Geophyrd
Member
Link to Amazon page
Hi all, forgive the quick write...thought I'd share. I love how my chair came out. Will take pictures and put 'em up this weekend!
Just completed my Adirondack chair, made from the template and directions from Woodcraft. I built it entirely out of cypress. In a few places, I used pocket screws for strength rather than the recommended through and through screwing recommended in the directions. The directions are a bit of a through and through screwing themselves. I give 5 stars for the templates, 2 stars for the directions. If you buy (and I do recommend this very much), feel free to email me if you need help.
First of all, the template look and are kind of flimsy. They are made from 1/4" mdh and they are templates only. They are, however, spot on for the right sizes and work very well with routers. There are some exceptions to the 'right size' thing, more on that in a moment. There is no reference in the directions to thickness of the wood. I decided it must not matter all that much. I milled my wood to around 13/16" and that worked fine. If you pick smaller (3/4 or 11/16) that will probably work fine as well.
The directions are terrible. At the very least, whoever wrote them, I believe spoke English as their primary language, which is noted and appreciated, but the toughest parts of this build are barely addressed. Building the top back frame, the second item on the right in the picture required not only an interior curve (which is easy) but a bevel too (which is not). According to the directions, what's needed is a 27 degree bevel. What's actually needed is 27 degrees removed (which is 63 degrees). That's not easy to do. I tried a couple of ways to get it right, finally, I took a 63 measure, penciled the angle on the side of the piece and measuring. It was, as I recall, around 1/8 or 3/16. I marked it around the inside of the curve, and used my belt sander to grind it down. A little advice in the directions would have helped.
The back chair items have templates, but it is designed to only model the tops of the backs. Follow the directions here precisely, the measurements need to be exact.
The chair itself is terrific...very strong and the cypress wood really popped. I still have to finish the wood and I would recommend that once the wood is cut, milled and shaped, it should probably be seal then. I wish I'd have the foresight to do so (maybe a mention in the directions would have helped) but I will finish this weekend. If I can figure out a way to add a picture, I'll take some this weekend.
I very much recommend this. The chair I built used a lot of different skills and techniques and gave a number of ways to customize and make the project your own. Good luck!
Hi all, forgive the quick write...thought I'd share. I love how my chair came out. Will take pictures and put 'em up this weekend!
Just completed my Adirondack chair, made from the template and directions from Woodcraft. I built it entirely out of cypress. In a few places, I used pocket screws for strength rather than the recommended through and through screwing recommended in the directions. The directions are a bit of a through and through screwing themselves. I give 5 stars for the templates, 2 stars for the directions. If you buy (and I do recommend this very much), feel free to email me if you need help.
First of all, the template look and are kind of flimsy. They are made from 1/4" mdh and they are templates only. They are, however, spot on for the right sizes and work very well with routers. There are some exceptions to the 'right size' thing, more on that in a moment. There is no reference in the directions to thickness of the wood. I decided it must not matter all that much. I milled my wood to around 13/16" and that worked fine. If you pick smaller (3/4 or 11/16) that will probably work fine as well.
The directions are terrible. At the very least, whoever wrote them, I believe spoke English as their primary language, which is noted and appreciated, but the toughest parts of this build are barely addressed. Building the top back frame, the second item on the right in the picture required not only an interior curve (which is easy) but a bevel too (which is not). According to the directions, what's needed is a 27 degree bevel. What's actually needed is 27 degrees removed (which is 63 degrees). That's not easy to do. I tried a couple of ways to get it right, finally, I took a 63 measure, penciled the angle on the side of the piece and measuring. It was, as I recall, around 1/8 or 3/16. I marked it around the inside of the curve, and used my belt sander to grind it down. A little advice in the directions would have helped.
The back chair items have templates, but it is designed to only model the tops of the backs. Follow the directions here precisely, the measurements need to be exact.
The chair itself is terrific...very strong and the cypress wood really popped. I still have to finish the wood and I would recommend that once the wood is cut, milled and shaped, it should probably be seal then. I wish I'd have the foresight to do so (maybe a mention in the directions would have helped) but I will finish this weekend. If I can figure out a way to add a picture, I'll take some this weekend.
I very much recommend this. The chair I built used a lot of different skills and techniques and gave a number of ways to customize and make the project your own. Good luck!