Today I'm going to show you how to make a nice wooden child's chair. I found the pattern for this on the internet at Creekside Woodshop: Lauren's Chair
Thanks to Ron, who made this chair initially for his granddaughter, the full pattern with measurements and instructions are there. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of free woodworking patterns around the web that friendly woodworkers have been so generous to share with us.
I did make a few small changes, by lengthening the legs and lengthening and putting a bit different shape on the back slats, but it's basically the same. Mine is 17" in width and 14" from front to back. The seat height is 7 1/2" and the back height is 24". I think it would fit a child from about age 2 - 6 years old. I made the chair out of pine and used screws.
* tip* Before screwing, I always drill a hole through the upper piece of wood and use clamps to hold both pieces together. This way the lower piece pulls into the upper one tightly and the wood doesn't split.
Here is the before photo of rough pine:
All the pieces were cut to width and length and well sanded:
You start by adding the side seat brace to the legs.
One for the left side and one for the right:
After that you stand up the sides and attach the front and back seat brace and the first seat slat at the front:
Add an arm on each side, they sit on top of the leg pieces flush with the inside of the legs:
Attach the upper back brace to the back of the arms. Screw the middle and two outer back slats to the lower back brace before attaching to the chair. (Sorry, I forgot to take a photo of that step)
Then sit that back section you just made between the arms and attach the lower back brace to the back legs:
Evenly space the remaining back slats as well as the seat slats and the small arm brace:
Here's another view:
Paint or stain as desired. I used red exterior house paint and a brush, but maybe spray paint would be easier, since there's lots of crevices to get into.
What child wouldn't want one of these?
It really is hard to tell the size of the chairs by these photos, but remember the seat is only 7 1/2" off the floor. They really are adorable. I've also made one in white and one in yellow (that one has the original shorter legs). Of course you could decorate the chair with painted on flowers or something the child likes such as a cartoon character or animal or even the child's name to personalize it.
Please let me know if you make a chair ...
Labels: furniture, pine
