Build your own wooden deck chair! This essential woodworking project guide provides simple, step-by-step instructions for beginners to create a durable and comfortable deck chair. Learn about materials, tools, and techniques to achieve a professional-looking result you’ll be proud of.
Hey there, fellow DIYers and woodworking enthusiasts! Jack Shaffer here, your go-to guy for all things nailers, saws, and dream projects. Ever looked at those stylish wooden deck chairs and thought, “I wish I could build that”? You’re probably not alone! Many folks find building furniture a bit intimidating, especially their first go. You might worry about complicated plans, fancy tools, or ending up with something wobbly. But let me tell you, building a solid wooden deck chair is a fantastic project for beginners, and it’s totally achievable!
We’re going to break down this project into simple, bite-sized steps. You’ll learn exactly what you need and how to put it all together safely and effectively. By the end of this guide, you’ll have the confidence to tackle it and a beautiful, handcrafted deck chair to show for it. Ready to transform some wood into a comfy spot to relax? Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Your Essential Wooden Deck Chair Woodworking Project Plan
Building a wooden deck chair might seem complex, but with the right plan, it’s a rewarding project for anyone looking to get hands-on with woodworking. This guide is designed to make it easy, even if you’re just starting out. We’ll cover everything from selecting your wood to the final finishing touches, ensuring you create a sturdy, stylish, and comfortable deck chair.
Why Build a Wooden Deck Chair?
There are so many great reasons to build your own deck chair. For starters, it’s a fantastic way to improve your woodworking skills. You’ll learn about measurements, cutting, joining, and finishing – all fundamental techniques. Plus, you get a beautiful, functional piece of furniture that adds charm to your outdoor space. Imagine relaxing in a chair you built with your own hands! It’s also often more budget-friendly than buying a high-quality wooden deck chair.
It’s a project that offers a great sense of accomplishment. Think of the satisfaction when guests compliment your new chair and you can proudly say, “I made that!”
Choosing Your Wood: What’s Best for Outdoor Furniture?
When building anything for outdoor use, wood choice is super important! You need something that can stand up to sun, rain, and maybe even a bit of snow. Here are some top contenders:
- Cedar: This is a classic for outdoor projects. Cedar is naturally resistant to rot and insects, and it smells amazing! It’s relatively lightweight and easy to work with.
- Redwood: Similar to cedar, redwood is beautiful and naturally durable. It’s a bit more expensive but offers excellent longevity.
- Teak: Teak is the king of outdoor hardwoods. It’s incredibly durable, weather-resistant, and looks gorgeous. However, it’s also the priciest option.
- Pressure-Treated Pine: This is a budget-friendly option. Pine wood is treated with chemicals to make it resistant to rot and insects. It’s strong and readily available. You’ll want to make sure you use appropriate fasteners for treated wood, like galvanized or stainless steel.
For a beginner-friendly project, cedar or pressure-treated pine are excellent choices. They offer good durability without a huge hit to your wallet or your tools!
Essential Tools for Your Deck Chair Build
You don’t need a workshop full of exotic tools to build a great deck chair. Here’s a rundown of what will make the job easier and more efficient. Safety first, always!
Measuring and Marking:
- Tape Measure: For accurate measurements.
- Pencil: A standard pencil works fine for marking wood.
- Combination Square or Speed Square: Crucial for marking straight lines and checking 90-degree angles. A speed square is super handy for marking cuts on the edge of your lumber.
Cutting Tools:
- Miter Saw (Chop Saw): This is ideal for making clean, accurate crosscuts and angle cuts, especially for pieces like the legs and back supports. If you don’t have one, a good handsaw and a miter box can work, but it will take more effort and precision.
- Jigsaw (Optional): If your design includes any curved pieces, a jigsaw is perfect for those cuts.
- Hand Saw: Useful for smaller adjustments or if you’re going completely manual.
Assembly Tools:
- Drill/Driver: Essential for pre-drilling pilot holes (which prevents wood splitting) and driving screws. A cordless drill is a DIYer’s best friend!
- Drill Bits: A set of good quality drill bits, including countersink bits, to make your screw heads sit flush or below the wood surface.
- Screwdriver Bits: To match your screws (usually Phillips or Torx).
- Clamps: You’ll want a few good clamps (bar clamps, F-clamps, or even C-clamps) to hold pieces together while you drill and screw. This is key to getting tight, strong joints.
- Hammer: For gentle persuasion or if you decide to use dowels or nails in certain areas.
Safety Gear:
- Safety Glasses: Non-negotiable. Protect your eyes from sawdust and flying debris.
- Hearing Protection: Especially when using power saws.
- Dust Mask: To keep sawdust out of your lungs.
- Work Gloves: For a better grip and to protect your hands.
