How to make a chair by hand drawings. Making a chair from solid wood with your own hands: a master class for beginners. Making a wooden chair with a back

Handmade furniture is always very practical and unusual. You can adapt it to your own needs as efficiently as possible, and at the same time pleasantly surprise guests, friends and relatives with an original product, and simply accommodate them with comfort and convenience. So you can’t do without beautiful and comfortable chairs in almost any interior, be it an apartment or a country house.

Moreover, making them yourself is not so difficult, but rather even pleasant and interesting, since this process allows you to fully reveal your design abilities.

Material selection

The first thing to think about when designing your homemade seating is the material. The right ideas can come spontaneously - for example, an old and unused wooden bed in the countryside can serve as a good base for several new chairs at once. Indeed, wood is perhaps the most practical and convenient option for creating seats. You can use oak, pine, and many other species. Which one to choose is a matter of taste and skill. So, oak or beech are difficult to process, but products made from them are textured, hard and reliable.

A homemade chair made of solid wood will look great both in a country house and in many city interiors, especially antique-style ones. In addition, this is one of the simplest options. It is easier to make a chair from wood than from plywood, chipboard or laminated chipboard. It can also be made from clapboard.

In the production of a wooden chair, boards, logs, beams and other items can be useful. Wicker chairs are usually made from wicker. Other popular materials include lining, profile pipes, and cardboard. Furniture can also be made from polypropylene or profile pipes. The use of pallets and even tires is allowed.

More complex options include glass and metal. To create a forged product, you will need certain skills, as well as the presence of welding equipment and, accordingly, a protective face mask. Forged seats are very strong and reliable, but when working on them, maximum concentration, clarity and a high level of professionalism are important, since the slightest inaccuracy in the calculations will make the chair “lame” or uncomfortable, and it will be difficult to correct such an oversight.

A glass chair is also an interesting option, but this is an even more filigree work. Such products look advantageous in modern and modern interiors.

You can combine materials. For example, the seat is made of metal, plywood or chipboard, the legs are made of bars, the back is made of boards. Within certain limits different textures of surfaces can be compensated for at the stage of varnishing and decorating. The main thing is not to fall into excessive eclecticism.

However, it is better not to limit your imagination. When making a seat, you can use almost any available means. Craftsmen make beautiful models from stumps, old logs, almost anything!

The main thing is that it is comfortable and sits softly. Do not forget that to organize the latter property, special bedding and softening materials are often used, which can even “level” the surface.

Purpose

The seating area, organized independently, can be used in various interiors. Most often, such chairs are made for a summer house or country house, since they fit perfectly into the stylistic specifics of these premises.

In addition, any inaccuracies in work or shortcomings of materials here often turn into advantages, as they emphasize naturalness and authenticity. Therefore, old boards, logs, and unnecessary equipment are suitable as a base. Why not, for example, disassemble an old and shaky stepladder or ladder and make several chairs from it for a country table.

However, the seat can be made for any other room - the main thing is to find a reasonable and feasible idea and select the appropriate materials for it:

• For kitchen. The kitchen chair is very unpretentious. It can be made not very tall. Often there are models without a back. Many materials are suitable for this: from plastic to wood. It is desirable that the design be light and durable. You can experiment with coating and coloring. Many people like bright colors. If the kitchen is large, it makes sense to work on bar model projects. This is more difficult - such models are taller and more mobile; special mechanisms and springs will need to be installed in them to organize rotation.

Let's add that you can attach wheels to any kitchen chair. In the dining area, especially if you live with children, it is very convenient.

• For the bath it is preferable to use wood. It is important to sand the wood well, as the pile will actively rise due to increased and unstable humidity and temperature in the room.

• For workspace It’s easier to buy chairs, but in some cases making them yourself is very advisable. For example, if we are talking about a chair for a schoolchild. A children's "school" chair can be adapted to the child's posture. Children are also constantly growing, and the chair can be redesigned at any time to accommodate changes in their growth. This will allow you to save a lot without having to buy new furniture every year.

• For bedroom and living room. Usually they make either a small bedside chair, a low chair, or a rocking chair. The latter option will require well-developed carpentry skills, since you will have to cut out rounded parts for the lower parts of the structure, which ensure the “mobility” of such furniture.

Hand-made chairs can be used not only for sitting, but also for sleeping and relaxing. A rocking chair, a chaise longue, a hammock – these are all quite realistic projects.

Constructions

There are several main types of homemade chairs. For example, a chair with a backrest can be folding, stationary, etc. Let's consider the main design features:

• With or without backrest. In the first case, the back has something to rest on, the second option is simply a surface with a seat - a stool. It's the easiest to make. In fact, any stump is already a prototype of this idea. The main thing is to pay attention to the base.

Making furniture with a back is no longer so easy. Firstly, you will need significantly more parts for the frame, and secondly, it is important to find a balance between the stability of the base and the ability to put pressure on the back so as not to tip over or fall to the side. The backrest can be reclining.

• Folding and folding. Folding models usually use a special metal rod or other element to provide flexibility to the product. As a rule, folding refers to the movement of seating areas towards the surface of the backrest. This allows, for example, in the country, to stack folding chairs against the wall close to each other to save space.

Please note that the base must also be foldable; therefore, it cannot be fixed rigidly.

There are also more interesting products, which, however, require higher professional skills for their manufacture. Thus, transforming seats can change their design during operation: height, backrest bend and other elements, and in some cases even adapt to the anatomical features of the figure. Such “growing” and sometimes even collapsible models are well suited for children and teenagers.

• With or without the ability to rotate. Helical swivel chairs are widely used in office spaces, but they can be used anywhere. An additional element is wheels. Furniture on wheels is mobile and practical.

• Saddle or flat surface. In the first case, the legs diverge at an angle. It is difficult to make such a product yourself, since it is important not to “lose” its main advantage - ensuring the correct load on the spine. However, according to some medical studies, the benefits of the “saddle” are questionable. The fact is that the equestrian position contributes to disruption of natural blood circulation in the pelvic organs and leads to the development of prostatitis and other diseases.

• With and without armrests. To make armrests, you will need several additional strips, but this will add convenience to the product.
• With or without footrest. Additional overlap can be installed at a distance of 10-20 cm from the floor surface.
• Hanging or static. For hanging interior items, you will need holders and ropes with which they will be attached to the ceiling or other surface. The easiest way to create such a model for a summer house is in the form of a hammock. You can weave a chair or build a wooden model into a wicker form. The main thing is that the design is soft.

There are still a large number of variations. Design experiments here are practically not limited by anything other than the ultimate convenience and reliability of the product.

Instrument preparation

To make a wooden model you will need a classic working arsenal with an emphasis on carpentry. Nails, screws, bolts, self-tapping screws, screwdrivers, hammers, wood glue, grinding tools, a vice, as well as a milling cutter and chisel, a workbench and a jigsaw.

When working with a hand router, it is better to use protective gloves and a mask. If the chair is made of metal and glass, you will need appropriate cutters. You will also need measuring instruments: rulers, patterns, protractors and others.

It is important to prepare all tools in advance. It is better not to skimp on them, since they will allow you to create many chairs in the future, and will also be needed if you need to fix something in the finished model. High-quality equipment will also ensure maximum safety during work. Also stock up on basic medicines - iodine or brilliant green in case of cuts, cotton wool and bandages.

Equally important is the preparation of materials. When working on a wooden product, it is important to select boards, beams, chipboard or chipboard of the required sizes. For a functional chair with armrests, you need to assemble up to 20 components: legs, back parts, side slats, ceilings, the seat itself. It is better to always take material with a reserve - let there be a surplus, rather than not have enough of something.

Calculations and drawings

Before you start, prepare your project. It is best to make an accurate drawing indicating all dimensions. Their choice is purely individual, but there are still some standards.

The height of the chair from the bottom surface of the leg to the seat can be varied from 40 to 60 cm. Another 20 cm should be allocated to the distance to the armrests. The sum of these numbers will determine the length of the beam for the legs. The width and length of the base are also variable. The average dimensions are 40*40 or 50*50 cm. The height of the backrest is another 40-50 cm. Moreover, it is better to calculate it from the seat, and not from the armrests.

It is reasonable to place the overlap itself for the back a little higher, leaving up to 15 cm “empty” - the body usually does not rest on this area anyway.

The model of the indicated sizes is suitable for both leisure and work. If the material does not allow, you can make furniture of smaller dimensions. In the case of a stool, the main thing is to decide on its height.

