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Building A Plywood Lounge Chair

I recently got into playing guitar, which is awesome, but it kinda comes with a lot of stuff which has been just hanging out in the living room. After building this TV stand in a spare room, I decided to convert this space into a guitar playing/video game playing/general hang out room.

This thought up this project of designing and building a chair that would allow me to go from playing guitar to gaming or watching TV. It’s low to the ground so my feet can remain flat footed while playing. The low arm design means I won’t be bumping my guitar into the arms, but they are still somewhat there for aesthetics. Then, when I’m done playing, I can ditch the guitar and kick back some to game or watch a show.

Things I Used in This Project:
ISOtunes Bluetooth Hearing Protection: http://amzn.to/2pEjNtv
Armor Mobile Workbench: http://bit.ly/2JL03ix
Armor Tool Clamps: http://bit.ly/2Xew2e0
Drill Press Stand: http://bit.ly/2AUGKxj
Titebond II: https://amzn.to/2xFGFye
Titebond Instant Bond: http://amzn.to/2hVLbSb
Titebond Quick and Thick: https://amzn.to/2KflUe0
Router Table: http://amzn.to/2hM912C
Plywood Workbench: http://bit.ly/2KEhX6q
Infinity Mega Flush Trim Bit: https://amzn.to/2MJFrY7
Bessey Clamps: https://amzn.to/2pSf1Hu
Bessey KlikClamps: https://amzn.to/2CfuU23
Cross Cut Sled: https://amzn.to/2PeAGrc
Trim Router: https://amzn.to/2Ybvjix
Track Saw: http://amzn.to/2qmTytb
Plug Cutter: https://amzn.to/2JmkikL

Alright, let me start at the beginning and show you how I got here. 

On most of my projects I do a 3D model on the computer to get the design down and a cut list. Then I immediately start building. But with this one I took the time to build a prototype from pine plywood to see/feel it in real life before committing to breaking into the Walnut.

The first prototype was a high arm chair that I loved the look of the most but after I put it together I found out I couldn’t play guitar in it.

Then the second design was the one with the lower arms and after sitting in it with my guitar I could clearly see it was the winner of the two. 

With a direction figured out and a few modifications I made thanks to the prototype, I started building it from Walnut plywood, getting both chairs from just a single sheet of 3/4” ply. To make it more stocky and sturdy a lot of the parts are two sheets laminated together.

It’s much easier to glue together two square pieces but this part creates a lot of waste so instead of applying glue to the entire thing, I first traced my template out on my wood then only applied glue inside this trace.

This will allow the unglued portions to be separated once the shape is cut and used for something else since they are a decent size. I made sure to use my trace lines as reference to apply pressure in the correct location (where there is glue) when clamping these parts together as well. 

While those were setting up to dry, I started making what will be the seat slats. I made templates for this project so I started by using the slat template to set the fence of my table saw and ripping the needed amount.

Next was to use a flush trim bit at the router table to make them identical to my template. To speed this job up, I’m taping a few of the slats together so I can cut multiples at the same time.

How many slats you can cut will be determined on how tall your bit is. I’m using a really tall flush trim bit from Infinity that made cutting three at a time possible. I temporarily attached my template to the top of this stack using masking tape and CA glue then used the router to quickly cut the parts to be the same.

By this time the arm/leg part was done drying so I unclamped it and did a rough cut over at the bandsaw. Remember I already used my template to trace on the shape, so I at this point I cut just right outside of my line.

To get the exact shape, I took the part to my armor tool mobile workbench and once again used the masking tape and CA glue trick to attach my template to the top. For this, I’m using the Instant Bond made from Titebond. You just need a small bead down the center of the tape then apply pressure for about 30 seconds.

For larger parts like this, I use the help of my Armor Tool Clamps in the workbench since they are so easy to deploy, adjust, and release. 

With the template secured on top I once again went to the router table to cut my parts perfect. Still using a flush trim bit from Infinity but switching to their Mega flush trim bit which has a compression cutting design that leaves a beautiful finish on both the top and bottom surface, which was important to me since I’m using ply and it has that veneer. 

I set those parts aside and started creating the stretchers that would span between the front and back legs. I once again used the template for this part to set the fence on my table saw to rip the needed pieces to width, then the miter saw to angle the ends.

These parts have a dado in them which will later receive the seat slats. So on my template, I cut a marker to indicate the back line position of each dado.

After marking the back line from the template, I used my seat slat to mark the front line, then took them over to my table saw to cut them out.