Finishing:
- Sandpaper: A range of grits (e.g., 60, 120, 220) for smoothing the wood.
- Sander (Orbital Sander is great): Makes smoothing much faster than by hand.
- Paintbrush or Rags: For applying stain, sealant, or paint.
Need a new drill? The DEWALT Brushless Drill/Driver is a solid choice for DIYers, offering great power and battery life.
The Basic Design: A Simple & Sturdy Deck Chair
We’re going to outline a straightforward design that’s easy to build and comfortable to use. This design focuses on simple cuts and strong joinery. You can always adapt it later for more complex designs once you gain experience!
A typical deck chair consists of:
- Front Legs: Two upright pieces.
- Back Legs: Two longer upright pieces that angle backward.
- Seat Supports: Pieces that connect the front and back legs at the seat level.
- Seat Slats: The pieces that form the actual seat.
- Back Supports: Pieces that connect the back legs at the backrest level.
- Back Slats: The pieces that form the backrest.
- Armrests: Optional, but nice for comfort.
The key to a good deck chair is the angle of the back legs and the overall tilt of the seat, which makes it comfortable for lounging.
Cutting List and Dimensions
Here’s a sample cutting list for a basic deck chair. These dimensions are a good starting point, but feel free to adjust them based on your preference and the lumber you have. We’ll assume you’re using standard 1×4 lumber (which is actually ¾” thick and 3½” wide) and 2×4 lumber (which is 1½” thick and 3½” wide).
Wood: All pieces are likely to be 1×4 or 1×6 for slats, and 2×4 for structural parts, depending on your chosen design. We’ll use 1×4 for most parts here.
Cut List:
| Part Name | Quantity | Dimensions (Approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Legs | 2 | 18 inches long | Cut from 2×4 |
| Back Legs | 2 | 36 inches long | Cut from 2×4. One end will be angled. |
| Seat Support (Front) | 2 | 16 inches long | Cut from 1×4 |
| Seat Support (Rear) | 2 | 15 inches long | Cut from 1×4 |
| Back Support (Upper) | 2 | 18 inches long | Cut from 1×4 |
| Back Support (Lower) | 2 | 16 inches long | Cut from 1×4 |
| Seat Slats | 5-6 | 17 inches long | Cut from 1×4. You may need to rip some wider boards. |
| Back Slats | 4-5 | 18 inches long | Cut from 1×4 |
| Armrests (Optional) | 2 | 20 inches long | Cut from 1×6 for a wider rest. |
Remember to double-check your measurements before cutting! And when cutting the back legs at an angle for the seat, you’ll want to cut the top end at an angle to allow the backrest to attach properly later. An angle around 10-15 degrees is common.
Step-by-Step Build: Your Wooden Deck Chair
Alright, let’s get building! Grab your tools, your wood, and let’s make some sawdust.
Step 1: Cut All Your Pieces
Using your tape measure, pencil, and miter saw (or handsaw and miter box), cut all the pieces according to your cutting list. Accuracy here will make assembly much smoother. Sand any rough edges immediately after cutting.
Pro Tip: When cutting multiple identical pieces, like the seat slats, measure and set your saw stop once. This ensures perfect repetition!
Step 2: Prepare the Back Legs
This is where we set the recline. Take your two back leg pieces (36 inches). You’ll need to cut an angle off the top end. This allows the back slats to sit at a comfortable angle. Mark an angle of about 10-15 degrees and cut it. Then, on the opposite end of the leg (the one that will touch the ground), you might want to cut a slight angle so it sits flat. You’ll also want to mark where the back slats and seat supports will attach.
Step 3: Assemble the Side Frames
Each side of the chair is essentially a frame. You’ll build two identical ones. Take one front leg and one back leg. Lay them on your workbench. Now, take your front seat support (16 inches) and position it between the front leg and the back leg. Its height will depend on where you want your seat to be, but a good starting point is about 16-17 inches up from the bottom of the front leg. Ensure it’s level and square. Clamp it in place.
Pre-drill pilot holes through the front leg into the end of the seat support, and through the back leg into the other end of the seat support. Use two screws per joint. Repeat this for the other side of the chair with the second front leg, back leg, and seat support. You should now have two side frames that look like an ‘A’ or a rake.
Next, attach the rear seat support (15 inches) about an inch or two lower down on the legs. This creates the slight backward slope of the seat. Again, clamp, pre-drill, and screw.
Tool Tip: Using a countersink bit on your pilot holes will allow the screw heads to sit flush with the wood, making for a cleaner look and a smoother surface to sit on.
Step 4: Connect the Side Frames with Back Supports
Now we bring the two side frames together. Stand them upright. Take your two upper back supports (18 inches) and position them between the tops of the back legs. Clamp them in place. Make sure the frames are parallel and the supports are level. Pre-drill and screw them into the back legs. You might also attach the lower back supports at this stage if your design calls for it. You should now have the basic skeleton of your chair.