Another classic option is a chair with legs 45 cm high and a back 60 cm. Bar or high objects, on the contrary, can reach a height of 90-100 cm with relatively small seat dimensions, say 30*30 cm.

When working on a rocking chair, you will need a pattern. Since the project will use curves and arcuate lines, you need to accurately calculate their radius and angles of inclination.

Calculations must be as accurate as possible, and not tailored to the available material. Strategies in the spirit of: “the bar, of course, is long, although its length is still a little short, so I will indicate this in the project and then compensate” are doomed to failure. But while some options and subsequent modifications are still possible with wood, corrections with glass and metal are much more difficult.

Sometimes it will be impossible to redo something. So it’s better to immediately make a reliable drawing.

Features of the technology

Making a chair is not a very labor-intensive process, but it requires concentration and precision. A simple small wooden product will require the preparation of blocks and furniture boards. The base and back do not have to be monolithic. So, the seat can be made from 3-5 boards: the distances between them should be small - then these voids can be compensated for by soft bedding. The situation is similar with the back. Each of the boards should be sanded.

Bent parts of products (for rocking chairs) should be selected more carefully than ordinary ones. When purchasing them, carefully read the instructions, which indicate the angles of inclination and other characteristics.

Among other technological features, we highlight the aspect of evenness and strength. If there are doubts about the practicality of the product, it is better to first develop a layout, and only then start working on the details.

Manufacturing process

So, all the materials have been collected, the tools are at hand, it’s time to get to work. For example, we will make a seat from wood. There are several basic techniques, but we will give only some advice, especially since the creation of a specific product is a creative process, and it cannot be “driven” into strict standards.

At the first stage of work, it is better to cut out the legs. Let's consider this using the example of a chair, where the legs also form the frame of the back. In this case, their length can vary up to a meter, but it is better for the chair to be higher. Take the bars with a reserve, since it is unlikely that you will be able to lengthen them or remake them later. In terms of thickness, 40 mm will be sufficient. We will make the front legs smaller - they will only go up to the seat.

We polish the made bars and try them on for each other. Sanding is especially important if the product is designed for children. Their skin is delicate, and even the slightest irregularities and lint can cause very unpleasant sensations.

Then you should determine the attachment points and make the spikes. After measuring, it is necessary to form grooves that will allow the product to be connected into a monolithic structure.

Now let's check the model for consistency of the parts, first without gluing. If everything is in order, you can fasten the bars that form the back. In our case, we will select five small boards and make the central one a little wider than the others.

A beautiful solution would be to use a figured board. It is more convenient, however, to make the back from a single solid material, but it depends on what you have on hand.

The next stage is the manufacture of side inserts and arched lintels. Everything must be strictly adjusted in size. After connecting and gluing, you can strengthen the structure with additional screws. Pre-check it for evenness so that you don’t have to redo anything. Please also pay attention to ensure that there are no unpleasant overlaps of some elements of the product on others: even minor flaws can lead to rapid wear and tear in the future.

The design can be improved with the help of additional strips. For example, install a crossbar to accommodate the legs below. It is optimal to do this at a height of 10-20 cm from the floor. You can also add armrests to the seat, redesign them, raise or lower them, change the angles.

And a few more tips on making. Use a miter saw when cutting the bars; for working on the back, a jigsaw will be useful. Particular attention should be paid to the connection of the rear leg to the seat. The third corner of this triangle is the back. It is the strength of the connection of these nodal points that determines the reliability, strength and quality of the product. To ensure that the workpieces are held more firmly during processing, do not hesitate to use a vice when grinding and sawing out certain parts.

If there is a desire make a folding chair, you will need additional wooden slats and a metal rod, for which you will have to drill separate holes. It will be fixed in the recesses of the legs. It is reasonable to prepare several provisions. Remember that at least the back and front legs of such a chair should move.

When working on a rocking chair, you can use a ready-made chair. It will be necessary to add special moving runners and armrests to it.

If the actions described above cause self-doubt and anxiety, start you can accumulate plumbing experience from a simple stool. It’s the easiest way to make it, and in the future you can turn the stool into a full-fledged chair.

You will need 4 bars. The lengths of the bars are up to 450 mm. The cross-section is 4*4 cm. It will be necessary to make 8 jumpers. The material must first be sanded. The seat itself can be made either from solid material or from separate boards, but they need to be well fastened. The first option for a simple stool is preferable.

We make grooves in the bars at a height of 25-30 cm from the floor. Their depth is up to 2 cm. Thus, the legs will be fastened to each other with a “rectangle” of overlap, as if twice – approximately in the middle and at the seat. We check for evenness and fasten all the parts. The simplest stool is ready.

To learn how to make a wooden chair with your own hands, watch the following step-by-step video.

Assembly and finishing

Let's clarify a few more aspects related to the assembly. As a rule, this is the final stage, but here, too, without knowledge of the matter, significant mistakes can be made.

The fundamental point is to maintain a right angle when connecting parts. If you are not visually sure of this, ask another person to look or use measuring instruments. It is better to fasten the product with screws.

But successful assembly does not mean that the furniture is ready. It still needs to be finished for final commissioning. Don't be afraid to do it yourself. There are a lot of options here.

First of all, check the material for unevenness and absence of roughness. Only after this can the surface be varnished and painted. Often, products made from rough wood have to be varnished twice, since after the first procedure, nicks appear. Instead of varnish, you can use other substances - water-based acrylic impregnations, which not only more clearly emphasize the texture of the material, but also often more effectively protect the surface from high humidity and other negative environmental influences for the product.

Next, you can paint the chair, put a soft mat on it - both on the back and on the seat. Relevant and at the peak of fashion now is the carriage tie - an upholstery-decoration that looks like buttons sunk into the fabric. It is soft, aesthetic and beautiful. Most often, carriage screed can be seen on the backs of chairs. It gives them both rigor and visual richness. However, such a finish is not suitable for all interiors. In loft, hi-tech, minimalism, it is better to limit yourself to less textured solutions.

Decoration

To make a beautiful chair, the best way to complete it is by decorating it. Technologies and design techniques will allow you to “tailor” the product to any, even very sophisticated taste.

Before choosing the appropriate technology, please note that many jobs are best done outside the home so as not to spoil or stain surrounding furniture, as well as to avoid harm to your own health. The varnish can smell very strongly, and for many this is an extremely unpleasant factor, sometimes causing allergic reactions. Thus, it is better to decorate a chair in a barn or country house, in rooms with good ventilation, or use water-based varnishes. However, the smell of paint still cannot be avoided.

For decoration you can use the following techniques:

• Wood carving- the oldest and most widespread decorative and applied art in the world. Ideally, you should plan to make a carved chair right away. But the advantage of this approach is that even the most ordinary chair can be turned into a carved one. The ceilings or surfaces of the legs are worn out and scratched - no big deal. On the contrary, this is a reason to carve something beautiful and original out of them.

This can be done using a regular wood carving knife.

This style is suitable for classic interiors and “antique” formats. With a monumental approach, carving will make the furniture more solid, and if, on the contrary, you need to “unload” the interior, neat and thin carving will add lightness and airiness to the chair and the room as a whole.

• Decoupage. Most often this word is used in relation to bottles of champagne, but you can decoupage anything and any way you want. In essence, it is simply decoration by attaching a pattern or ornament to an object, usually followed by varnishing. First you need to polish and putty the surface of the seat, then paint it with white acrylic paint, preferably in several layers. Now you can paste (use PVA glue) onto the surface pictures, for example, printed on a home printer. The outline of the drawings can be additionally outlined, and then the product can be coated with acrylic varnish.

The ornament on the chair can be anything - floral and sea compositions look great. Colors range from bright green to black. It's a good idea to decouple only half of the seat. If you place two such interior items on a table (on different sides) decorated in the same color scheme, you can achieve very advantageous color combinations.

• Painting. Perhaps the most obvious option, but here there are a number of interesting solutions. So, paints can be combined and mixed with epoxy resin. This will add richness and color to the surface, and freshness of colors. You can achieve effects from “foaming coffee” to “melting ice cream” or stylize an object like marble or glass.

Original ideas

And finally, a few unusual ideas for creating chairs with your own hands.

If you have old tree stumps at your dacha, you can transform them into chairs. It will be enough to attach seats and backrests to them. When moving uprooted stumps, strengthen their base; the best option is to use logs or boards arranged crosswise.