Since two are needed per chair, I taped my set together to cut both at the same time. You can see I used my cross cut sled and while it does go quickly, I took my time to creep up on my lines to make sure I got a nice snug fit.

You want to be able to press the part in by hand and it stay. I would test fit each dado as I completed it before moving on to the next one. 

So this stretcher assembly is also made up of two parts to make it 1 1/2” thick, and I made it complicated to get a look I think looks nicer.

The inside has a dado going all the way through, but the outside has a stop dado which only goes halfway through.

This way when the two are glued together and the seat slat is inserted, it’s a strong joint but looks seamless from the outside.

I just made the inside part so now to make this outside part….

I used the other part to trace the dado start and stop lines then transferred them to the inside edge with a square. This way I could come through with a trim router and a straight bit to carve out in between my lines. I used the router to hog away the majority of the material then used a chisel to hit the corners and make them square instead of round. 

Then part A and part B can be glued together in order to make up the needed assembly.

With those made I started working on cutting in the dados for these parts to fit into to connect them to the leg/arm parts. I used the stop dado stretcher to mark the location of my needed cut.

Then I brought out my track saw and lined up the track in order to make my first cut. Either way, the depth needs to be set so it only cuts a portion of the way through.

I made multiple cuts with my saw then smooth it all out with a chisel. 

Alright, and before assembling these parts all together, I paused and edge banded them all. This is the process to cover up the end grain which is the exposed plywood layers and place a matching veneer over it. It’s slightly time consuming but very easy to do.

I purchased 1 1/2” wide walnut veneer and used an iron to roam over it while pressing down until the glue on the back was heated up enough to stick to the wood below. Then I used a chisel to trim off the excess on either side of my part which made the veneer nice and flush. I edge banded all the parts I currently made.

When banding the stretchers with all the dados in them, I would band right over the top then use a chisel to carve out the dado slot afterwards.

I test fitted a slat when doing this to make sure I wouldn’t have any issues later on during the actual assembly, but things looked really promising. 

Ok lets put some parts together! I already did a dry test fit to make sure things would work before applying glue so now it was time for the real thing. I applied some Titebond wood glue (I used II because it was what I had on my bench). Then I popped things into place.

I didn’t want a ton of squeeze out and clean up on this joint so I smeared just enough wood glue to evenly coat the dado’s bottom and sidewalls. I also moved quickly but took my time popping things in. It’s a little tricky with the slant of the part and the two angles of the ends but once it’s in place, it fits just like a glove. Once in, I quickly set a few clamps in place to secure it and apply pressure while it dried. I’m using a few of these 6” Bessey F style clamps which apply a tremendous amount of pressure very easily. 

After letting that sit for about 5 mins I used a chisel to scrap off any glue squeeze out from this joint but then I let it set up in clamps over night. 

And oh my goodness, I was cussing those stop dados while making them but man do I love the smooth look they give the stretcher and this entire assembly. 

Ok back to edge banding. Before, I edge banded the inside of the leg/arm parts because I knew I wouldn’t be able to access it after glueing in the stretcher. However, I saved the outside until now so that I could hide the half lap joinery of the stretcher going into the leg/arm, making it too look seamless. And just a tip for you on making these tight corners with the veneer…I would use the iron to apply heat to the area I wanted to bend, while slowly bending it. This makes it malleable so it doesn’t just snap.

Alright, and now to assemble some more! Now it was time to glue in the seat slats and join the two leg/arm assemblies.

I always find glue ups to be pretty nerve wracking but this one wasn’t too bad actually. I decided to tackle this job by glueing in one side of the slats into one of the leg/arm parts first. I would apply glue into each one of the dados, again not going overboard on the glue here but just applying enough to coat the bottom and the side walls. Then wiggling in the slat until it seated all the way down and back. It’s easy to tell when it’s where it should be because it’s flush on top and no gaps around it.

Once in place, I clamped it down using a Bessey Klikclamp. If there was any squeeze out on these joints, I used a chisel to scrap it clean before moving on to the other side and repeating. 

This side was a little trickery because I couldn’t move the part around as freely to wiggle it in. It is also too tight of an area to get a mallet into place. I was kind of worried I screwed up but then realized I could use the ratcheting feature of the Bessey Klikclamps to asset me.

I used the clamps to seat the slats all the way, then a few bar clamps to seat the slats in the other direction as well. 

And that’s the base done. Now lets make the back. I started off by making what will be the top and bottom rail of the back. These are identical with a few dados cut in to receive the vertical back slats later on so I once again used my cross cut sled to cut in these dados.

After I made all the dados, I ripped it down the center to divide it into the two rails needed. Doing it this way ensures they are in fact identical. 

