Plywood Lounge Chair
Plywood arm/lounge chair made out of birch plywood.
Things You Need
Materials:
- 22mm birch plywood 40x120cm
- 2x 18mm birch plywood 20x120cm
- Wood screws
- Dowels
- Wood glue
- Danish oil
Tools:
I used the following tools, but you can substitute them with whatever you have on hand.
- Track saw
- Miter saw
- Scroll saw
- Hand drill
- Orbital sander
- Hand screw
- Clamps
- Ruler
Design and Cut Material for the Frame
I sketched the design on the plywood until I was satisfied with it. Then I cut out the bottom side piece using my track saw and finished the corners with a scroll saw. You can also use jigsaw or bandsaw for this.
I repeated the same process for the back piece as well.
Stretchers, Dados and Seat/back Supports
I cut the 18mm plywood into 6 slats - 3 for the backside and 3 for the seat. On the backside piece, I cut out dados with a scroll saw.
For the bottom, I cut a small strip of leftover plywood that spans between the front and back legs and cut dados out on the scroll saw as well. I then glued and screwed this strip to the side panel.
Fill the Holes, Sand and Apply Finish
After driving a screw into each hole, I cut some dowels, applied wood glue to each hole to attach the plug, and then sanded them flush.
Finally, I sanded everything with 180 and 220 grit sandpaper. Since this is plywood, I was careful not to sand through the veneer, but I ensured that all surfaces were smooth before finishing with oil. In the end, I applied a coat of Danish oil and wiped away any excess.
Final Product
I still need to cut the foam and sew the cushions but I am pretty happy with how the chair turned out.