An equally practical idea is to make a step stool. It will somewhat resemble a high bar stool, but at the same time have additional and rich functionality. It is enough to make two steps and fix the seat instead of the third. Its width should be approximately twice that of the steps. In terms of manufacturing technology, such a shelf is close to a regular stool, only high.

If you have polypropylene pipes, you can assemble a chair from them. For the seat you will need about 10 tubes, for the back 3-4 are enough. The legs should be made of thicker tubes to ensure stability of the product.

Another idea is a chair based on an old log. You will have to level its surface and attach a backrest, making it closer in format to a folding one. One of the disadvantages of this model is the difficulty in controlling the height. Such a chair is unlikely to be suitable for prolonged sitting, but it may be very popular with young children - it will become an indispensable toy for them.

Another look at design – maximum minimalism. The chair can be made in the form of an unfinished rectangle - the lower border where it touches the floor will remain open. To make it, you will only need three rectangular boards: two of them will become legs, one will become a seat. This design is very reliable in operation.

And the last example is a country seat with an uneven model back. The boards for its manufacture will have different lengths and will differ slightly in texture and color. It's important to find the right color combination– alternate and combine light (white, beige) and dark (gray, brown, black) shades. The seat will become, as it were, part or the beginning of the backrest. Armrests with this design can be made quite high. If the chair turns out to be wide, you will need to “secure” it with a third central row of legs.

As the experience of folk craftsmen and professional designers shows, when making a transforming chair, you should first of all start from your imagination and not be afraid to be creative. Seats can be made from almost any available materials. The main thing is to make them as convenient, comfortable and reliable as possible.

Craftsman Tom McLaughlin designed this chair by combining elements from different furniture styles without sacrificing comfort for beauty. Using templates it is easy to make curved parts. Tom uses three machines to make joints: a band saw, a circular saw and a slotting machine (you can use a drill press with a slotting attachment instead). Having completed the carpentry part of the work, complement the chair with a comfortable seat, which is made in a simple and proven way.

Think carefully before you cut

The design of a chair consists of many parts that require attention and concentration in their manufacture and fitting. Here's what Tom advises.

Shape the legs

1. Using the diagrams as a guide, draw the contours of the posterior leg A real size (Fig. 1). Glue the drawing onto 6mm hardboard and cut out a template, marking the position of the sockets on it. Trace the outline of the template onto the back leg blank and cut with a band saw, keeping the cut close to the contour line. Then cut out the second back leg.

Tom advises! To achieve a better appearance, The texture pattern on the anterior side of both hind legs should be mirror symmetrical. To do this, when marking the contours, useswarm legs turn the template over, swapping its ends (photo A). Then you need to place several legs side by side along the width of the board. This ensures that you get paired parts that look like reflections in a mirror. (photo B).

2. Using double-sided tape, glue the template to the sawn leg blank. Secure a long pin in the collet of the router installed in the table.

piercing cutter with a bearing and adjust its offset, aligning the bearing with the edge of the template. Contour the back legs to the final shape. Mark the top and bottom of each leg with a pencil, remove the template and sand the legs to the outline lines.

3. Cut out the front legs IN(“List of Materials” and rice. 1). Mark those front edges. Angle the saw blade at a 7° angle and cut a bevel on the outside of each leg so that the front edge is wider than the back edge. Without changing the inclination of the disk, cut out two strips of wedge-shaped section 250-300 mm long, which will be required when selecting nests in the legs, under the same corner from the scraps.

Cut out the blanks for the back parts

1. Cut out the bottom crossbar WITH backrests (Fig. 4), but don't make bevels on its top edge just yet. Mark the positions of the four sockets.

2. Cut out the top crossbar D backrests (Fig. 5) with an allowance of 10 mm in length. Make two copies of the top rail template. Glue one copy to the bottom edge, but don't cut out the curved shape yet.

3. For the middle board E and side bars F backrests, make a blank measuring 13 x 178 x 533 mm (Fig. 6). You will saw off the side pieces later after cutting the tenons.

Select all slots

1. Mark the position of the sockets on the legs A, B (Fig. 1 and2) , remembering that the parts must be mirror copies.

2. Select a 10mm socket for the front drawer G in the front legs B (photo C, rice. 2). Rotate the front leg IN so that its beveled edge is adjacent to the stop on the table of the slotting or drilling machine (photoD) and make a 10mm angled socket for the side drawer N. Do the same with the second front leg.

WEDGES WILL HELP INSTALL PARTS IN THE RIGHT POSITION

To ensure that the walls of the socket are parallel to the front edge, place the leg with the beveled edge down, placing a wedge-shaped strip underneath.

Place the part with the front edge on the wedge and use the second to secure it in the clamp. Do not use a second wedge if your machine does not have one.

3. If you do not have a large enough piece of workpiece left over from sawing out the rear legs, make a curved support (tsulaga) measuring 90x525 mm (photo E) from scraps whose thickness is equal to or slightly less than the thickness of the leg. It will help hold the leg at the desired angle when selecting a socket for the side drawer.

Transfer the outer marks of the drawer socket to a piece of board, trace the leg template and cut out the curved support-tsulaga with a band saw.

Align the marking lines of the nest on the leg and the tsulag. If the leg rests on the machine table, the socket will be selected at an angle.

4. Using a curved support (photoF), select in the back leg A 10mm socket for side drawer N. Do the same with the second back leg.

5. To select 10mm sockets for the lower backrest rail WITH in the hind legs A Press the flat edge of the leg (in which the previous socket was just made) against the machine stop and select a socket on the inside of the part.

6. Make an 8mm socket for the top rail D dorsum at the top of the hind legs A on the inside, pressing the front side of the part against the stop.

7. Select 6mm sockets in the bottom rail WITH backrests for middle board E and side bars F (Fig. 4).

8. Make the same 6mm sockets on the bottom edge of the top crossbar D for middle board E (Fig. 5). Making nests for the side bars F, insert a 4° wedge between the crossbar D and emphasis (step 2).

Now cut out the thorns

1. Make the simple tenon saw shown in the article “Safely and Easily Sawing Tenons.”

2. To cut tenons in three sizes, use the scraps to make three spacers with a thickness of 6, 8 and 10 mm, as well as a spacer whose thickness is equal to the thickness of the saw blade. The width of the spacers is 75-100 mm.

To cut 10 mm tenons on frames G, H, select a spacer of the required thickness for the first cut. Remove it before the second cut.

3. Cut out the front G and lateral N seat drawers (Fig. 7). Holding the appropriate spacers between the fixture and the part with your hand or a clamp (photoG), file at a 90° angle the cheeks of the tenons at the ends of the front G and side N tsarg, lower WITH and top D backrest crossbars, as well as on the blank of the middle board and side bars E/F backrests (Fig. 4, 5, 6 And 7).

Note. On the side drawers N Form 90° tenons only on the front end of the pieces.

(Although the backrest top rail tenons should have a final length of 17mm, make them 22mm long at this stage so you don't have to set up your saw specifically for this.)

Tom advises! Having made cuts on the test scraps that form the cheeks of the tenons, remove excess material using a band saw, but leave an allowance of about 6 mm at the shoulders to avoid jamming the trim between the disk and the longitudinal stop of the sawing machine. Check the fit of the test studs to the appropriate sockets. If the tenon is inserted too loosely, stick one or two strips of masking tape onto the spacer and cut out another test tenon.

Using the same settings, but tilting the saw blade at an angle of 7°, press the outer side of the drawer against the jig and cut out the tenon cheeks.

4. Attach a wooden pad to the head of the cross (angular) stop and make it in the lower and upper crossbars C, D, in preparation for the middle board and side bars E/F, as well as in the front drawer G cuts that form the shoulders of the tenons.

5. Tilt the saw blade at an angle of 7° from the vertical and file the cheeks of the oblique tenon with a thickness of 10 mm at the rear end of the side frames N (photo N).

6. Without changing the angle of the saw blade, form the shoulders of the front and rear tenons on the side frames at an angle (photoI, J, TO).

Make the first cut so that the disc barely touches the cheek of the tenon. Using a crowbar and a marking knife, extend the line at an angle of 7° to the edge where you want to make the second shoulder. Finally, place the part on the other side of the disk and cut out the second shoulder according to the marking.

