Chairs

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I'm talking myself into making a set of out door dining chairs for those two 60" steam bent round tables I haven't started yet.

The design I have is essentially a Chipendale with the splayed back and a seat made from sculpted wood slats.

Right now I'm messing around with the mechanics of building the component parts and the jigs and fixtures needed to accomplish the various cuts.

However eventually I'll have to decide what to make 'em from. I'm figuring on TiteBond III or Resoircinol for adhesive and finished with a white epoxy paint. These will remain out of doors all winter spring summer & fall.
I'll tent & wrap 'em in poly sheeting for the winter like I do my Adirondack chairs.

Material choices range from clear cedar to Mahogany to pine or spruce. Chippendales use M&T joinery.

My gut is telling me mahog' is the best choice cause the joints are highly stressed in a Chippendale style even if all my component pieces and joints will be substantially heavier and thicker than they would be for a nice indoor piece.


Any thoughts?

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Maybe local maple would be cheaper than Mahog. I am going to seal it with epoxy.

[Travis Porter]

My personal opinion is that mahogany would be better for outdoor use than maple. I am biased towards mahogany as I have used it for a long time and love it's workability.

IMO, the finish is going to get eaten up by the sun regardless, so I would use something that is easily renewable. Just my .02

[Jamie Buxton]

Maybe local maple would be cheaper than Mahog. I am going to seal it with epoxy.

Years ago I built some outdoor furniture with maple. Eventually water got into the joints and they rotted apart. I wouldn't use maple outside again. White Oak survives well outside, and is more available than Honduras Mahogany. You could also look into all those woods they sell for decking -- ipe and such.

[Gary Keedwell]

I made a couple of my outdoor chairs from wood they sold me as Philipino Mahogany. After 14 years of the elements...they are gray but still looking good. (unlike me) ;)
Gary K. PS. They are very Heavy...The ones I made from cedar are much easier to navigate around the premises.:)

[Mark Singer]

alaskan cedar , mahogony, teak, cypress

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

IPE presents some serious gluing issues. http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Gluing_Ipe.html
I'm not sure I want to risk building a set of joined chairs with the stuff. Possibly were I to use mechanical fasteners such as SST screws and SST rods to hold the stretchers and seats together; maybe then but, not otherwise.

Cedar and cypress are appealing I am unsure whether the shoulders on M&T joints wouldn't be too soft with those woods. What do you think?

[Mark Singer]

IPE presents some serious gluing issues. http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Gluing_Ipe.html
I'm not sure I want to risk building a set of joined chairs with the stuff. Possibly were I to use mechanical fasteners such as SST screws and SST rods to hold the stretchers and seats together; maybe then but, not otherwise.

Cedar and cypress are appealing I am unsure whether the shoulders on M&T joints wouldn't be too soft with those woods. What do you think?

Just up size the members a little. The Alascan cedar is the most moisture resistant wood I have ever found....the table I made 8 Months ago has not even changed color!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Just up size the members a little. The Alascan cedar is the most moisture resistant wood I have ever found....the table I made 8 Months ago has not even changed color!

I kind of planned on doing that to all the components.
It is after all an out-of-doors set that will be exposed to all four seasons here in the north east.

I am considering that resourcinol might the absolute go to glue over Titebond III I have a source for it that is a lot cheaper than those expensive (and tiny) cans of DAB product.

Of course I gotta buy a couple of units to justify the shipping costs - - it's a killer. Ya gotta pay extra cause Der Fatherland Security has declared formaldehyde to be a bomb-making component or some such.
I'll be blogging plaintively from my prison cell: "All I wanted was to glue sticks of wood together."

I am still struggling mentally with the idea of a "joined" wood chair existing out doors. I really like the design I came up with splayed back; canted rear legs; trapezoid seat w/ sculpted seat bottoms made from spaced strips to let the air and water pass through.
Maybe the boil proof resoircinol is the way to go?

Another design format I have been considering is the Welsh style stick chair which uses no glue. The component members are under constant stress which holds it all together. The key is a massive plank of a seat that can take the stresses.

I could use a sealing glue like epoxy in the joints not for it's gluing ability but to water proof the tapered joints.

[Jim Becker]

Outdoor? You need to choose a species that will hold up under those conditions, even if under cover. Mahogany is a good choice. So is white oak if you want a local species. Mark also had some interesting suggestions, although I'd avoid the softer species for this kind of delicate project, even with a little up-sizing. Maple is not a good choice, IMHO

Relative to the design and given the advantages to a little size manipulation, you can, in my opinion, work to get the "flavor" of a particular style without duplicating it exactly for this kind of outdoor furniture.

[Justin Bukoski]

A really good choice, if you can find it, is Iroko. Holds up very well outdoors, is strong and is pretty easy to work. Its probably oilier than Teak though so have some acetone ready for glue-up