Outdoor Furniture

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THEARTOFWOODWORKING

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W O R K S H OGPU I D E TIPS TABLE SAWSAFETY . U s ea s a f e t yg u a r dw h e n e v epro s s i b l e . B e f o r em a k i n ga b e v ecl u t ,c o n f i r mt h a t t h e g u a r dw i l l b e c l e a ro f t h e b l a d e . . Do not leavethe sawrunningwhenrt is unattended. o lf you are interrupted, completethe o p e r a t i ounn d e rw a yb e f o r et u r n i n go f f t h e s a wa n d l o o k i n gu p , o F o l l o wt h e m a n u f a c t u r e ri n' ss t r u c t i o n s t o c h a n g ea c c e s s o r i eusn; p u g t h e s a w f i r s t .M a k es u r et h a ts a wb l a d e sa n dc u t t e r sa r es h a r pc, l e a na n d u n d a m a g e d . o B e f o r ec u t t i n ga w o r k p i e c er e, m o v e a n yl o o s ek n o t sf r o mi t u s i n ga h a m m e r . I n s p e cst a l v a g ewdo o df o r n a r l sa n d screwsbeforecutting.

. D o n o i s t a r ta c u t u n t i lt h e b l a d ei s r u n n i n ga t f u l l s p e e d . . B e f o r eu s i n gt h e s a we a c ht i m e ,i n s p e c t rtssafetyfeatures.Makesurethereis no b i n d i n go r m i s a l i g n m eonft m o v i n gp a r t s . Do not usethe sawuntil suchproblems arecorrected. . A l w a y fse e dw o o di n t ot h e s a wb l a d e a g a i n stth e d i r e c t i o on f b l a d er o t a t i o n . . l v l a k se u r et h e r i p f e n c ei s l o c k e d in position b e f o r er i p p i n g . . D o n o t u s et h e m i t e rg a u g ei n c o m b i n a t i o nw t t ht h e r i p f e n c et o m a k ea c u l e x c e pw t h e nt h e b l a d ed o e sn o tc u t su t h ew o r k p i e c e , ch c o m p l e t e tl yh r o u g h as for a dadoor a groove.

r U s et h e r i p f e n c eo r t h e m i t e rg a u g ef o r a l l c u t t i n go p e r aoi n s ;n e v e ar t t e m p t o cutfreehand. . Beforerippnga board,ensure thatthe e d g ei n c o n t a cwt i t ht h er i pf e n c ei ss m o o t h andthatthesur andcompletely straight faceagainst thetableis flat. o S t a n dt o o n es i d eo f a n yw o r k p i e cdeu r i n ga n yc u t t i n go p e r a t i osno y o uw i l l n o t b e i n j u r e di n c a s eo f k i c k b a c k . r l f y o u h a v et o r e a c hp a s tt h e b l a d e , m a k es u r et o k e e py o u rh a n d sa t l e a s t 3 i n c h e sa w a yf r o mi t , r U s ea w o o d e n s t r c k r, a t h e trh a ny o u r f n g e r st,o c l e a rw o o ds c r a p sf r o mt h e sawtable.

W()RKS ASSEMBLY GUARD HOWA TABLE SAWBLADE

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kickback fingersandpreventing Protecting T h e s t a n d a r tda b l es a wb l a d eg u a r da s s e m b liyn c l u d e sa , h i c hd e fl e c t sf l y i n gw o o d p i v o t i n gc, l e a r - p l a s t b i cl a d eg u a r dw c h i p sa n d r e d u c etsh e c h a n c et h a tf i n g e r sw i l l s l i pa c c i d e n t a l l y i n t ot h e b l a d eT . h eg u a r di s c o n n e c t etdo a t h i n p i e c eo f m e t a l k n o w na st h e s p l i t t eor r r i v i n gk n i f e .A t t a c h e d i r e c t l yi n l i n e w i t h t h e b l a d e ,t h e s p l i t t e rk e e p st h e s a wc u t - o r k e r f o p e n .W i t h o ust u c ha d e v i c et,h e k e r fm a yc l o s ed u r i n ga c u t ,

backtoward theworkpiece binding the bladeandthrowing withgreatforce.Kickback canalsoresultif a worktheoperator propiecejamsbetween thebladeandthe rip fence.Further (or bya metalfinger is provided tectionfromkickback pawl,whichnormally rideson fingers) called ananti-kickback the In theeventof kickback, of theworkpiece. thesurface fromflyingback. theworkpiece f ingerdigsin,preventing