7. Increase the saw blade angle to 8°. Form cheeks and shoulders of 6 mm thick oblique tenons on the lower end of the middle board and side bars E/F just like in 5 steps And 6 (Fig. 6a). Return the saw blade to a vertical position and use longitudinal cuts to separate the side bars F from each edge of the workpiece. Using a jigsaw and chisel, cut a notch in the middle of a wide tenon on both ends of the middle board E (Fig. 6) and add 6mm wide cutouts around the edges (see DIY Tip below).

Make the first cross cut with a jigsaw from one rip cut to the back edge of the other. Then saw off the rest.

Hone your hand tool skills for a precise midplank fit

Making a cutout in the middle of a wide tenon using only machines or power tools is not easy. There is a better solution. Using a band saw or a well-sharpened back saw, make cuts up to the shoulders of the tenon, then use a jigsaw, the narrow blade of which will easily turn in the cut, to remove the excess, leaving a small allowance at the base. Finally, use a chisel to cut the remainder flush with the hangers.

Point the chisel inward at a slight angle. This guarantees the tightness of the joint along the hanger line.

8. Form the upper shoulders of the tenons on the front and side drawers G, N (Fig. 7). Shorten the ends of the top rail tenons D by 5 mm.

9. Dry (without glue) assemble the chair frame, adjusting the tenons of too tight joints using a chisel or file. First, insert the middle board and side timbers into the slots of the top and bottom backrest rails, and then fit the tenons of the rails into the slots of the back legs. Then start adjusting the tenons of the sides to the sockets of the legs. Once you have completed adjusting all connections, separate the parts.

Process all curved contours and narrowings

1. Using a band saw, create curved surfaces on the front and back sides of the top rail D backs and then sand smooth.

With three fingers pressed against the front of the piece, draw a line from the top parallel to the front edge.

2. Glue a second copy of the top crossbar template onto a piece of 6mm hardboard and file along the outline. Using this template, mark the bevel boundaries on the top and back sides of the piece. The marking line on the top side should be parallel to the front rib (photoL). Tilt the band saw table to 27° and cut the bevel along both lines. Sand all curved surfaces smoothly.

3. Mark and band saw the 16° bevels at the ends of the bottom rail C (Fig. 4). Then tilt the saw blade at an angle of 22° and cut the longitudinal bevels. Remove saw marks using a small plane. Using the top rail template, mark an arc on the bottom edge of the bottom rail. Cut out the arc with a bandsaw and sand smooth.

4. Using a band saw, make tapers on the back A and front IN legs (Fig. 1 And 2). Smoothly sand or sharpen the sawn edges.

Sequentially mill chamfers of different widths according to the markings. Then use a small plane and scraper to smooth out the transitions between them.

5. Place marks on the back of the rear legs A at a distance of 178, 470 and 533 mm from the upper ends. Attach an edge cutter for chamfers at an angle of 45° in the router collet and mill successively chamfers of different widths (on both sides of each leg): 6 mm wide from the top to the 533 mm mark, 8 mm wide between the 178 and 533 mm marks, 11 mm wide from 470 mark to last (photo M).

At the 533 mm mark, use a semicircular rasp to round and smooth the chamfer, achieving a smooth rounding.

Note. At the upper end of the leg, the chamfers and the middle flat bevel should be the same width. Do not make the chamfer too wide so that it ends below the shoulder line of the top seat rail.

6. Using a miter plane, make small chamfers around the bottom ends of all legs. A, B. At the upper end of the hind legs A chamfer 3 mm wide at the front and sides (Fig. 1). Then make a 12mm bevel at the back.

7. Finish sand all parts with 220-grit sandpaper using a sanding block.

Tom advises! Before the final sanding step, change all surfaces to raise the pile. This will avoid raising lint when removing wet sponge to remove excess adhesive and you won't have to sand in awkward places around joints.

Move on to assembly and finishing

1. Glue in the middle board tenons E and side bars F into the sockets of the upper and lower crossbars D, C backrests Then glue this assembly to the back legs A. Glue the front drawer G between the front legs IN. After thorough drying, glue in the spikes on the side drawers. N into the sockets of the front and rear legs B, A, fixing the assembled chair frame with clamps.

2. Cut out the front and rear corner braces I, J and install them in place using glue and screws to strengthen the connections between the legs and the drawers and make it easier to install the seat.

3. Apply any finish of your choice. (Tom recommends three coats of Danish oil or any varnish polish.)

4. Make the seat base K and cover it (Fig. 3 And 9). Once you've finished upholstering, attach the seat to the corner braces I, J screws 4.5x50 mm.

Templates

About the author of the project

Tom McLaughlin began carpentry professionally in North Carolina, initially copying classic designs made by famous 18th-century craftsmen. Tom now lives in New Hampshire, where he trains woodworkers in his own workshop - a large three-story mansion surrounded by maples, birches and oaks. He enjoys designing and making new chairs more than anything else. “The challenge of making them as comfortable as possible and looking flawless from all angles sparks a real creative passion in me.” He has designed more than two dozen chairs that have won numerous awards in design competitions.

If you want to freshen up the decor in your home and also dream of trying your hand at carpentry, these two desires can easily be combined. An excellent solution is to make wooden chairs with your own hands, photos of which are presented below. These pieces of furniture are always appreciated for their practicality. They will come in handy in a city apartment, in a private house, and in a country house. The usual design is simple and quite within the power of a novice carpenter. And for those who have experience, you can choose a more complex drawing of a chair with a backrest. In any case, the homemade product will certainly be in demand.

To make a wooden chair with your own hands, you need to stock up not only with ideas, but also with some materials. First, consider whether you will buy them or prepare them yourself. You can make a seat from boards that are commercially available. If you have the necessary equipment, you can buy logs and process them yourself. In most cases, craftsmen prefer to combine solid wood, boards, logs and beams. Sometimes plywood is also used. You may need upholstery material if you want the chair with a back to be soft.

So, when you purchase logs, inspect them carefully. There should be no cracks or rot on them. It is important that the logs are dry, with a minimum number of knots. To make reliable wooden chairs, it is preferable to use oak, pine, linden or beech. They are easy to work with, durable and beautiful. Just in case, buy more material than you need to make the chair. It may happen that during the work you break some part.

For work you may need:

• saw;
• plane;
• jigsaw;
• chisel;
• cutter;
• screwdriver;
• construction stapler;
• roulette;
• furniture glue;
• screws or dowels;
• sanding paper.

Types of chairs

Before starting work, you need to decide on the drawing. Did you know that there are several types of chairs? Here are some options:

1. From the array. The most common and popular product. Its advantage is reliability, stability and durability. The disadvantage is that it is heavy and massive, and also that such a product is large in size. Although if there are small children in the house and you love eco-style, this is your option.
2. With soft seat. A good choice for a cozy apartment. The design has thin legs, an elegant back, moderate dimensions, and is partially equipped with plywood inserts.
3. Armchair. Great for a veranda, summer terrace or office. Often has soft upholstery.
4. Folding. Convenient for hiking and temporary use in the country. When folded, it takes up little space, turning into a flat structure.
5. Transformer. Can turn into a ladder.
6. Stool. Also belongs to the category of chairs. Stools are compact and easy to make; they are perfect for a wooden bathhouse.

Solid wood chair Chair with soft seat
Wooden transformable chair Folding wooden chair
Designer wooden chairs Designer wooden chair

Chair making process

Having decided on the model, you need to calculate the dimensions and make drawings. If you have found a suitable scheme, you can optionally adjust some of the numbers, unless this negatively affects the strength and stability of the structure. Draw each of the elements separately to follow the detailed diagram without errors.

Terms

In order not to get confused in carpentry terminology, it is worth clarifying the name of each of the parts. The side supports are essentially the back legs on which the backrest is attached. The drawers are the frame or frame that serves as the base of the seat. The front supports are attached to them. Legs are crossbars that are installed between the legs to give the product strength. The chairs are equipped with armrests. To strengthen the drawers, metal corners or plywood products are sometimes used. Instead of self-tapping screws, dowels can be used - wooden pegs that are driven into pre-prepared holes.

