Adirondack Chair

c.1938 Patent

This is the patent that shows what we now consider the classic lawn chair. Below are photos taken during production.

Building the Adirondack Chair: a journal of the process.

The two-board chair didn't take too long, but the Adirondack chair required a bit more care. First, I got overwhelmed with variations on the internet. Big surprise. So I decided to limit myself. That is why I chose to make the Westboro Chair and the first patented Adirondack chair. For the Westboro Chair I bought the plans from the Adirondack Museum, since the patent drawing sucked.


While waiting I decided to make a fairly accurate version of the 1938  chair. Below are some steps along the way...

Back leg detail with angle notes, and shape traced from template.

Westboro Chair c.1905 Patent

This is the precursor to the Adirondack chair. The story is a bit of a soap opera (spoiler alert) 

Deck Chairs thru the Ages


Michael Bray DESIGN​​

Finished chair on my deck.

Note two-board seat in background.


Two-Board Chair

This is an ancient form, called a Viking chair, a Bog chair, etc. They crop up in many cultures. I made mine from scrap lumber in 45 minutes. I could have done it in 30 if I hadn't tried to make the mortise too exact.