After cutting out the vertical slats using my template and a flush trim bit, I quickly edge banded the sides that would be exposed then joined them to the top and bottom rail. I switched over to using Titebond’s Thick and Quick for these easier glue ups because while it has the same holding strength as their other glue, it has an incredibly quick dry time and therefore reduced the amount of time I had to wait before moving on. 

On the back, I waited until the vertical slats were attached to edge band both the top and bottom. Again, just so the joinery would be hidden and it would look seamless.

After I veneered the those edges I attached the last parts to make up the completed back. These end pieces are another part where I used my template to cut out. They are also another part that I thicken up by lamenting two parts together.

After edge banding the sides I applied some more Thick and Quick to the dado on the top and bottom rail then slid it into place and clamped it down to dry.

I let that set up, making sure to clean up the glue squeeze out before it dry completely, then moved on to attaching the completed back to the completed base. This is, not really a hard glue up but it does take some time so I switched back to using Titebond II since it has a longer open time than Thick and Quick, which gave me more time to move things around and get the back positioned perfectly before the glue started curing.

You can see I had clamps on the ready so that as soon as I got one side in it’s position I could quickly clamp onto it and move to the other side. I also am using a bevel gauge to make sure the angle of one side matches the other side. 

After letting that dry in clamps over night I decided to reinforce the joint with a few screws and cover them up with walnut plugs. I first predrilled the four locations to pin the back to the base, then used a forstner bit to counterbore each one for roughly a 1/4” deep plug to be inserted in.

After driving in a screw to each hole I went to the drill press and used a plug cutter to make a few plugs. I cut these from solid walnut instead of the plywood so that I could leave some overhanging out of the hole to cut and sand flush.

I applied some Thick and Quick to each hole to attach the plugs, oh and I made sure to pay attention to grain orientation here so that the grain of the plugs ran with the arm/leg part and would blend better. After the glue was dry, I used a pull saw to cut them flush then some light sanding to finish them off. 

Then since I was sanding, I went over the entire chair. Since this is plywood, I started off with 220 and made sure not to eat through the veneer but I did want to roam over all the surfaces to get them nice and smooth before finish. 

Which was the next step. Ah, it’s always exciting to get to this point in the project. I’m personally going with a wipe on urethane finish and while you can use a foam or bristle brush, I typically just grab an old t-shirt and cut off a bit to use as my wipe on rag. I evenly coated all the surface then let it sit for a few hours before applying a second coat. 

And that’s it. My goodness that was a pretty intimidating build. I’ve been putting off building a chair for a long time but I’m extremely pleased with how this pair came out looking and feeling.

Now I will have a dedicated place to not only sit and play but to also store all the stuff that goes with it. 

If you’re interested I have templates available for both the short arm design as well as the tall arm design. I hope that you enjoyed this project and I’ll see you on my next build! 

If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up at the top of this page for my newsletter so you don’t miss new projects!

The post Building A Plywood Lounge Chair appeared first on Wilker Do's.

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Building Stairs in Three Days

Both Alma and Erin are Makers/Builders and while Alma could have tackled the stairs on her own, I offered to come help as I’ve built two sets and could speed up the process. Truthfully it was a great excuse for the three of us friends to hang out while being productive.

The staircase though was pretty worn out. There was plenty of rotten wood. Especially in the posts, as they were in direct contact with the ground.

The rise and run of the steps were all slightly different and the most problematic issue was there was no landing to the stairs. So when you came out of the house door, you would only have a few inches to stand. Then, if the door shut while you were standing there, it would boot you down the steps! 

Ok now that you see the befores, lets get into the rebuilding process. 

Things I Used in This Project:
ISOtunes Bluetooth Hearing Protection: http://amzn.to/2pEjNtv
Bessey KlikClamps: https://amzn.to/2CfuU23
Post Brackets: https://amzn.to/2Mtraia
Joist Hangers: https://amzn.to/32yQHw3
Stair Brass Blocks: https://amzn.to/2qv82rF
Titebond Construction Adesive: http://amzn.to/2E1Da43
Post Level: https://amzn.to/2J8HjYe

The first step was to demo the existing staircase. In this particular instance though it wasn’t as easy as taking a sledge to it because there are two posts holding up an awning of the house. Before these can be removed this awning needs to be supported in a different way so it doesn’t sag.

I didn’t want to just prop it up with two vertical posts and those be in the way of the already tight working quarters of the new stairs we would be building. So I decided to try more of a support beam/header type of holding.