Elements of a wooden chair

Stages of work

Regular wooden chair

It is advisable to start with the simplest options. Make yourself a drawing of the product to clearly see what it should look like in the end. Here is an approximate progress of work:

1. Cut out the rear legs 110 cm high from square blocks.
2. Make the front legs 42 cm high.
3. Sand these elements with a machine or sandpaper.
4. Determine the location where the frames are attached and use a cutter to make grooves for joining.
5. Select 2 horizontal and 5 vertical posts for the back of the chair and also make grooves in the horizontal ones.
6. Make tenons that will fit into the grooves.
7. Assemble the structure to see how it holds up. If all is well, disassemble the back, coat the holes with wood glue and reassemble. Use a clamp or rope to hold the pieces together.
8. Fasten the legs together with a frame made of drawers, also placing them on glue.
9. During work, constantly check the accuracy of the tongue-and-groove fastening. To make the chair more durable, after the glue has dried, fasten the joints of the parts with self-tapping screws, the caps of which are covered with plugs.
10. When making home wooden chairs, the seats can be made soft by placing a piece of foam rubber and covering them with thick fabric or dermantine.

1. Making a seat 2. We make the rear legs that go into the abutments
3. We cut out the legs themselves and grind them 4. We make the front and back hags
5. We also make side hags 6. We make back parts - curly crossbars
7. Next, mark the depth of the backrest. It should have a deep curvilinear shape - along a circle with a radius of 500 mm 8. We make the front legs of the chair from timber measuring 425x50x25 mm
9. Next, we cut out the last two parts - stops designed to secure the seat to a box consisting of hags and legs 10. The first step is to assemble the back back using wood glue
11. In the same way, we glue the front hag into the front legs and tighten it with clamps 12. When the glue on the front and back parts of the chair dries, we connect them together with side hags, which we also install with glue, in the grooves intended for them
13. We tighten the entire structure with clamps until the glue dries completely 14. Instead of a solid panel for the seat. we use boards 50-70 mm wide, 10-15 mm thick

You can see the progress of the work in more detail in the video. Of course, this whole process will require time and skill. But in the end you will get original wooden chairs made by yourself.

If you make furniture from solid wood, it is important to ensure that it is not only beautiful, but also safe. This is especially necessary if there are small children in the house. So, all surfaces and corners of boards and bars must be sanded. Then they should be painted or treated with stain and varnish. As for the latter, it is better to use one that is odorless - water-based. This way you can be sure that the coating is harmless.

It has already been said above what kind of wood chairs are usually made from. But there are some nuances here too. Red rocks, for example, look simply gorgeous and have a beautiful structure. Linden is lighter than oak, but with the help of stain it can be tinted to match it. Carved chairs look beautiful in elegant interiors. So if you have carving skills, do not miss the opportunity to practice on the back and even the legs of the product.

If you are making furniture for a baby, do not use metal corners, because he can get hurt on them. The parts can be connected with screws or dowels. To make the structure more stable, simply choose thicker parts.

Other options

By the way, if a DIY wooden chair is too expensive for you, you can also use pieces of plywood. They will make quite a decent back and seat. In combination with wooden blocks, the product will be cheaper, but no less durable and beautiful. Or you can not even work on creating a seat and back from boards, but take ready-made wooden pallets (pallets) and make a wooden chair from them.

Lately, bar counters have become increasingly popular. And if there is such a table, you just need to make chairs of a suitable shape from wood with your own hands. In essence, this furniture is a high round stool. The base can be made from two pieces of thick plywood or solid wood. You will sit on the first one, and the second one will serve as a link for attaching the seat to the support. For ease of use of the structure, the upper part can be covered with foam rubber and leatherette. In Moscow, such chairs are very popular, but they are expensive. But for home production you won’t have to spend so much.

To make a bar stool yourself, you need to attach the bottom circle with self-tapping screws to the supports, and the top circle to the bottom one. Bars can act as legs. At the bottom it is also worth making an additional crossbar around the perimeter. It will simultaneously strengthen the structure and serve as a footrest.

Now you know how to make a chair with your own hands. You can experiment with sizes and shapes. Perhaps other ideas will come to your mind as you work. Having managed to assemble the structure, you will know how to repair it if necessary. And most importantly, your home will be decorated with practical furniture into which you have put your soul.

The difficulties in caring for children are largely due to the fact that buying everything necessary can be quite a task for the family budget. Another question is whether parents manage to find exactly what they would like in stores, or whether there is actually nothing ideal among the assortment. Both reasons that prevent you from purchasing this or that product, one way or another suggest the idea that it would be nice to make it yourself. For example, a children's high chair - if dad has enough experience working with various tools, he can easily make it with his own hands.

Peculiarities

Contrary to its apparent simplicity, a DIY high chair is not such a simple task that you can complete it without any preparation. Do not start work until you have a clear understanding of what the end result should look like and what operations will need to be performed to achieve it.

Also, don't ignore calculations. Any chair must be strong enough to support its “passenger”, and a child, although not heavy, will not sit neatly on it, especially since the dimensions of such furniture are also small.

Strength requirements are relevant not only for basic materials, but also for fasteners, be they self-tapping screws, glue or grooves. In addition, the baby is constantly growing, and it makes sense to make a high chair with a reserve for at least a couple of years in advance. For all its strength, the product should be comfortable, that is, approximately correspond to the dimensions of the owner.

Also try to ensure the proper lightness of the furniture being manufactured - it should be convenient for the owner to independently move his chair to where he wants to sit at the moment.

Don't forget to stay safe. Furniture, in any case, cannot be traumatic, and children's furniture - even more so. The presence of any sharp edges is not allowed, and if the main material is wood, as happens in most cases, then it must be carefully sanded to prevent splinters from peeling off. When covering the finished product with varnish or paint, give preference to natural ones - children tend to put everything in their mouths and can be poisoned by the toxic coating.

Finally, remember that this chair is for a child. In addition to suitable sizes, it is desirable for a piece of furniture to also be beautiful. If complex decor is not a task for you, at least try to paint it in bright colors.

Drawings, dimensions, diagrams

Before proceeding directly to the manufacture of parts, it is necessary to draw up a drawing with dimensions - this is the only way that all components will ideally fit one another. You can use one of those ready-made options that are already posted on the World Wide Web, or draw up a diagram yourself. It is important to note here that there are drawings and instructions on the Internet that explain how to make a standard table and chair, so they are usually not suitable for those who want to create something original - for example, an elephant chair.

• Drawing the table and chairs, which can be made in the form of a kit, do not have to strictly follow the principles of drawing: they do not have so many details that they cannot be kept in mind. The main thing for us is to make sure that all the dimensions match, and the parts fit perfectly together, but the methods for connecting individual parts must be present in the drawing. In general, it can be presented schematically, without high precision of the drawing.

• Think over the dimensions (or choose ready-made drawings based on them), starting from the comfort of the child. Chairs whose seat is at knee level or slightly below are considered comfortable. In the case of a highchair, it is recommended to make the seat a little higher, because the child will probably still grow. At the same time, do not overdo it: if it is difficult for the baby to climb onto the seat, then the product can be considered a failure.

• Determining the size of the seat itself, keep in mind that the owner should fit comfortably on it, but do not make it too large - this will make the chair heavier and difficult to carry. The normal height of the backrest is approximately two-thirds or three-quarters of the owner's back; making it higher than the neck is no longer practical. When determining the thickness of future parts, rely only on the strength of the selected material and the weight of the child.

Materials

In terms of ease of processing and environmental friendliness, among materials for the manufacture of children's furniture, wood and its derivatives undoubtedly hold the palm. Therefore, you can most often find a wooden high chair. However, you cannot choose just any tree - this is also worth thinking about before starting to make it. The most popular among all types of wood is beech. It has the strength of oak, but it is easier to process and costs less. In general, it is deciduous trees that are considered priority. Among inexpensive options, birch is often chosen; linden can also be considered.

Spruce and pine are suitable for making furniture from coniferous wood, but the resin contained in any such wood is dangerous - it can stain clothes, and it can also pose a health hazard. Regardless of the specific species, choose a uniform tree, without knots or cracks, with an even texture.

The seat material may be similar to the body material, or it may be fundamentally different. In order to save money and achieve greater flexibility, the seat is also made of plywood, and even chipboard. When choosing them, give preference only to the most durable types, but remember that in any case they are inferior in durability to solid natural wood.

For increased softness, the seat can be additionally equipped with a small foam cushion covered with a fabric that is pleasant to the touch.

There is also a seating option made from plastic bottles - both whole and cut. Harmful plastic, present as garbage in any apartment and polluting the environment, could get a second life, especially since its strength and durability are very high. This option is still much less common due to the difficulty of securely fastening individual parts, as well as the not very attractive appearance of the finished product.

