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Curved back, sloped seat, cedar throughout. The angles are the whole design — cut the template right and the rest is assembly.
| Part | Qty | T × W × L | Material | ✓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear legs / seat supports The curved part. Cut from the template. This piece defines the chair's whole geometry. | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 36" | Cedar | ☐ |
| Front legs | 2 | 1 1/2" × 3 1/2" × 21" | Cedar | ☐ |
| Seat slats Spaced ~1/2" apart so rain drains through. | 6 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 22" | Cedar | ☐ |
| Back slats Cut to a fan curve at the top — tallest in the center. | 7 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 32" | Cedar | ☐ |
| Arms Wide enough to hold a drink. This is the single most appreciated feature of the chair. | 2 | 3/4" × 5 1/2" × 28" | Cedar | ☐ |
| Arm supports | 2 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 9" | Cedar | ☐ |
| Back braces | 2 | 3/4" × 3 1/2" × 22" | Cedar | ☐ |
| Item | Qty | ✓ |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar, 1x6, 8 ft (Western Red Cedar) Back slats, seat slats, arms. | 5 each | ☐ |
| Cedar, 2x4, 8 ft (Western Red Cedar) Legs and seat supports — the structural parts. | 2 each | ☐ |
| Cedar, 1x4, 6 ft (Western Red Cedar) | 1 each | ☐ |
| Stainless steel screws, #8 x 1-1/4" and 2" Stainless, not coated. Cedar's tannins eat plain steel and streak rust down the chair. | 60 each | ☐ |
| Waterproof wood glue | 4 oz | ☐ |
| Hardboard for template | 1 each | ☐ |
| Exterior finish or leave raw Optional. Raw cedar silvers to grey and lasts fine. Finish means re-finishing, forever. | 16 oz | ☐ |
Overall cost: $$. Lumber varies by region, species, and season, so we give a band rather than a figure.
Tools: Combination Square, Jigsaw, Random Orbit Sander, Tape Measure. Materials: Hardboard for template
Draw the curved rear leg/seat support full size on hardboard. The seat section slopes back ~15°; the back support rises at ~20° off the seat.
Cut it, sand the curve fair, and sit on a mockup before you cut cedar. Clamp two scraps together at your angles and try it. Adjust until it's genuinely comfortable. Everything else in this build is downstream of this template.
Tools: Jigsaw, Random Orbit Sander, Router. Materials: Cedar, 2x4, 8 ft
Trace the template onto your 2x4 stock, twice. Cut with a jigsaw, staying just outside the line, then sand to the line — or rout flush with the template and a flush-trim bit.
The two must be identical. If they're not, the chair rocks.
Tools: Combination Square, Drill / Driver. Materials: Cedar, 2x4, 8 ft, Stainless steel screws, #8 x 1-1/4" and 2"
Attach the front legs to the rear leg assemblies. Add a front cross-brace.
Check it sits flat on the floor with no wobble before you go further. Fix a wobble now, not after 13 slats are on.
Tools: Drill / Driver. Materials: Cedar, 1x4, 6 ft, Stainless steel screws, #8 x 1-1/4" and 2"
Screw the six seat slats across the curved seat section, front to back, with ~1/2" gaps.
The gaps aren't a style choice — water has to get out, or the chair rots from the seat down.
Tools: Drill / Driver, Jigsaw, Router. Materials: Cedar, 1x4, 6 ft, Stainless steel screws, #8 x 1-1/4" and 2"
Cut the back slats to a fan: tallest in the middle, stepping down toward the outside, with the tops rounded over.
Screw them to the two back braces — one low, one high — with even gaps. Do the layout on the ground first, get the fan symmetric, then attach.
Tools: Drill / Driver, Router. Materials: Cedar, 1x6, 8 ft, Stainless steel screws, #8 x 1-1/4" and 2"
Screw the arm supports to the front legs, then land the arms on top of them and into the back. Round over the front corners of the arms generously — they're what your forearm rests on for hours.
Make sure the arms are level with each other and with the ground.
Tools: Random Orbit Sander. Materials: Exterior finish or leave raw
Sand every edge and corner you can reach — this is a chair people sit in wearing shorts. Nothing sharp survives.
Leave the cedar raw and let it silver, or finish it and accept that you've signed up to redo that every couple of years. Raw is the honest answer.
Build the second one. The template's already made and it goes three times faster.