This would span horizontally across the entire awning, then vertical props would be used on either side, therefore pushing them a ways out from the building area. The thing to work around here is to not interfere with the siding which comes down about an inch on either side of the awning. To avoid knocking into this with our header, we first placed a 2x onto of the 4×4 we would be running across the awning.

On top of building up the beam to miss the siding, this also gives us a way to secure it to the roof which would temporally hold it up juuuuust in case one of the vertical props gets knocked while we are building and moving around it. This is not light and we knew it would be a struggle to hold it up for a long period so we drove in screw along the 2x material so that as soon as Alma and I got the beam up the ladders and pressed flush to the roof, Erin could very quickly drive in the screws to secure it. 

Whew, ok even though it’s held with screws, don’t stand under it.

To make the vertical props we took a measurement then cut a 2x to length, attaching a short shoe to widen the footprint up at the top and stabilize it just a little bit more. 

Alright, perfect. Now the awning is supported but the temporary props are also as out of the way as possible. Lets move on to demo.

I was expecting these posts to go up into the rafters of the awning but instead they were secured with nails and butted up to the bottom side. We used a sawzall to cut off the majority of the post then hammered out the small remaining chunk.

For the rest of the stairs we used a combo of tools to break it apart. Using a hammer or sledge when we didn’t need to be delicate…..and a demo blade when we did such as when we needed to remove the stringers from the house. 

Now on to the next problem to sort….getting rid of this giant, meaning heavy, concrete step. This was, difficult and we tried an assortment of things.

I hoped it would break up easily, but after working hard to bust up just a corner or two we saw it had rebar in it. So our next hope was to try and move it.

A long rock bar would make this job a lot easier but Alma didn’t have one so we made due with the tools she did have, which was a shovel, a pry bar, leverage, and a strap. The goal was to get a strap around it then try pulling it. We didn’t get far with that, so next we threw a dolly and a few furniture dollies into the mix.

After getting it up on two, we were able to heave the close to 500 lbs block out of the way. Not very far, but just enough to get on with the build. 

Ok so the first step in the rebuilding process was to build out the landing.

This will give them a proper standing area instead of just having a few inches before heading into the doorway. Be sure to check with the your local building codes here as many stipulate a minimum on what this landing needs to be.

We first cut a header and attached the two outside framing members to it before moving it into place right under the doorway.

This needs to be placed so that when the decking material is attached on top it will be flush with the existing threshold.

After making sure it was level, we attached it to the house, then started figuring out the location to set the supporting posts.

We will be using a post base bracket to anchor the post to the ground and also elevate it up off the ground. We plumbed and then temporarily attached a 4×4 to the header using some Bessey Klikclamps, to mark the location of the post bracket below it.

Once it’s location was determined a hammer drill was used to drill a hole in the slab to place a concrete anchor.

This goes into the center of the bracket to attach the bracket to the ground, then the post can be set on top and attached to the post. This is much easier to do with two people as one can be reading the level to plumb up the post while another drives in the screws.

Also, even though these are on brackets, I would still recommend using treated lumber. 

Now a front framing member made from 2x material can be added to the front to complete the landing framing.

So now we could cut the posts to the actual height needed which is flush to the top side of the 2x material. I used a circular saw to eat through as much of the material on these as possible then Erin finished them off with a sawzall.

Oh I almost forgot the center joist, no problem through. We quickly threw in the actual last framing member of the landing which will help support the deck boards that go in next. 

And that is the landing complete, so moving on to the part I was sweating….laying out the stair stringers.

This part can be nerve wracking but it is a simple formula. I’ll link to the video down below that I think explains the steps to on how to do it very well. Things to keep in mind: again check out your code because there are mins and maxes for the rise and run, I made these with a 7 3/4” rise and an 11” run. The goal is to have all the steps the same. It’s funny how easily the body can tell when a step is off from the others but it also creates a hazard if they are off, so it’s more than just an aesthetics thing. 

You can see it’s being cut out from a treated 2×12 and I started with a circular saw making all the cuts in one direction before changing my stance and making all the cuts going the other direction.

Some people will overcut their line here in order to make the cutting go quicker but the better way is to cut up to your line on both directions then come back with a jigsaw or sawzall to complete the cut and drop the part.

After getting one stringers cut out, we tested it in place to make sure it was correct before making more. You can use the first one as a template for the others needed. This is a 36” wide staircase so we put in three stringers. 

While I cut stair stringers, Erin started cutting the threads and risers that we’ll need later on, then Alma started painting as we fed her parts. If you have the time, I definitely recommend painting things before you assemble them. It’s not only easier to paint boards that are loose but it also gives them better protection as all sides can get coated. 

