My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
(Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
Thanks in advance,
Barry Lennox
I built two adirondak chairs and the foot rests from the wood magazine.
I used honey locust heartwood, and finished with sikkens. I used
approx 50 bf for both chairs and footrests.
Everyone who has sat in them says they are very comfortable. I
followed the plan dimensionally except for the thickness of the wood I
made smaller (their plans called for cedar, which is much weaker and
'dentable' than honeylocust).
Barry,
My first woodworking project was some Adirondack chairs, takes me back.
I personally like the curved back seats, just feels more comfortable.
If the angle is on the steeper side, make sure you round over the front
edge of the seat. Makes it a little eaiser on the back of the knees.
DAMHIKT, of course that was before I bought my first router.
I have a plan out of "Building Garden Furniture: More Than 30 Beautiful
Outdoor Projects" by Ray Martin, Lee Rankin:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0806983752/qid=1118150795/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/102-7183173-3796920?v=glance&s=books
It was a good plan.
Good luck,
Chuck
Chuck
I have built dozens of Norm's chair and everyone finds them to be the
most comfortable. The back is curved, the angle of the back is just
right, and the seat is a little higher than many chairs out there.
Many chair designs are so low that they are hard for us superannuated
folk to get out of.
Dick Durbin
John DeBoo wrote:
> I've sat in several and not found any of them to be comfortable for my
> 6'2" 250# frame.
> Grandpa John
>
About the same size--well, a bit heavier--and I have to agree. We've
got several spotted around the place, and absolutely no one has sat in
any of them in many years. The seat is at too steep an angle for one
thing--the older the knees, the more murderous it is on them to get out
of the chairs.
Thanks for the link. I built something similar out of cypress, self
designed, and a take off of some old redwood deck furniture. Without
the metal sprung seat of the old chairs, mine are beautiful looking but
uncomfortable. Since they are all M&T with Gorilla Glue there is no
taking apart for modification. Looks like "Version 2" will be Jakes
chair.
Jerry
Barry Lennox wrote:
> My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
> (Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
> chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
> been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
> start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
> So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
> as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Barry Lennox
I've sat in quite a few but I prefer the New Yankee Workshop design. I
think Norm put allot of thought into it. It has wide arms that are
level giving you plenty of room for a drink and to lay your arms. They
are easy to get in and out of and both the seat and the back are curved.
I made a couple of folding ones that are similar out of Lee Valley but
in the end, my wife and anyone else who sits in them, prefer Norms.
Don
On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:26:11 +1200, Barry Lennox
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
>(Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
>chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
>been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
>start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
>So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
>as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Barry Lennox
Not what you asked and most probably not what you want to know,
however, I was at Costco's (or was it Sam's Club) and they had a
rather nice adirondack chair along with the curved footrest piece made
out of a teakish wood for $139. I doubt that you could buy any decent
wood for them at that price unless using PT ;-) Anyhow, to make it a
shop project, they could have used a little sanding, a good finishing
and maybe a tweak or two with the joints and fasteners (which appeared
to be brass?). Not to mention they are flat packed with "some assembly
required". Hell, I don't need any of these chairs and I almost bought
one just for the wood to use on some trim projects on my boat.
Dave Hall
Hi Barry,
As far as comfort goes, we make them to fit the customer. Our first
customers , a 6'3" guy and his 5'1" wife did not find any of the styles
they tried comfortable for both so they came to us.
We vary the distance from the seat to the ground, depth and width of the
seat and the angle of the back compared to the seat ( although this
doesn't vary much). If it were me and I had ten to make I would likely
make them in three sizes. Cheers, JG
Barry Lennox wrote:
> My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
> (Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
> chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
> been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
> start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
> So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
> as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Barry Lennox
On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:26:11 +1200, Barry Lennox
<[email protected]> wrote:
>So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design,
Angle. That's as much a personal thing as anything.
If you put a lot of recline onto them, then they're hard to get out of -
especially for people getting on in years. So if that's your audience,
keep the seat flat and get the heights right (not too low).
As for aesthetics, the _only_ Adirondack plan I've seen that isn't plug
ugly is the FWW plan (May / June 1999). The ugliest is either Jake's,
the fish-shaped ones, or the worst of the lot, the one in the FWW
reprints book "Things to Make".
"Barry Lennox" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
> as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Barry Lennox
Some have flat backs, some have curved backs. Curved fits the body better.
Charlie Self wrote:
>
> John DeBoo wrote:
>
>>I've sat in several and not found any of them to be comfortable for my
>>6'2" 250# frame.
