are
somewhat undesirable. If using #2, glue knots into place with the polyurethane
glue before starting.
Stainless Steel Screws: A box of 100 stainless steel may be available
(look for the blue drawers at Lowes). The benefit is slower reaction with the
wood over time, and less stains in wood from reactions. If substituting, use
outdoor treated screws or galvanized. Buy more than 80 to allow for defects in
the soft stainless steel.
Polyurethane Glue:
Look for polyurethane-type
glue only. One brand that may be available is Probond Polyurethane Glue;
Gorilla Glue is also a polyurethane glue (don’t get polyurethane glue on your
fingers, but if you do, scrub hands with vegetable oil for a few minutes, then
scrub off with soapy water).
Deck Sealer:
You may apply deck sealer to the finished chair, but this is not needed with
Western Red Cedar.
Paint: If you plan to paint the chair, use a primer paint
for wood before the coat of paint.
Tools
*review all safety instructions*
Required: screw
driver, drill, countersink bit, 2- 1 foot-long quick release clamps, and a
coping saw.
Hand (electric) jigsaw
-in absence of a tablesaw, bandsaw, scrollsaw etc., and a small amount of cash
on hand, this is the best choice. A good feature for it to have is a line of
cut blower, and you want the foot to be able to tilt. Buy extra blades for it
because they will break often –bimetal blades seem to break the least.
Table saw w/ miter and fence,
tune and calibrate for accuracy and safety.
Bandsaw or scroll saw with tilting table -is
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
Start with course, follow with medium, and finish with fine. Using a spindle
sander is not recommended on this project.
Router / router table
optional, a ¼” roundover treatment may provide good results (a ¼ inch roundover
effect can be mimicked with 50 grit sandpaper, two hands, no block, and plenty
of effort).
Countersink drill bit-
countersink and pre-drill
screw-holes 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. Cordless is good; if it’s Dewalt, set torque to 7 and adjust
from there.
Biscuit joiner
-for the optional method of assembling the arm-back support.
Clamps –For the
arm construction, a cheap set of 4- 36 inch clamps is good. You could also
substitute these (36” clamps) with something heavy and numerous…like a pile of
bricks. A pair of foot-long padded clamps with quick release, for attaching the
front legs is needed.
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