If we have a garden, large or small, or at least a small porch or a balcony, having some nice garden chairs to sit and relax, or a lounger to sunbathe or take a nap will help us enjoy it a little more.
Yes, this is another one of those Woodgears translations that I did a while ago and for which I hadn’t written the corresponding introduction.
The first project is, as I said, a garden chair (number 8 in the Woodgears translations). It is a sturdy design that is quite simple to make, even using small woodworking tools, if we follow the included plans.
The truth is that if we only have DIY tools, such as a circular saw and/or a jigsaw, to make the task easier we will need to buy wood of the appropriate dimensions, as otherwise, thicknessing and planing the wood will be very complicated.
A homemade table saw like some of those shown on this blog and its crosscut sled, or some of the jigs for the handheld circular saw or the jigsaw will also help us cut the pieces to the correct length.
For the garden chairs to look really nice, the backrest should have a slight curvature, but if you don’t feel capable of making that curve with the jigsaw (you will need quite a bit of sanding work to get a fine finish) you can always leave it straight. And if your intention is to make several of these chairs, the most recommended thing is to also make the assembly jig (which is not the same as the copy templates), as it will speed up the work of assembling all the pieces so that they are perfect and exactly the same. And surely, if you are enthusiastic about this project, you won’t just make one.
The other project is a curious lounger (number 5 in the Woodgears translations), although I should rather call it a bench for taking a nap in the yard. It is very easy to make if we follow the plans, although this time the plans are not in the metric system. It’s always good to have an imperial measuring tape in the workshop. Here, as with the garden chairs, we need to cut several curves in the wood, but we can always choose to leave the surface of the lounger completely flat. The system for making the legs along with some sturdy horizontal slats make this a model of a lounger that is easy and quick to make.