>>Grandpa John
>>
>
> About the same size--well, a bit heavier--and I have to agree. We've
> got several spotted around the place, and absolutely no one has sat in
> any of them in many years. The seat is at too steep an angle for one
> thing--the older the knees, the more murderous it is on them to get out
> of the chairs.
For sure! The cush in the tush is thinner now and I need a pull rope to
get out of them.
Grandpa John
How about throwing in a little variation? I built a Adirondack Rocker
several years ago from plans in
"The Woodworker's Journal" Vol.15, No. 3 (June 1991). You can probably
still get archived issues from them.
Anyway, it has been a superb chair, very comfortable, and still gets plenty
of use :)
--
Damon
"Barry Lennox" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
> (Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
> chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
> been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
> start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
> So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
> as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Barry Lennox
I've made 6 of Andy Rae's design in American Woodworker. I'll try to find
the two issues it was in (it was reprinted years after the original
article). If I remember correctly, the seat back angle was 59deg. The
feature I liked most was that the front legs were turned 90deg to most
designs, thus eliminating the 'shelf support' piece for the arm of the
chair. This way, the front leg rode in a sliding dovetail in the arm of the
chair. *Very* strong construction.
Joe C.
"Barry Lennox" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
> (Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
> chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
> been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
> start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
> So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
> as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Barry Lennox
In article <[email protected]>,
Dave Hall <[email protected]> wrote:
[snipperectomy]
> Anyhow, to make it a
> shop project, they could have used a little sanding, a good finishing
> and maybe a tweak or two with the joints and fasteners (which appeared
> to be brass?).
*Phew...wipes brow*.. now you're talking. Barry could need a sander, a
compressor, an HVLP spray gun. lemme see.. what else could he need..
(Just helping here, Barry)
In article <[email protected]>,
Barry Lennox <[email protected]> wrote:
> My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
> (Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
> chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
> been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
> start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
> So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
> as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Barry Lennox
I have built a few Lee Valley version (non folding) and those who have
slept in them say they were magnificent in terms of comfort but a little
difficult to get out of with a belly full of beer.
On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:26:11 +1200, Barry Lennox
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
>(Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
>chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
>been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
>start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
>So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
>as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Barry Lennox
Too high or too low is bad. I prefer a rounded chair front--where the
slats form a gentle curve. I like the back curved too. Of course,
curves make the chair a little more challenging. One that has level
armrests and large enough to allow a plate to rest is good. One that
sheds water and dries quickly--good spaces between the slats.
OK.....You NEED to look at the following chair
http://www.twistedknotwoodshop.com/jakes-chair.htm
It's called "Jakes Chair" and the Story behind it is in the site....I
have made several of these chairs....there are BIG, comfortable, easy
to make....You owe it to yourself to make at least one of these
chairs....
Ray
On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:26:11 +1200, Barry Lennox
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
>(Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
>chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
>been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
>start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
>So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
>as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Barry Lennox
On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 18:26:11 +1200, Barry Lennox
<[email protected]> wrote:
>My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
>(Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
>chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
>been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
>start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
>as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
Thanks to you all for the prompt and helpful advice. Right now it's a
tossup between Norm's, Jake's Chair and the one that was in FWW of
May/June 99.
All have curved backs, claim to be comfortable and easy to build.
Regards,
Barry
On Tue, 07 Jun 2005 12:06:30 -0400, Robatoy <[email protected]>
wrote:
>In article <[email protected]>,
> Dave Hall <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>[snipperectomy]
>
>> Anyhow, to make it a
>> shop project, they could have used a little sanding, a good finishing
>> and maybe a tweak or two with the joints and fasteners (which appeared
>> to be brass?).
>
>*Phew...wipes brow*.. now you're talking. Barry could need a sander, a
>compressor, an HVLP spray gun. lemme see.. what else could he need..
>
>(Just helping here, Barry)
Thanks! But like all good woodworkers, I have those things. But, a
far bigger practical problem looms, I'm in NZ, so the freight from
Sams would be a deal-killer !!
I've sat in several and not found any of them to be comfortable for my
6'2" 250# frame.
Grandpa John
Barry Lennox wrote:
> My wife wants about 6, maybe 8, Adirondack chairs to adorn a new deck.
> (Then I think a friend wants about 4) Now, I have too many Adirondack
> chair plans including the "Jakes Chair" variant. Most of them have
> been published in FWW and Wood. I'll make some jigs and templates and
> start cracking them out in mass-pro, once I settle on a design.
>
> So, do you have strong views on what is a comfortable design, or just
> as importantly, what makes an uncomfortable one?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Barry Lennox