Woodworking, #147 in a series, More 'Jake's Chair' Adirondacks
The chair blueprints are available on the interwebthingy, called 'Jake's Chair'. It's a modified adirondack design. It's a bit larger and a good bit more upright than a typical low-slung northeastern adirondack. Folks with lower back pain often have trouble with the traditional designs. It also has wide flat level armrests - which I've widened even more - which readily hold a dinner plate. I've also added a built-in beer / cup-holder in both arms.
So the neighbors hit me up for a pair. A cost plus cold beer deal. $110 for lumber. I've got a partial 5# box of 1-1/4# plated screws laying around, as well as some latex primer. If one were to start with no materials, retail cost would be about $80 for materials. Takes (5) 1"x8"x8' and (1) 1"x6"x8' with very little remainder. After some experimentation with layout I got things condensed as tightly as possible.
Take some care in wood selection and placement of your cuts, avoid knots in the seat slats, especially at the peak front area where everybody perches. The slats are only 1-1/2" wide so a knot destroys their strength. I sometimes built them with hardwood slats in that area, if they're being painted. I've also rebuilt my own with a wider curved backbrace, also of hardwood, after its mountings failed at around the 3yr mark.
I'm doing much of the work as batch processes. I traced the patterns in pairs. I arranged my cutting layouts so I can chop the full planks down to more manageable pieces. Then I ran what I could thru the table saw, mostly the straight slats, backrest staves, the major leg and armrest supports.
Then it was on to the bandsaw for a rough-cut pass, basically breaking down all the pieces from the traced planks. Then a second pass cutting closer to the traced lines to get rid of as much of the waste as possible.
On to the big heavy table 12" disc sander, where I worked all the outside curves down to their lines. And hogged out as much of the inside curves as I could reach.
I'll use an oscillating orbital handheld disc sander to work most of the inside curves. Sure could use a table / drum sander. I might clamp the like pieces (4 of each in this build) and work them with a belt sander, too.
Have to get the neighbors to pick a pattern for the tops of the backrest pieces. A large continuous curve, a sharper parabola, a stair stepped design, or something similar in a sort of curved scallop-shell pattern. Sky's the limit really, as long as you make the backrest high enough that leaning your head back doesn't rub on the ends.
Also to that end, I run all the seat slats, backrest staves and the armrest flats thru my table router with a roundover bit, for comfort.
Time requirements are variable, depending on how much you want to fiddle with it. Minimum time is 3-4hrs.
And I'm building on my modified Ron Paulk design portable workbench. I chopped down my old rolling work table, re-worked its chassis to fit the new smaller overall size and lowered the height so the Paulk portable modules remain level with my table saw.