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OUTDOOR FURNITURE

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THE ART OF WOODVVORKING

OLITDOOR FURNITURE

TIME-LIFE BOOKS ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA ST.REMYPRESS MONTREAL

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t THE ART OF WOODWORKING wasproduced by ST.REMYPRESS PUBLISHER PRESIDENT

KennethWinchester PierreL6veilld

SeriesEditor SeriesArt Director SeniorEditor Editor Art Directors Designers

PierreHome-Douglas FrancineLemieux Marc Cassini Andrew Jones Jean-PierreBourgeois,SolangeLaberge HdldneDion, fean-GuyDoiron, FrancoisDaxhelet PictureEditor ChristopherJackson Writers JohnDowling,Adam Van Sertima Contr ibuting I llu strators GillesBeauchemin,Michel Blais, RonaldDurepos,MichaelStockdale, JamesTh6rien Administrator NatalieWatanabe ProductionManager MichelleTurbide Coordinator Dominique Gagn6 SystemCoordinator Eric Beaulieu Photographer RobertChartier Indexer ChristineM. Jacobs

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THECONSULTANTS Craig Gilborn is the former director of the Adirondack Museumin Blue Mountain Lake,NewYork.He is alsoa builder of outdoorfurnitureand authorof AdirondackAndRustic Fumiture,p:ubl.ished by Abrams. GilesMiller-Mead taught advancedcabinetmakingat Montreal technicalschoolsfor more than ten years.A nativeof New Zealand,hehasworked asa restorerofantique furniture The Art of woodworking. Outdoor furniture. D. Cm. -

Inciudesindex. ISBN0-8094-9543-0 l. Outdoorfurniture.2.Furnituremaking. 3. Gardenornamentsand furniture. I. Time-Life Books.II. Series:Art of Woodworking. TTI97.5.09A78 1995 684.1'8-dc20 95-35782 CIP For information about any Time-Life book, pleasecall I -800-621-7 026,or write: ReaderInformation Time-Life CustomerService P.O.BoxC-32068 Richmond,Virginia 2326r-2068 @ 1996Time-LifeBooksInc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by any electronicor mechanicalmeans,including information storageand retrievaldevicesor systems,without prior written permissionfrom the publisher,exceptthat brief passages may be quoted for reviews. Secondprinting 1999.Printedin U.S.A. Publishedsimultaneouslyin Canada. TIME-LIFE is a trademarkof Time WarnerInc. U.S.A.

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CONTENTS 6

INTRODUCTION

L2 FACING THE ELEMENTS T4 A galleryof outdoor furniture designs L6 Selectingwood 1 8 |oinery and hardware 20 Finishing 22 24 26 34 36 44 46

CHAIRS Anatomy of an Adirondackchair Building an Adirondackchair Anatomy of a curvedchair Fashioninga curvedchair Anatomy of a loungechair Making a lounge chair

54 BENCHES 56 Anatomy of a gardenbench 5 8 Building a gardenbench 64 Parkbench 70 Anatomy of a treebench 72 Buitdinga treebench 78 80 90 92 98

TABLES Patiotable Foldingpicnic tableand bench Making a folding picnic table Keyedtenon bench

IO2 104 106 II2 II4

SWINGSAND GLIDERS Anatomy of a porch swing Buildinga porch swing Anatomy of a glider base Buildinga gliderbase

ll8 GARDENPROJECTS I20 Anatomy of an eight-sided planter I2I Building an eight-sidedplanter 126 Anatomy of a servingtrolley I27 Fashioninga servingtrolley 131 Anatomyof a gardenarbor I32 Building a gardenarbor I4O GLOSSARY I42 INDEX T44 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