Colors and decor

For all its practicality and convenience, the baby will definitely not like the chair if it cannot be described with the word “beautiful”. Nobody makes any special chairs for teenagers, but brightness and attractiveness are very important for younger children. Therefore, do not limit yourself to just clear varnish or discreet monochromatic solutions. A single-color color is generally acceptable only if a light or very bright shade is chosen - often red or yellow, the so-called “warm” tones.

If drawing is not alien to you, please your child with interesting design solutions. You can go the "adult" way, painting the frame in one color, and the seat and back in another, or you can focus on the children's desire for a bright and defiant one. The simplest option is the “rings” on the legs of the chair, any patterns and even just blots are also acceptable - provided that it looks cute and positive. Regardless of how much and what kind of paint you use, do not forget - it should not be toxic.

If you have a creative streak and a desire to complicate the task a little for the common good of the cause, you can perform a more complex decor. As an option, decorate the legs or the back of the chair with carvings, but adults would like this solution more. But for a child, an ornament in the form of one or another animal will be a chic solution. The classic option is when the back is cut out to resemble an elephant, or any other animal that is cute for a child, and then painted to look more like a "cartoon" character.

Covers can also become a unique type of decoration. In addition to their typical functions, such as simplifying the cleaning of furniture and increasing the comfort of its use, they can also decorate the back of the chair. Ideally, they should depict the child's favorite hero, characters from popular fairy tales, or the same animals. Mom can help with making a cover for dad, especially if she knows how to embroider or has skills in appliqué fabric. If the mother does not have such talents, you can simply change the cover from the clothes on which the necessary pictures were applied by the factory method.

For the youngest children

The youngest children so far sit on the highchair for only one thing - eating. It is important and necessary to teach a child to eat while sitting, and indeed to sit, in particular, at the table. However, the features of its development at this stage do not allow the use of ordinary chairs for this. The problem lies in the fact that a simple chair does not have a back with handles, and a tiny child himself will not be able to sit on it evenly, and will simply fall.

As for highchairs, their dimensions usually do not allow you to choose a normal table for them. In this situation, a special high chair would be an excellent solution.

Such furniture should be comfortable for both the child and his mother - so far the child cannot eat on his own, so the mother will have to spoon-feed him. For the convenience of this operation, the chair is made at a normal height, or even a little higher - so that the mother does not bend over. The actual period of use of such a chair is about a year, so if you have one child and the family does not plan a second one at all, you can choose not the most durable materials for manufacturing.

In terms of manufacturing, the highchair is perhaps the most complex - it has the largest number of parts. The relatively small seat is raised high above the floor, which makes it necessary to resort to installing additional stiffeners between the legs - for improved structural stability.

Given the specifics of the child of the appropriate age, both the backrest and the railing are simply necessary - they must completely exclude the possibility of the baby falling. Moreover, the barrier should also be in front, although it has another useful function - it plays the role of a countertop on which food will be placed. The space under the tabletop is left free - the baby will stick his feet there.

Cutting and assembling such a chair is quite simple. First, according to the drawing, two identical side halves are cut out, which are then interconnected by the seat, backrest and stiffeners using grooves, glue or self-tapping screws. Before assembly, all individual parts should be sanded to a perfectly smooth state, the finished product is varnished or painted - ready.

Models for older children

The peculiarity of high chairs for children who have finally left infancy lies in the significant variety of design options, limited only by the imagination of the creator. The backrest is still considered a mandatory attribute, but the railings are no longer there, as are the front barriers. There is no point in saving on materials in this situation - if the furniture is made with a margin of size, then the child will be able to use his high chair for many years.

The manufacturing process consists of a few simple steps:

• Think through the design down to the smallest detail and draw up a drawing. Decide on the number of parts of the body - will it simply consist of two solid halves or of separate legs and separate supports for the seat, will the backrest base be a continuation of the rear legs or will it be attached separately, and so on. Calculate everything, including the thickness of the seat and legs, provide stiffening ribs and additional supports for the seat in advance. Provide grooves and mark places for screws.
• If doubts about the correctness of the selected parameters still remain, try to assemble a temporary chair from cardboard according to the drawing. Unfortunately, it does not have the same strength to test the product from all sides, and it differs in thickness from wood or plywood, which also needs to be taken into account when specifying the dimensions, but you will get a visual idea of ​​the future product.

• Start cutting out individual parts from wood or plywood. It is recommended to start with the body. Well, if there are a lot of identical parts in the set, then the subsequent ones can be cut out by simply tracing the already finished first one. If your design allows, don't put off assembly until you've cut everything out - start as soon as you have at least two pieces that need to be connected. This will help you immediately notice any design flaws, if any. Once the pieces are ready, sand them smooth.
• When all the elements are ready, proceed to the final assembly. Do not limit yourself to one type of fastener, in particular, glue the grooves - this will significantly strengthen the product and increase its durability. Ensure that the grooves fit as deep as possible - tap the joints with a hammer to make the fastening more secure.
• The last step is varnishing and painting.

No matter how detailed and intelligible a theoretical explanation is, it is unlikely to be compared in terms of information content with a good example, because it is better to see once than hear a hundred times.

N and the video is one of the best examples of how you can make a highchair with your own hands. The master talks about literally everything, including the dimensions of the parts he used, so you can even do without a drawing, simply repeating what he says. The resulting chair is quite simple in design, but easy to make. You can find many other similar videos on the Internet, but the models there are always approximately the same, but here the process is shown in great detail and clearly.

Watch a master class on making a highchair with your own hands:

The principle of making a children's high chair is generally similar, but it is worth studying in more detail both because of the increased complexity of the design, and simply because it is being told by another master who can reveal some new points.

How to make a baby high chair, watch the video:

If it’s still worth thinking about the cost-effectiveness of a homemade stool, then making a chair yourself is definitely justified: an ordinary common chair from a home workshop can look no worse than a store-bought one, but will cost 2-3 times less. This is if you purchase material “from scratch” without using accumulated reserves. And if you go for something exclusive, which is quite possible for an average craftsman with a chair, then the savings will reach simply unimaginable limits, see at the end.

There is one more important point. The chair differs from not only technically, as will be discussed later, but also ideologically. A stool is an essentially utilitarian product; It is generally considered bad manners to keep stools in the living room, preferably poufs. And a chair is one of the pieces of furniture that determines the face of the interior no less than a table, or even more. Subtle experts in etiquette judge a person's dignity by the quality and condition of his shoes, and the state of his affairs by the chairs in the house. If a person has the ability, time and desire to make a chair with imagination and taste, such as, for example. in the photo, then he deserves trust, even if he is still in cramped circumstances. And these are just the non-convertible chairs; folding and, say, step-chairs are a special class of joinery, which we will discuss later.

Note: the subtleties of high treatment sometimes reach the point of curiosity. This is how, for example, a certain British sailor lord put it about the first wife of Napoleon I, Josephine de Beauharnais: “In England she could become a real lady. Just look at the contours of her stern!”

How is the chair constructed?

Chairs are generally divided into 2 classes: living and dining. The difference is primarily in the seat; in the dining ones it is narrower at the back and a little higher. This was invented back in time immemorial, so that it would be more convenient for servants to serve feasters, and for them to sit upright in order to absorb more food and drinks. Structurally, a dining chair differs from a living room chair in that the legs are located lower; this is required to ensure strength. How the chair is structured in general and what the approximate dimensions of both are shown in Fig.

Dining chairs are not considered essential items these days; Most people make do with living rooms in all cases. A drawing with details of the structure of an ordinary living room chair is shown in Fig. Its feature is straight rear legs, which saves material and simplifies work. A physiologically acceptable sitting posture is ensured by arching the back. It will not be difficult for an average-level home craftsman to draw up details based on it and the general dimensions, and the subtleties encountered in the work are described below.

Note: blanks are collected in bags for batches of 4 chairs for the sake of convenience and accuracy of marking with a hand-held measuring tool. With this organization of work, the quartets of chairs turn out to be exactly the same, this is the first subtlety.

Why is a chair not a stool?

At first glance, it seems that the chair is just a stool with a backrest. But it’s the back that makes it completely different from a stool from a mechanical point of view: people lean on it, or even fall apart. If a stool can generally be considered something solid, working primarily on compression; well, even for bending and shear when rocking, then in a chair the loads from the junction of the longitudinal drawers with the rear legs are much higher, of a different nature and spread throughout the structure in a rather bizarre way. Therefore, by the way, as a rule, they do not install transverse legs in chairs: they will not work in the structure, only the excess material will go away.

