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CONTINUED - WOODWORKS: ADVANCED PROJECT 2010-2011 ADIRONDACK CHAIR
BeFORe yOu BeGin
Good craftsmanship begins and ends with good work habits, so make
the following steps part of your routine workshop practice. If you have
any doubts or questions about how to proceed with a project, always
discuss them with your shop instructor.
• Carefully and fully review plans and instructions before putting a
tool to the project lumber.
• Work sensibly and safely. Wear safety goggles when doing work that
creates flying chips and sawdust; wear the appropriate respirator
whenever making sawdust or working with thinners or
other solvents.
• At the end of every work session, clean up your shop area and put
away all portable tools.
cut tinG anD aSSeMBly
pROceDuRe
Make the Templates
1. Templates will make it easy to build more than one chair, now
and in the future. They’re made from 1/4" hardboard and are used
to guide the bearing of a flush-cutting router bit. Figure 2 shows the
shapes needed for the back slats (E, F, G). Start with a single 8-3/8"
x 26" piece of hardboard. Draw a 6" radius at the top with a com-
pass. Rip the 4" wide center slat template from the right side. Rip the
template for the outside slats to 4" but stop about 6" from the bottom.
Finish the 1/4" jog as shown with a band saw; cut the top curves and
rasp them smooth.
2. Figure 3 shows the remaining templates. The templates for the back
legs can be enlarged on a copier to full size. Enlarge the image shown
by 200 percent and again by another 200 percent and then one more
time by 183 percent. Measure the last enlargement to make sure it
matches the dimensions shown. If it doesn’t, increase or decrease the
final enlargement accordingly. (You can also draw your own layout
grid using the scale shown.)
Woodworker’s Tip: To create the notch on the front leg template,
raise the blade on the table saw to full height and rip most of the
waste. Finish the cut on the band saw. Then use the band saw to
taper the front-leg template.
3. When all the templates are cut, smooth the edges with a rasp or
sandpaper wrapped around a curved block. Note that the templates
for parts B and D have slots for routing dovetail sockets. You must
make an insert piece that fills these slots when using the template
with the router or the bit will gouge the workpiece.
Make and Shape the Parts
4. Cut parts A, B, D, E, F and G to their approximate sizes. (The
dimensions between long parallel sides can be ripped to their exact
measurements.) Use the templates to trace the finished shapes onto
the workpieces. Cut away the waste with a band saw to slightly over-
size, then adhere the template to the piece with double-sided tape,
carefully aligning it with the trace lines.
5. Rout each workpiece by riding the template against the bearing of
the flush-cutting router bit (see Fig. 4, showing the technique applied
to a back leg, B).
6. Cut parts C, J and H to their specified size. One long edge of one
of the seat slats, H, requires a 3/4" radius (see Fig. 1), which can be
done on the router table or by hand with a block plane and an orbital
sander. Use a table saw to rip the front edge of J, the back rail, to a
58-1/2º angle.
Cut the Joints
7. Rout 3/8" deep dovetail sockets in the arms, D, and back legs, B
(see Fig. 5). Set the bit to the depth of the cut plus the thickness of
the template.
8. Cut the dovetails in the stretcher, C, and the front legs on the router
table, using the same dovetail bit used to make the sockets (see Fig. 6).
Attaching a tall fence to the router-table fence will help to stabilize the
piece. Round the end of each dovetail by making scoring cuts with a
backsaw and then paring to shape with a small chisel (see Fig. 7).
9. Mortise the arms using the plunge router fitted with an edge guide
and a 1/4" spiral up-cutting bit. To steady the router, clamp a scrap
board to the bench and clamp the arm in the bench vise so its edge is
flush with the top of the board. Rout slots for the cross-grain splines,
K, in the same manner.
10. Rout the tenons for the back rail, J , by passing it flat over a router
bit or dado head. Round the corners with a rasp.
11. Make the splines by rounding the edges of a 1/4" x 3" x 12"
board with a rasp so they fit the mortises in the back slats. Cut four
7/8" splines on the table saw.
12. Use a biscuit joiner to cut the slots in the bottom of the back
slats and into the stretcher. You can also groove the parts on the table
saw and join the back slats to the stretcher with a 1/4" thick spline.
Assemble the Chair
13. First join the back legs, B, to the stretcher, C, then the arms,
D, to the front legs, A. Connect the back rail, J, to the arm/front leg
assembly. The best material for bonding these joints is epoxy, but
exterior-grade glues will also work.
14. Use scrap sticks to support the arms while you screw the back
legs to the front legs. Notches cut into the tops of the sticks will help
hold the back of the arms level with the fronts during assembly. When
drilling for screws, first drill a 3/8" x 1/4" deep hole so the screw
heads will be recessed and later covered with a wood plug.
15. Pull the arms tight to the back rail with a pipe clamp, then drill
and peg the four joints with 1/4" dowel pins (see Fig. 1).
16. With the back rail in position, hold a back slat against the rail and
mark it for the counterbored screw hole (see Fig. 8), using an adjust-
able square held against the back rail. Run the line from the side of
the slat to the front. Transfer this mark to the other slats. Because the
screws go in at an angle, this mark has to coincide with the top of
the back rail.
17. Epoxy the splines, K, into the back slats using 1/8" thick scrap to
create the correct gaps. Use a minimal amount of epoxy so that there
is little or no squeeze-out, which can be difficult to remove.