September Project – Adirondack Chair
Boy does time fly -What happened to August? It seems like summer just started. Well, even with all the stuff going on with the sale of our current home and the purchase of a new shop home, it seems I was able to squeak out another monthly project. Of course for the second month in a row, I could not have done it without the help of my oldest son Andrew. He loves being in the shop and loves building things even more. Earlier this month we were on the hunt for new out door furniture. We thought we might find some good deals this late in the season. As my wife and I were struggling to find something in the third store we went to, Andrew says “dad, I would really like to build something big, something people will use”. He says this as we are standing in front of a set of Adirondack Chairs. My wife and I look at each other and instantly we know what to do. So the next day I start the hunt for good plans for Adirondack Chairs. There is a lot out their on the internet but most of them just didn’t feel right. I finally settled on a plan for a 2007 Fine Woodworking article.
You can find the information here. The design is pretty good and the drawing is really good. The article itself is missing alot of information, so be prepared to figure some things out for yourself.
This turned out to be Andrew’s project with some help from dad. He got to add another tool to his list of tools he can use, the band saw. At first he was not sure, but then once he saw me using it, he decided to try it. Now he loves it.
We decided to build one chair first to see how it goes and then dive in to build more after we learn the in’s and out’s. That was a good idea, because as I said earlier, the plans were a bit lacking. The end product looks really good and is very comfortable. I am sure that after the move, we will be making a few more of these chairs.
Project Details
- Plans from Fine Woodworking
- Lumber Ceder – Dimensional Lumber purchased at Home Depot
- Cost – @ $90.00 for materials
- Hours – 12 including teaching
Steven
Where have I been lately?
Well, as you can see for the last several weeks I have not posted much (ok, nothing). That’s because it has gotten very hectic around the Ricks household. We have been in negotiations to buy a new home and sell our old one. It is amazing how much energy it takes to get through something like this. The good news is as of September 30th we will be the proud owners of a new home. The best news is that this new home comes with a 37′ X 28′ shop. So with all the co-motion going on, I have not stayed exactly to plan. I have been in the shop quite a bit. It is amazing how much of a stress reliever it is. I will be doing an update soon on the wood working I have been doing, but for now I thought I owed you all an explanation of where I have been and what the plan is going forward.
As of late last week we started taking down the current shop. It was in desperate need of a good cleaning anyway. For the next couple of weeks we will be packing up the rest of the house in preparation for the move. So needless to say for the next several weeks there will be little to no actual woodworking going on. One of the first projects in the new house will be to get the shop insulated and heated for the winter. Why the first project, because there is a long list of furniture projects stacking up to keep me busy over the winter. So the project for the month of October will be to set up shop. I will post pictures of the new shop and the progress I make on it as I go along.
Thanks again for keeping up with my exploits and look for posts to come out on a more regular bases starting this week.
Steven
Safety Turning with Kids
The lathe is one of the safest tools in the shop, mostly for one simple thing, you hold the blade while the tool moves the wood. This does not mean that you should not take any safety precautions, you still can get injured turning, but it is far less common then with other tools. For this fact, it is a great tool to start kids on. In addition, the ability to start and finish a project in one short session keeps the kids interested. Unless you are an experienced wood turner, I highly recommend that you find a turning class for kids or Parents and kids. Your local Woodcraft store probably has a session or two. You can also try classes taught at schools like Marc Adams. And there are also wood turners like Alan Lacer who put on very good classes around the US. Videos are also very good learning tools if you can not make it to a class. Alan Lacer has some very good beginning turning DVDs on his site.
I also would suggest that anyone who will be turning with kids use a Safety Center. 
This is basically a dead center that grips the wood in a manor that allows it to slip if a tool gets caught or a finger is pinched between the tool rest and the wood. You can adjust the amount of slippage by how much pressure you put on the tail stock. Oneway makes a very good one that I highly recommend and you can find it on Alan Lacer’s website for a good price. I purchased one similar from Woodcraft that is a little different but does the same job.
Always suppervise your kids as they are turning. Never allow them to wear lose clothing, jewelry, and make sure their hair is tied up and out of the way. Make sure to go over how the tools work and all the safety issues of the tool with your kids. Always, Always wear eye protection and most of all have fun.
GeoCaching
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