The chair is finished using common methods for furniture: tinting with stains, varnishing, painting, veneering, upholstery. But technologically, chairs differ from stools in the following ways:

• The nature of most of the compounds used.
• The choice of wood - most of all.
• Assembly method.
• Soft seat device.

Joiner's tenon joints

To make a chair with our own hands, we will have to thoroughly master furniture (carpentry) tongue-and-groove joints. Basic information about them is given in the article about a do-it-yourself stool; Here we will mention something in relation to the chair.

Open connections and with through tenons in chairs for the sake of aesthetics are rarely used, as are connections reinforced with hardware: bolts, confirmations, self-tapping screws. A nail in a chair is basically the same as a car hood tied with rope.

The chairs are assembled using blind tongue-and-groove joints that are invisible from the outside; they are sometimes called miter joints. Assembly is done with gluing; wedging of tenons is often used, because They don't make regular chairs with removable legs. A chair with wedged tenons is more labor-intensive, but very strong and durable, because all parts of the connection dry out together.

How to make a blind groove (hole) for a tenon is shown in Fig. If you have a hand-held wood router, then you don’t need to pick out the excess with a chisel, but you do need to drill the edges of the hole: it’s easy to just “go away” with an end mill. In this case, the edges of the tenon are also rounded, but it will only be neater and stronger.

It seems strange, but it is with tenons that amateurs most often have problems: it is difficult to saw a workpiece for it with a hacksaw without “scratching” the base of the tenon, and a tenon sawed at the base is an unacceptable defect, because the strength of the connection drops sharply. Deliberately under-saw and remove the fold (extra wood around the tenon) with your hands - the tenon may come out “plump” or oblique, which is no more acceptable. Therefore, it is best to make furniture tenons using a router with some simple devices, see video:

Video: k How to make a furniture tenon with your own hands

Wood for chair

The coniferous tree from which such good stools were made is definitely not suitable for a chair, even hard larch. Reason: any coniferous wood is straight-layered, and in the chair there are loads that can cause chipping along the layer - I would like to see less, but where can I go. Coniferous wood will only go into a chair in the form of plywood on the base of the seat.

For a wooden chair, use deciduous, fine-grained, dense, durable species: oak, beech, hornbeam, walnut, elm, rowan. Birch will be used for children's chairs; and birch plywood - for folding ones. Preparation conditions are general furniture: room dryness (8-12%), not chamber drying, impregnation with water-polymer emulsion or other harmless biocides, for example. high-purity mineral oil for furniture, oil-wax compositions, acrylic compounds for furniture.

Wood for a chair will cost less if you take it not sawn, but in solids, and cut it yourself using a circular saw or an angle grinder with a circular saw in a homemade frame. For some products, e.g. bar stools, see below, you can’t do without an array, because... lumber of the required width is either not available or is very expensive. In this case, you need to know that solid wood is sold for decorative and structural purposes. The second ones are more expensive, because their mechanical properties are standardized and checked, while decorative solids are not.

The last thing to consider when choosing wood for a chair is that “decorative” defects are unacceptable. In a stool or tabletop, slanted, twisted, tightly fitting knots can be beneficial, ultimately giving a beautiful texture, but a chair made from such wood will soon break.

Assembly

A wooden chair is assembled without a seat twice: first dry and without wedges, and after adjusting the parts and checking the configuration by measuring the sides and pairs (oblique diagonals from the lower corner to the opposite upper one), finally with wedging and gluing. In both cases, the so-called. an apron made from the rear legs, back and longitudinal sides, and the “apron” is already adjusted to it, see fig.

Note: note the way the tenons are inserted into the front legs here and below when we get to the seat posts. With equal spikes, like in a stool, the sides of the chair do not cut into the legs, and there will not be adequate strength.

About frame details

All parts of the chair are made from solid wood. The temptation to make the rear legs prefabricated to save material is great, but don’t: they will soon break. It’s better to take on the set right away, marking the contours on the surface of the board according to the template with a shift. If the chair is for dining, then in this case the longitudinal drawers should also be slanted/curved, and the question arises: how to make tenons with grooves? It is very difficult to mow at home, and it is not necessary. You will have to spend a little more material, but oblique/curved drawers with straight tenons can be obtained without much difficulty from a board as thick as the drawer height, see fig.:

Only now you need to mill the tenons, using a mandrel with the required angle, and always in a bag: remove the fold from the long sides, transfer the bag and fold the short sides. The corners of the studs are rounded separately, this is no longer critical.

Back

The back of a chair, as you know, can be solid, hard, stacked, or soft. Solid rigid - just a curved bar. It is cut out, like curved drawers, as well as details of hard inlaid backs, pos. 1-3 in Fig.; We won’t talk about the backs of Viennese and other complex chairs for now. The back parts are assembled on spikes; We’ll leave chairs with backs with screws in museums of Soviet consumer goods.

For a simple soft back, pos. 4, you need a straight top bar and, possibly, an intermediate support (purlin, “backrest”). The base of the back is made of 4-6 mm plywood. They cover it in the same way as the seat, see below, but use foam rubber no thicker than 7 mm or use batting/felt. The soft padding is placed on glue, not reaching 15-20 mm to the edges. The decorative lining is sewn into a pocket, placed on a base with padding and stitched at the bottom. Place the backrest in the grooves selected in the top bar, rear drawer or purlin and rear legs; select the grooves by measuring the thickness of the back covered with fabric. The sequence of chair assembly changes:

1. assemble the left (right) part of the apron with the back drawer, top bar and purlin for dry use;
2. put the backrest, perhaps with adjustment;
3. they complete the apron by installing the missing rear leg with its own longitudinal drawer;
4. the front part is attached to the apron;
5. after checking the configuration and final adjustment, they go through everything with glue (optionally with wedging) in the same sequence;
6. The soft insert of the backrest is finally placed either dry, or with a minimum amount of glue added only to the grooves so that it does not squeeze out onto the fabric.

Seat

How the chair cushion is arranged is shown in Fig. with a drawing at the beginning. Unlike the seat of a stool, the upholstery in this case does not stretch as much when the sitter fidgets, so the inner upholstery of the base is not required. The base is made of plywood or a solid board with a thickness of 12-30 mm. But the seat of a chair is more difficult to clean than a stool, so the foam padding must be covered with felt or, worse, batting that absorbs sweat. Solid particles of dried sweat are subsequently squeezed out of the seat.

The upholstery of the chair seat also does not need to be fastened as carefully as that of a stool; you can get by with pinning it with a furniture stapler without gluing. Cover the pillow with decorative fabric in the usual way, trimming the scars that form at the corners. But the cladding made as shown in Fig. will last much longer. If the chair is covered with much more elastic and expensive leather than fabric, this is a must-have option.

Laths or jibs?

Drawings of chairs most often show the fastening of the seat to slats, embedded in the legs along with the longitudinal drawers and additionally attached to them with self-tapping screws. This highly technological and low-labor method is widely used in industry, but for yourself it would be much better to lay the seat on the jibs, see fig. on right. The chair will be much stronger, the seat will get dirty less and will be easier to remove for cleaning.

How to install the seat?

A seat simply laid on top of the support frame loses all the advantages compared to a stool, and the chair frame experiences increased loads. Therefore, it is better to place the seat of the chair in a tray formed by the drawers; To do this, if the seat is on jibs, they are placed lower by the thickness of the base of the seat without a cushion. So that the front drawer does not interfere with the legs, it is lowered to the same thickness, which will only make the entire frame stronger, and the seat itself is moved forward by the thickness of the drawer or a little more. Then the front jibs cut into the front frame flush with its top.

About curly legs

I really want to put a homemade chair on curly wooden legs. This is not at all as difficult as it might seem, you just have to spend money on thick beams: for the front legs, taking into account the margin for processing, a 150x150 beam will do, and for the rear legs - from 250x250. How the figured legs on the bars are marked is clear from Fig. Basic conditions: you need 2 identical templates, with their heads and heels meeting on the inner (relative to the finished leg) edge of the beam. However, the convergence of the heels is not necessary, then they will turn out to be wide, like hooves, and the trace of their supporting surface will look like a horseshoe. The technology itself does not require art education: they simply remove the excess from the side of the inner edge and alternately from the outer edges.

