Lee Valley Adirondacks

[John Loftis]

I built these as a Christmas present for my folks. They came to visit early, so I had to get these done in 6 days (warp speed for me). Logged 85 hours during that time to get them done. Plans are Lee Valley, as suggested by Bill Huber (thanks Bill).

As others have noted in previous threads, these chairs are really comfortable. They are too low to the ground, which makes them tough to get out of. If I ever make them again, I will modify the plans to make the chairs and stools 3 inches taller. I'd also use a lot more glue, since I don't really trust the 'just screw it all together' that the plans specify. If anyone tackles these, feel free to PM me and I'll share my lessons learned.

Wood is 'swamp cypress,' which is purportedly the species of cypress that is weather and bug resistant. Looks a lot like pine to me.

Only had time to snap a couple quick pics before we loaded them in dad's truck.

While I was midway through the project, my wife and 2 year old came out to the garage to check on the progress. "Pop's" chair was completed at that point, and my wife sat in that to get a feel for it. "Nana's" chair didn't have any of the back slats yet, but my little monkey son was apparently unfazed by that. He scampered onto it, sat back, and promptly fell back @ss over teakettle. He now refers to it as "Nana's OWIE chair!"

[John Keeton]

John, those really turned out nice. Did you get the cypress there in TX, or did you order it? I have been trying to find a reasonable source, but without much luck.

I researched adirondack plans at one time, and most are comfortable, but difficult to get out of. If you raise the height of these, will that make the floor to knee distance too great for some of use that are short? That was always a concern I had in modifiying these plans. I really would like to find a plan that providing a little easier egress. Let me know your thoughts.

Great job, and a really nice gift!

[Andy Muckle]

John,

Thanks for posting - the chairs look great.

I've had one of these sleeping half complete on my bench for far too long, and I've been wondering if it should be just a tad taller. New Year's resolution: I will finish the chair.

Andy

[Jim Kountz]

Always a favorite of mine although I have never built any. Might have to change that someday. Great job!!

[Baxter Smith]

Nice looking chairs. I always liked those. Made one once as a jr. high shop project out of pine. Lasted a few years on my parents small deck. Always wanted to make another but only if I could have a roof over it!:D
I'm assuming your swamp cypress is bald cypress. My father-inlaw tore down some pickle tanks years ago. I have some of the side pieces. Real pretty tight grained stuff when planed. Darker than yours. I may take you up on your offer for advice someday!

[glenn bradley]

Those look great. Sure to please the folks.

[John Thompson]

Great build John. I love Adirondacks but don't have any as my wife lost some nerves in her quadriceps 10 years ago and they are too low for our needs. Those did turn out excellent.

[John Loftis]

John, those really turned out nice. Did you get the cypress there in TX, or did you order it? I have been trying to find a reasonable source, but without much luck.

I researched adirondack plans at one time, and most are comfortable, but difficult to get out of. If you raise the height of these, will that make the floor to knee distance too great for some of use that are short? That was always a concern I had in modifiying these plans. I really would like to find a plan that providing a little easier egress. Let me know your thoughts.

Great job, and a really nice gift!


John, I got the wood at Woods of Mission Timber in Sanger, TX (just north of Denton). I think I paid around $1.90 bd/ft for it. Super nice folks there. They carry a very limited range of species, but what they carry is good stuff. A different supplier in the DFW area told me that there are three common species of cypress, and the two 'inland' species don't have any of the weather or bug resistant properties. He said Woods of Mission had the flavor I needed.

As for raising the height, I don't think it would be a problem for vertically challenged folks. Besides, it's far more comfortable to use the footstools, so height becomes a relative non-factor with those. You'd need an extra board of at least 8" wide stock in order to increase the 'height' of the rear legs. I wouldn't try to change the height by messing with the angle of the chair's recline; it's perfect as it is.

The plans come with a small version and a big version of the chairs. The small version would probably work great for diminutive LOYL's. I made the big chairs, which were just wide enough for my 6'2", 225 frame to get into. Anyone bigger would need to add some width to the design.

Thanks for the compliments, folks.

John

[jim sauterer]

look great john. sure your folks will get a lot of use out of them.did you put anything on them.sure like the wide arms.great job.

[John Loftis]

No finish, just left the wood alone. They are on a covered porch so should be sheltered a little from the elements. My folks e-mailed an "action shot" from their house today:

135878

Best,

John

[Russ Cass]

Nice! I swear that every year I'm going to build a set of those. Still haven't...

[gary Zimmel]

Nice work on the chairs John.
They look right at home in that last pic...

[Cody Colston]

Great job on the chairs and footstools, John. I like the way the seat slats sit on a ledger piece inside the seat rails. The plan I use has that feature. That Cypress looks like all the Cypress I have used and it should weather fine.

I modified my plan, also to raise the seat about three inches with not quite a much slant to the seat bottom. The chair is still very comfortable but it's much easier to get out of it now.

[Matt Schuman]

Good lookin' Adirondacks! I just ordered the Lee Valley plans, myself. LOML is from just north of the park and wants to get back to her roots.

[Jim Koepke]

Those look great. They look like the Rolls Royce Adirondack chair.

Adirondack chairs are what started me in the world of woodworking.

Freewoodworkingplan dot com has loads of ideas and plans.

Many years ago I made a bunch of kid sized chairs. A simple spread sheet allowed me to quickly change the size of every piece by what ever percentage was dialed in.

At about 50% or more, you start making doll furniture.

jim

[Jeffrey Makiel]

What a great gift!

-Jeff :)

[Neal Clayton]

john, that's the 'good stuff'. looks exactly like the cypress i bring home from new orleans.

from my experience growing up down there...

with daily salt water saturation in direct sunlight dock boards will last about ~20 years before they need replacing. allowed to dry whenever they get wet on a covered porch? indefinite. they will grey and slightly check around the rings over the decades if you leave it unfinished, but that's about it.

[lou sansone]

nice chairs
we have some with that design and they are very comfortable

lou

[Marshall Border]

I think these are cool John > I build a pair of these 15 years ago and primed and painted them barn red and of course there under roof and they still look great . I didn't make the foot stool and this adds so much more to you project also , thanks for showing the talented job ..........Marshall