Step 5: Attach the Seat Slats
This is where your chair starts looking like a chair! Take your seat slats (17 inches). Lay them across the seat supports you installed earlier. Space them evenly – about a ½ inch gap between each slat is common. You can use a scrap piece of wood as a spacer. Clamp the slats in place.
Pre-drill pilot holes through each slat into the seat supports below. Use two screws per slat on each side. Make sure your screws are long enough to go through the slat and securely into the support but not so long that they poke out the bottom!
Step 6: Attach the Back Slats
Similar to the seat, you’ll attach the back slats (18 inches) to the back supports. Start with the bottom slat, then work your way up. Space them evenly to create a comfortable backrest. Clamp, pre-drill, and screw them into the back supports and/or back legs.
Step 7: Add Armrests (Optional)
If you’re adding armrests, now’s the time. These usually run from the front leg to the top of the back leg. You might need to cut a slight angle on the ends to match the slope of the chair. Position them, clamp, pre-drill from the underside into the legs, and screw them into place.
Step 8: Sanding and Finishing
This is where you turn a good project into a great one! Thoroughly sand the entire chair. Start with a coarser grit (like 80 or 120) to remove any marks or unevenness, then move to a finer grit (like 220) for a smooth finish. Pay attention to edges and corners.
Once everything is smooth, it’s time to protect your chair. For outdoor use, a good sealant or exterior-grade varnish is essential. You can also use exterior paint or stain. Apply it according to the manufacturer’s instructions, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies.
For more on finishing outdoor wood, check out this guide from the This Old House website.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Even with the best plans, you might run into a few snags. Don’t worry, it’s all part of the learning process!
- Wobbly Chair: This usually means some joints aren’t tight or the legs aren’t on a level surface. Double-check all your screws are tight and that your chair sits evenly. Sometimes adding a small shim under a short leg can fix it.
- Wood Splitting: This is why pre-drilling pilot holes is so important! If you find a split, you might be able to glue it and clamp it, or in some cases, you might need to replace the piece.
- Uneven Gaps: In the slats? Use a consistent spacer, and if you have a slightly wider gap, it’s usually just cosmetic.
Customization Ideas
Once you’ve mastered this basic design, you can get creative!
- Different Wood Types: Experiment with different species for varied looks and durability.
- Wider Slats: Use 1×6 boards for the seat and back for a chunkier look.
- Comfortable Angles: Tweak the angles of the back legs to find your perfect recline.
- Add a Footrest: Build a matching footrest for ultimate relaxation.
- Integrated Side Table: Design a small shelf that attaches to one of the armrests.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q1: What is the best wood for an outdoor deck chair?
A1: Cedar, redwood, teak, and pressure-treated pine are excellent choices due to their natural resistance to rot and insects. Cedar is often favored for its balance of durability, workability, and cost.
Q2: Do I need special screws for pressure-treated lumber?
A2: Yes, it’s highly recommended to use exterior-grade screws made of stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanized steel. These are resistant to corrosion, which is exacerbated by the chemicals in pressure-treated wood.
Q3: How do I prevent wood from splitting when screwing?
A3: Always pre-drill pilot holes before driving screws. The pilot hole should be slightly smaller than the screw’s diameter. Using a countersink bit also helps recess the screw head.
Q4: What is a good angle for the back of a deck chair?
A4: A comfortable recline angle typically falls between 15 and 25 degrees from the vertical. This can be adjusted based on personal preference. The angle of your back legs and back supports will determine this.
Q5: Can I build this with just hand tools?
A5: Yes, it’s possible with basic hand tools like a handsaw, hammer, and hand drill, along with clamps. However, power tools like a miter saw and drill/driver significantly speed up the process and improve accuracy.
Q6: How should I finish my wooden deck chair for outdoor use?
A6: For best results, sand the chair smooth and apply an exterior wood sealant, stain, or varnish. Ensure the finish is rated for outdoor use to protect against UV rays and moisture. Reapply periodically as needed.
Conclusion: Your Finished Deck Chair Awaits!
And there you have it! You’ve successfully navigated the essential build of your very own wooden deck chair. From selecting the right lumber to making those final, satisfying cuts and applying the protective finish, you’ve built something durable and beautiful with your own two hands. That feeling of accomplishment is truly special, isn’t it?
Remember, this blueprint is just the beginning. The more you build, the more comfortable you’ll become with the tools and techniques, and the more you’ll want to customize and elevate your projects. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different designs, wood types, or finishes on your next build. For now, take a moment to admire your hard work. You’ve created a functional piece of art that will bring comfort and style to your outdoor space for years to come. So grab a cold drink, kick back, and enjoy that deck chair!