Different chairs

We will assume that you now have a good idea of ​​how to make an ordinary living room or dining chair. But there are a huge number of varieties of household chairs. Most of them are folding ones; I must say that folding furniture is now experiencing a rapid boom and is widely used not only as temporary, but also to save space and/or modify home design. Chairs play an important role here, see for example. video:

Video: folding chair as a solution for small apartments

Folding

Folding chairs, so to speak, have a classic look, they look similar both modern and ancient, see fig. Until recently, their advantage was that when folded they take up little space. But, firstly, the tilt of the back of such a chair is not optimal. Secondly, the mechanism requires the shoes of the rear edge of the seat to slide into longitudinal grooves, which is rather complicated and weakens the structure. Therefore, patents for chairs similar to each other number in the thousands, and in the end the optimum was not found at all where they were looking, see below.

For example, an attempt to optimize the design of the original folding chair is shown in the following. rice.:

There is only one drawback, but it is fatal: the huge overhang of the seat forward relative to the line of support, which is why the first sitting on a new chair can end in failure in the literal sense of the word. Other designers have tried to make the folding chair more ergonomic or by making the rear legs with a bend, at the top in Fig. below, or by moving the joint of the spreader upward, below in the same place. In both cases, the design cannot be called simple and the dimensions when folded are “protruding”. And in the first case, the conditionally rear (i.e., connected to the sides of the back) legs cannot be made in one piece, which is contraindicated for any chair.

A solution was found relatively recently, and when you see what it is, you involuntarily recall the statement of T. A. Edison: “Everyone knows that this cannot be done. There is a fool who doesn’t know this, and it is he who makes the invention.” In this case, a plywood folding chair-slab, see fig. There is no need to describe it, and everything is clear. The double seat support distributes the loads throughout the structure. In addition, by drilling rows of holes on the sides of the seat, you can adjust the chair to suit the rider; There are such modifications on sale.

Canvas

All the described chairs have a drawback: they are hard. Plywood, however, can be made soft, but the thickness when folded will increase. These chairs are suitable for a picnic, but for long periods of sitting you need something softer. The solution has also been known for a long time: chairs with a canvas seat and, possibly, a back. For example, in Fig. Below is a canvas folding chair for a summer house. The design is a little complicated, but the comfort pays for it, and when folded, such a chair is not much thicker than a classic one. True, the leg rests across the seat, but since, lounging in the shade, your legs are not tucked under the chair, this is not so scary.

Even more use is made of canvas and tarpaulin in fishing chairs; Lightness and compactness play a role here. But the usual fishing and tourist gear, pos. 1 in Fig., for hiking they are still bulky and the backpack drags noticeably. If you are going camping by car, you can take a fishing plywood folding chair, pos. 2. Its feature is an additional rotating plate on the back; On such a seat it is more convenient to languish during a sluggish bite.

For walking and in general in any case, the most convenient option is a tripod chair, pos. 3. This is not difficult to make with your own hands; as shown on the right in Fig. A tripod with bamboo legs is not felt at all in the backpack. If you can find a tight, durable rubber ring, like a wrist expander, then making a tripod chair is even easier: the rubber band is simply pulled to the middle of a bag of legs.

Bar chairs

Recently there has been an increased interest in furniture for bars and cafes. In fact, there are no adjectives “barny”, “barnaya”, “barnoe”, “barnye” in the Russian language. It wouldn’t hurt, since these bars are everywhere you turn, but they really don’t fit into the ranks of the language. However, let the philologists be wise here, and we will assume that the bar stool exists and is worth making.

Furniture for bars “from this” and “from that” and with a markup “per star” has become boring to everyone. Inexpensive and fairly high-quality furniture for bars at an affordable price sells out well, and here a master individual entrepreneur or just an individual artisan can make good money.

A bar stool is basically a tall stool, the height of a dining table, with a footrest. The easiest way to make the seat base is from 2 plywood or solid circles with a thickness of 20 mm and a diameter of 350-370 and 250-270 mm. The smaller circle is the intermediate link for attaching the seat to the chair post, and the larger circle is the base of the seat. If it is hard, the circles are made from solid wood, ground and varnished; plywood bases are covered.

The soft seat of a bar stool is of the same design as for a soft stool, only it is immediately covered with decorative fabric or leatherette; It can also be done in leather if the customer pays. Decorative covers, especially on round seats, in the bar will slide off long before the end of the evening. The foam rubber for the seat cushion is as dense and elastic as possible, from number 35. From it you can make a pillow with a thickness of 60-70 mm, and from 45 - 50 up to 120-150 mm. The lower circle is attached to the support with self-tapping screws from above, and the finished seat is attached to it from under the bottom.

In Fig. above shows the detailing and assembly method of a massive, solid bar stool; Dimensions of parts 3 and 4 are in cm. Please note that part 4 is asymmetrical, because 4 parts 3 are assembled into a nest. In Fig. on the right is a lighter-looking chair with round legs. The basis of his seat is 2 identical circles with a diameter of 340 mm. The required strength is given to it by a ring leg together with exactly the same foot. It also shows methods for assembling and cutting out a leg with a footrest: in a 20-24 mm plywood blank, first drill holes to the diameter of the legs with a feather drill, cut out the inner circle with a jigsaw and cut off the ring along the outer contour.

Here in Fig. - a very stable and quite original-looking chair support in a bar made of planks. The base for it is made of plywood in the same way as the previous version, but it is placed on top. By carefully cutting out beveled grooves for the boards, you can give it the appearance of a solid ring, which is aesthetically pleasing.

What about the children?

No, we haven't forgotten about the children. It’s just that children’s furniture is so unique that it needs to be considered separately. Children, for all their imagination, are always pragmatists, naturally determined to survive in the future. That's why they are tireless researchers. So there is no particular point in “polishing” the aesthetics of a chair for a child: functionality and durability are more important here. It’s amazing how such a little thing manages to break very durable things. Maybe future scientists will understand; perhaps by reconsidering the fundamental laws of nature. Just kidding, kidding. We were all like that, we just forgot, and there are no indigo children at all.

The best material for a children's chair is birch or birch plywood. Its relatively lower strength is not a hindrance in this case: the parts are shorter and there are lower stresses per unit of cross-sectional area. But to assemble children's high chairs on confirmations with plugs or dowels, pos. 1 in Fig. It doesn’t stand higher, like adult furniture: they will break it, pick it apart, unscrew it. This design is suitable for a chair for growth, with an adjustable seat and footrest, pos. 2. It would be best to make the children's chair quick-assembled without fastenings, pos. 3. It will be taken apart - no big deal, it won’t take long to collect. And he (she) will only have more intelligence and spatial imagination. So we give in Fig. drawings of a children's prefabricated chair, and in addition to it - a diagram of a folding chair for very ignorant children. For a dad whose saw and hammer don’t fall out of their hands, repeating it probably won’t be a problem.

Note: also in Fig. Below is a children’s chair “adult-style”, on a frame and self-tapping screws. For some reason, boys like these more and they break them less.

Ladder chairs

Both children and adults will find a chair that turns into a ladder useful at home. The first - so as not to rummage through a dusty pantry and not risk breaking my wife’s jars when pulling out a stepladder. The second is to climb to the second floor of a bed or children's corner. This is especially important in small apartments, where there may simply not be room for a stationary ladder. In general, if necessary, in Fig. – drawings of an adult ladder chair; the legs, of course, do not have to be curly. A children's ladder chair of the same design is obtained by proportionally reducing the dimensions, except for the thickness of the steps.

Hedgehog under the skin

With the best, honest intentions and on a reasonable basis, without any psycho-engineering tricks. Take a look at fig. on right. Cool, yeah? Especially if you ask about the price of 1 (one) product. All the furnishings of a decent bachelor's one-room apartment, including a refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, microwave and electric boiler, cost about the same.

The reason is the high labor intensity of such a chair, which cannot be mechanized or robotized. Or it gives in so tightly that it’s easier to do it with your hands. Highly qualified and highly paid.

But, by the way, the technology for creating such unspeakable beauty is ridiculously trivial, it just requires a lot of attention and accuracy. The materials are also ordinary - wood, plywood, fabric, foam rubber. Large production areas and complex equipment are not required; a garage or shed will be enough. This is the “hedgehog under your skin”: you can do it yourself at home!

Unfortunately, it is not possible to give even a cursory description of this chair in a review article: its volume and labor intensity are quite consistent with the nature of the object. But, let’s hope that we will have another opportunity to tell you how to make a chair worthy of a royal palace with your own hands at home on an average family budget.