Adirondack chairs

[festoller]

Nico:

I've had very good experience with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) or in German Douglasie. I've built a simple planter earlier this year and the surface looks very nice after 3 months. The Douglas-fir is quite cheap and light compared to other weather resistent wood but still looks very nice. Larix (German L?rche) is almost the same, but I like the colour of the Douglas-fir more. There are however big differences in quality especially if you buy from your local home depot. But the higher quality Douglas-fir has a beautiful pigmentation and grain. I still couldn't decide to put oil on the planter, because I like to see how the surface evolves and if it will come close to the 10 year old Bangkirai deck it's standing on, but of course you can also paint the Douglasie.

 

[nico]

Stoolman,
I have a surprise for you...;-)
My very first woodproject was about 3 years ago. It was made with my first Festool, a brand new ts 55 and a rail ) ... 2 chairs that are like Norm Abrams. (and OK, it's probably not the greatest woodwork project but, I'm still proud of it)
They are made out of ... untreated pine , primed and painted 3 times.
But as you can see on the second picture... the wood starts to split after some time ( repainted it, but after a while ...)
So that is why I posted my question: What kind of wood and what thickness do you guys suggest?
And If you have ideas regarding designs , keep posting them.

Regards,
Nico

 

[butzla]

Very nice!  Then you know how comfortable they are.  Norm's plans call for 2 different thicknesses: 4/4 and 5/4.  5/4 for the back legs, arms and back supports and 4/4 for everything else.   I don't know if I can be much help being from the states.  I would use white oak.  Teak is cost prohibitive.  Mirante is from Malaysia and is of the mahogany family.  It works very well and is cheaper than red cedar but is not from managed forests so it's not politically correct to use.  I learned this after I built mine.
I would stay away from light weight materials like western red cedar, they don't wear as well as a hardwood.  Carriage bolts tend to spin freely in softer woods after a couple of years and are prone to denting.
Perhaps someone on your side of the pond could chime in for better local wood choices.

PS Jim Tolpin worte a good article on outdoor wood choices in FWW.  You may need to subscribe to view.
http://www.finewoodworking.com/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesPDF.aspx?id=2282

 

[nico]

Stoolman,
thank you regarding the info about the carriage bolts that tend to spin in softer woods.
About Norm's chairs, indeed they are comfortable, and probably next year I will build 2 new ones ( exactly the same design) but the chairs you saw in the first pictures I posted are actually for my kids . ( twins from 6 and girl aged 10)
But can you tell me what 4/4 and 4/5 means in cm ?

regards
Nico

 

[peter halle]

Nico,

I see that Stoolman is offline right now.  4/4 and 5/4 refer to the nominal thickness of the wood measured in quarter inches prior to planing.  We generally refer to wood that is .75 inches thick finished as being 4/4 before final planing and wood that is finished out at 1 inch thick as being 5/4.

Hope that helps!

Peter

 

[butzla]

Argh!  I forgot about the metric system.  Thanks Peter!

 

[nico]

Peter, Stoolman,

Thank you for the info,

Regards,
Nico

 

[nico]

Peter, Stoolman,

Correct me if I'm wrong
4/4 = 0,75 inch
5/4 = 1 inch

and can you tell me what
1/2" =
5/8" =
1" =

( in Cm or in Inches )

regards
Nico

 

[Wood_Junkie]

Peter, Stoolman,

Correct me if I'm wrong
4/4 = 0,75 inch
5/4 = 1 inch

and can you tell me what
1/2" =
5/8" =
1" =

( in Cm or in Inches )

regards
Nico

Ahh the confusion of lumber sizing.

4/4 = four-quarters of an inch = 1-inch
5/4 = five-quarters of an inch = 1.25 inches
These are *rough* sizes and are almost always used when buying rough lumber.

What Peter was getting at is:
Rough lumber that is bought at 4/4 (again, 1 inch) thickness is usually surfaced and planed down to be 3/4" finished material.
Rough lumber that is bought at 5/4 thickness is usually surfaced and planed down to be 1" finished material.

So, the general rule of thumb is that you buy lumber that is 1/4" thicker than your desired finished thickness.  So, as Peter alluded, 4/4 *becomes* 3/4" (0.75 inch).

Unfortunately, this is not always the case, depending on the lumber's warping.  A particularly twisted or cupped 5/4 piece might have to be surfaced down to only 3/4" before it is truly flat and true.

 

[nico]

Wood_Junkie,

OK, I'm beginning to see the light ;-)
Thx

to Festoller,
superdesigns on Lolldesign, my kids just loved this :
http://www.lolldesigns.nl/producten/stoelen/adirondack-3?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=346&category_id=26
and the table that goes with it :
http://www.lolldesigns.nl/producten/stoelen/adirondack-3?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=352&category_id=26
My wife really liked the straigt design of the :
http://www.lolldesigns.nl/producten/stoelen/adirondack-3?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=346&category_id=26
this is super and they don't "seem" to hard to reproduce.
many thanks.

If you know other websites like this (what I hope), feel free to share them , this is definitely my kind of design.

Regards
Nico

 

[festoller]

Nico:

there are many great design sites these are the ones I visit constantly and have new posts every day. Some will link you to the designers/ architects site and point to even more design ideas and sites, but be carefull you might feel the desire to built or remodel a whole new house if you visit the sites too often. Try Materialicous first that's where I found the Adirondacks:

http://www.houzz.com/

http://www.desiretoinspire.net/

http://www.gandana.com/

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/  (for pet lovers see "mondays pets on furniture")

http://www.materialicious.com/

http://www.home-designing.com/

http://www.chictip.com/

http://design-milk.com/

If you surf through these sites there's really no need to buy expensive magazines anymore!

 

[nico]

Festoller,
Many thanks, really liked the links you posted, just love the straight simple designs.
Regards
Nico