Plywood Lounge Chair

Plywood arm/lounge chair made out of birch plywood.

Materials:

1. 22mm birch plywood 40x120cm
2. 2x 18mm birch plywood 20x120cm
3. Wood screws
4. Dowels
5. Wood glue
6. Danish oil

Tools:

I used the following tools, but you can substitute them with whatever you have on hand.

1. Track saw
2. Miter saw
3. Scroll saw
4. Hand drill
5. Orbital sander
6. Hand screw
7. Clamps
8. Ruler

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.

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.

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.

I still need to cut the foam and sew the cushions but I am pretty happy with how the chair turned out.