Now we were working in kinda a tight spot because there is a cellar door just to the left of the stairs so even though the next step was to start attaching the stringers to the landing, we paused to drill the concrete anchor needed to set the post base, so that we could do this while we still had plenty of working room to get a body and tool in there. 

Once that was in, we started attaching the stringers.

As you can see this is not flush to the end of the landing but is inset some and this is because I really wanted the 4×4 post to go all the way down to the ground instead of resting on top of a stair. Since you can’t cut through a stringer, we just moved it in so it would miss the post.

We did the same thing for the placement of the far right stringer. And you can see we are using these stair stringer hanging brackets. I’ve linked to all the brackets down below if you have questions on what was used. 

Now to anchor the stringers down to the concrete we inserted in a 2×4 in a cutout at the very base. This is something you can mark and cut for when you’re making the stringers.

And now we can pre drill (using a concrete bit) then drive in some masonry screws. 

From here it goes pretty quickly. Next we needed to throw in the posts, so after giving them a quick coat of paint, we cut them to size and positioned them on their brackets which we already attached to the ground. Of course being careful to avoid hitting the header, each other, or the house in the process.

Once the posts were upright, we would throw a level on them to get them plumb then attach them with screws at the base first. Then still reading the level on two of the faces, Erin attached it to the underside of the awning. We used two screws per side here, making sure to hit the rafters in range. 

With those two main posts in, the header and it’s two props can now be removed. We hopped up on ladders to first take out all of the screws holding the header up to the awning then with Erin and I ready to support the beam, Alma kicked out and removed the vertical props. Oh and incase you’re worried, that is a phone line in the air, not power. 

Before closing in the stairs, we took the opportunity to drive in a few screws on the inside of the stringers to tie them into the two posts.

Then we started attaching risers which are the vertical boards of the steps. And this is where things really start to fly. We already had these boards cut and painted so we could very quickly just throw them in place and secure them with screws. 

After the risers come the threads, which are the horizontal boards on stairs. These are attached the same way, by a few screws into each stringer.

For these you can use two boards to make up the distance as we’ve done here, or you can use a single wide board.

Then just a tip for you, you can lay down some construction adhesive under the threads to prevent squeaking in the steps. Then another tip to work quicker is to cut a spacer from a scrap to the length of your overhang on the side. This way you can use the spacer to line up the next board instead of pulling a tape on each one. 

It’s a pretty exciting stage when you can go up and down the steps for the first time. It’s Alma’s house, so she did the honors of trying them out first. 

Originally the tall posts were on the second to last step, which is where the handrail ended, which was fine. However now that the steps were all the same rise and run and we also added in the spacious landing, there were three and half steps past the posts which meant there wouldn’t be a handrail for this portion.

None of us were a fan of that so we decided to add in a few more posts closer to the bottom of the steps. While Alma went to grab more posts brackets for them, Erin and I stated on making and attaching the hand rail for the upper section. 

These are made from simple 2x4s that are angled and attached to the house as well as the 4×4 posts. Again painting before throwing them in to make life easier.

After getting the top and bottom attached, we started attaching the vertical slats. We used a spacer to make these evenly spaced a part from one another, would drive in one screw at the top plumb it up with a level, then drive in the bottom screw. 

After getting the top portion done we moved to the bottom to repeat. Since we didn’t accommodate for posts here, we used a jigsaw to cut a tread so a post could slip in and butt up to the stringers.

It was a little cramped getting to the inside of the stringers to attach it to the post, but I was able to wiggle in there.

Oh and just a tip, picking up a post level that reads plumb on two faces at once is a good investment in my opinion. 

Again we left the posts long here so they can be cut to exact height after the hand rail is placed. We quickly cut and threw in the hand rails, the vertical slats, then cut each post to height using two cuts with the circular saw. 

Last thing to add before calling it complete is a top cap on all four sections of the handrails, which we toenailed in from the underside to hide the screws from view. 

And there we go, a drastically more stable and functional set of stairs.

Not at all bad for 3 days worth of work. 3 strong women and new stairs!

If you have a set of steps on your to do list then I hope you found this video helpful. Of course each set up will be different but the basics are the same. It is an intimating project but all the obstacles that come along with building a new set or rebuilding an old set can be worked through so take your time and have some fun with it. 

Find Erin here: http://bit.ly/2MqhFky
Find Alma here: http://bit.ly/2VXS1Gg
Find the videographer here: http://bit.ly/35QAy7d

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