Relaxing outdoors is an American tradition. And while that can mean a lot of things, sitting in an Adiron-dack-style chair with a tasty beverage, a good book and the Twins game on the radio is as sweet as it gets (to me). But some folks, like my wife Mary, think Adirondack chairs are torture devices of the first order. Her small frame gets stuck way in the back of the chair, with her legs dangling uncomfortably just past the front edge of the seat. (She also thinks they are kinda ugly.) Don’t sugarcoat it honey, just tell me how you feel …
With that feedback in mind, senior art director Jeff Jacobson and I decided to design and build an updated version that has some of the best features of an Adirondack chair but addresses some of the shortcomings. Jeff built two prototypes before he was satisfied, and this chair is the result of those efforts.
The outside frames are built in a “Z” shape and are then joined together with a series of cross braces. I chose African teak from Rockler as the lumber for the frame and crosspieces. It is excellent for outdoor projects as it resists rot very well (but not quite as well as the Asian teak that most folks are more familiar