Iim Tolpinon

LONG-LASTING FI.]RNITI-IRE 'm goingto do whatto thatlovelychairandtableset?Well,I intendto expose it f I to the directheatandultravioletraysof the sun.ThenI'll let it getsoakingwet, freeze, andthenthawout with blastsof warm,dry air.And I'm goingto allowthisto happennot just once,but overand overagainfor the nexttwo to threedecades. Well,of courseI am:I'm buildinga pieceof outdoorfurniture. Thequestionis,how canI possiblybuild woodfurnitureto enduresuchhorrific abuse? To find someanswers, I lookedbackto theprinciplesandpractices of the carriageandboatbuildersof thelastcentury.It was,afterall,thesetradesmen who producedsomeof themosthighlystressed andseverely exposed-notto mention knownto man.Ifthesetradescoulddo that,I wasbettingthey beautiful-structures couldbuild oneheckof a lawnchair. \AhatI learnedboileddownto this:Thesecraftsmen askedmuchof everyDrece of woodthat wentinto a shipor carriage, but theyneveraskedmorethat it could give-and theydid all theycouldto preserve its integrity.Theychosewoodsthat wereinherentlyrot-resistant, beingcarefulnot to includesapwood, splits,pitchpockets,cross-grain, or otherdefects thatmightdiminishits strengthor longevity. Theycut the exposed shoulders of jointsat water-shedding anglesand applied beddingcompoundslike pinetar and Irish felt to the matingsurfaces-strategies thathelpedpreventmoisturefrom intruding,lingering, andnourishingwood-eating parasites. Theydesigned channels, drainholes,anddamsthroughoutthestrucwaterto flow awayfrom the wood.Theyavoidedflat surfaces, ture to encourage puddling.And bowingthetopsof horizontalareaslikerailsandboxlidsto discourage wherefasteners wereneeded(thoughtheyminimizedtheiruseasmuchaspossible andpins),theychosemetalsthat resisted rustandwerenot by usingwoodwedges corrosive to thewood. WhileI don'tintendto buildAmericawhilesittingin my lawnfurniture(l don't evenintendto beawake), I do wantthefruitsof my laborsto sele my familyfor many years.TothatendI employmuchof whatI havelearnedfrom theselong-gonetradesmen.And, sofar,that chairandtablehaveremainedlovely,continuingto do thejob for whichtheywereintended-whilelivinghappilyoutdoors.

A builderof outdoor Jim Tolpink alsoauthor furnitureandboats, the Taunton Press, including BuildingTradiof several books for He livesin PortTownsend, Washington. tionalKtchenCabinets. He isshownhereinsideq tinker'swagonthathebuilt 15yearsago pine. from douglas-firand tongue-and-groove

INTRODUCTION

ThomasPhillipsdescribes the

NATURAL BEAUTYOFWOOD whenan f *ur activelyinvolvedwith repairingall mannerof campfurnishings I antiquedealerfriendconvinced meto makemyfirstchair.Aftertakingtheplunge, I spentthreeyearsresearching beforeI attempted myfirstpiece.Thatwas11years ago,andI stillhaveit: a splitpost-and-rung model. NowI buildmostly"twig"furniture,thekindwith thebarkstillon.Thevarious indigenous woodsI workwith providemewith color,form,andtexture,allowingan artisticfreedomof expression virtuallyunlimitedby straightlines.Originallythis workevolved to complement mylifestyle, andit hassincebecome averyrewarding providinga business sideline, andpersonal recognition farbeyondanythingI ever dreamed of. Workingwith woodin itsnaturalstateisparticularly challenging. Muchpreparationandthoughtgoesinto everypieceI build.A thoroughknowledge of thewood I intendto workwith is a must.Asanexample, if I wantto havenaturalbarkon a project,thenI amrestricted to harvesting mymaterials duringa fewmonthsin the coldseason. Also,toolsto workwoodin its naturalstatearenot readilyavailable. Moreoftenthannot, figuringout howto do something takeslongerthanactually problems doingit. Oneof mybiggest isstorage: A stashof naturalstockfor chairstakes up farmorespace thanmilledlimber. Thereis alwayssomedetailthatchallenges my abilitiesandingenuityto execute it, whetherI amworkingwith oneof my owndesigns or something I'vereceived from somearchitectural firm. OftenwhenI amin theforestduringmy dailyactivitiesI find my eyecapturedby a specialcurvesomesaplinghasgrowninto anda pieceof furniturewill takeform,piecebypiece, in mymind.I canoftenseethefinishedproductbeforeI evenharvest theuniqueformthatcaughtmy eye.Then,it maybethreeweels,sometimes asmuchasfiveyears,beforethematerialsaredry enoughto workwith.I mayconsider subsequent designs, butI oftengobackto the originaloneI saw.Theactualhands-on workrequiredto makethepiecemaytake a fewhoursor weeks, but whenit'sfinished,it always leaves mewith a sense of fulfillmentandaccomplishment, temporarilydrainedof theartist'screative sparkand overwhelmed by thenaturalbeautyof wooditselfandthewarmthit provides.

ThomasPhillipsis awoodsmanagerin Tupper Lake,New Yoil