wood for adirondack chair

[fred woltersdorf]

i've been commissioned by my daughter to build 2 adirondack chairs.while i would like to build them out of cypress,but it's not available here.i thought the next best choice would be ash.the chairs will be either painted or some type of clear finish.is this a good idea?thanks fred

[Bob Johnson2]

I saw a set out of oak that looked great although you'd have to recoat it once in awhile, redwood might work for less maintenance. Did you ever see the Jake's chair plans?

[Frank Pellow]

I made some using 1" thick (1" after planing) knot free cedar and finished them with Sikkens satin. They look great and wear well!

[John Branam]

I will second Cedar. Holding up well so far on mine.

[Paul Held]

If Cypress is unavailable I would recommend white cedar or white oak. White cedar has been a traditional wood that many chairs made in the Adirondaks have been made of. Ihave made several out of white cedar and the have held up quite well over a period of 10 years. White oak is much more durable than cedar, but much heavier as well. Paul Held

[Mark Singer]

Cedar or mahogany

[Roger Eihausen]

Fred, I would white oak
Rog

[John Shuk]

You can get cypress at ML Condon on Ferris Ave. White Plains. It should only be about a half hour for you. They have a huge selection and sell to many other hardwood dealers. They are a little quirky but they have got the wood. They have a huge stock of Cypress as of the last time I was there. Here is the address. I don't think they have a web page.
M.L. Condon Co., 250 Ferris Ave., White Plains, NY 10603

[Bob Stegemann]

I'd vote for Cedar also. I made two several years ago one Cypress and one Cedar. Both are doing great but I like the Cedar better. I didn't put any finish on either of them but they are on a covered porch.

[Steve Cox]

Here on the left coast there are several choices; White Oak (NOT RED), Western Red Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar and Redwood are the local woods. Teak, Ipe and some of the mahoganys would be among the imports. These woods will stand up to weather fairly well, some more than others. Ipe, for instance will weather beautifully, last forever but is expensive and heavy. White oak will not weather as well but is cheaper and not quite as heavy. Red cedar is too soft in my opinion though it is a favorite here. It is expensive will stand up to weather well and is very light though as I said very soft. Just a few choices and as with everything they are all comprimises.

[Michael Pfau]

Hi Fred, I have buildt 2 adirondack chairs a few years ago, and used mahogony. They came out great. Mahogony holds up very good. Remember thats what wooden boats are made of! They have held up very well throughout Montana winters and summers. I used and exterior clear spar varnish.
Have a good day!

[John Hart]

I made mine out of spanish cedar to match a fence I built. I clear finished with minwax clear polyurethane. The drawback that I've experienced is the annual recoat, but the fact that nothing warps or cracks and it still looks beautiful makes up for that. (Northern Ohio weather) The price was great...if that's a consideration. Good Luck!

[Bryan Nuss]

I made 2 Adirondack chairs out of Easter White cedar, which I had planed to 3/4". While they are great, if I were to make them again, I would go to a full 1" thickness. I finished mine with 2 coats of clear spar urethane because I like the (final deep amber) wood colour. Plus they match the octagonal patio table I also made from 2x6 and 2x4 Eastern White cedar and finished the same way. It looks really great ... many compliments. Just touch it up only a little bit every year.

[Mike Hedges]

I have used cypress and it works fine, You might try a wood call Spanish Cedar , works great--kind of high dollar .

[Keith Christopher]

I have made them from redwood and australian cypress, and I like the redwood best. but they both come at a cost. QS white oak is VERY nice.



Keith

[Fred Chan]

I made this chair from my old cedar fence 3 years ago. I used the fence boards after a storm blew over the old fence. Adirondak chairs made from cedar are nice and light, attractive, and easy to make. Buy a bunch of cedar fence boards (not from HD:mad: too thin) and and you can make them cheap.:D :)

[Dave Carey]

Fred - I used cypress for one a year ago and like the way it weathers. Bought the cypress on eBay. Price wasn't bad, and it was delivered to my door. Think the seller was cat-twt (though not sure.)