DIY and Repair Guides

You only need a basic understanding of carpentry to build a deck chair. It is a project that you can finish in a few hours.

Required Tools and Materials

Lumber
Tack nails
Hammer
Fabric
Paper
Galvanized screws
Router
Pencil
Drill
Palm sander
Coping saw

Step 1

You need to decide what type of deck chair you want. The most popular are chaise and Adirondack. Draw a sketch so you have reference material. Note: most deck chairs are built using thin stock. Make sure you’ve got plenty of it to make a sturdy chair.

Step 2

Get the height for your chair. Now take a couple of side rail pieces. Slice and round both corners. Make a 1” hole at the top end of the side rail. This should be about two inches from the end. Repeat this 5/8ths halfway down the rail.

Step 3

To build a deck chair, you should cut rails three quarters of the rails’ size you drilled earlier. The hole needs to be the same size and the end hole should be oriented towards the ground.

Step 4

Put a 1” dowel in the hole. Join all the pieces. Make sure that you glue the outer rails. Do not glue the inner rails. As you arrange the pieces, make sure the shorter rails are in the longer rails. Drill holes, put in the dowel and glue them as you did earlier.

Step 5

For the supports you should use strapping type wood. You have two options; either glue them to the thicker rails or the supports can be made as joints. The supports should be installed at the lower part of the rails.

Step 6

When you build a deck chair you can use fabric. If not you can cut some 1 x 3 stock. Next, make a hole at the center and top dowels sections. Secure the stock in place. To build a deck chair’s seat, you can repeat this process.

Step 7

The next step is to paint or stain the chair. Which one you choose is up to you. As a rule though, wood like teak should not be painted; poly finish will be just fine. Look at the wood you are using: if it has its own shine, you don’t need to paint it. If you do decide to paint, make certain there is no lead.

Tips and Warnings

To build a deck chair effectively, you should always refer to your sketch plans. The basic process is the same as when making other chairs. Cut to the desired length; make holes in the sections mentioned, glue and nail.

However, you may need to add more supports depending on its size. The process described should work for any deck chair, but the number of dowels, nails etc depends on
the deck chair dimensions.

Wear goggles when cutting wood. Put on a face mask when painting. This will prevent you from inhaling any chemicals.

If you want to build a deck chair successfully, you’ll need to have a detailed plan and the right supplies. Then, it’s only a matter of following the instructions.

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