Spending time outdoors is so much more fun when you know how to make a folding chair. Picnics and other outdoor activities are becoming more popular nowadays and the many types of equipment everyone can enjoy.
Folding chairs come in a variety of designs. These variations often lead to more confusion than options. However, they are all really dependent on your preferences, interior home design, and preferred comfortability.
You can use these folding chairs in doing simple tasks in your courtyard. It also allows you to move it in a place without much hassle.
Rather than spending the time and money to buy a folding chair, you can make them yourself. It is easier than you imagine!
Building A Folding Chair
Folding chairs are pretty complex when we look at them from the outside. Nevertheless, you don’t have to worry when building them!
Aside from this one, there are many folding chair templates to choose from on the internet. You can download these files for free and use them as a guide.
There are simple steps behind that seemingly complicated task. Get ready and prepare your hands for the chair-building.
Step #1. Prepare
It is a given procedure to prepare before any task. For this project, you need to gather materials, mainly wood, and a place where you would be making the folding chair.
Since this folding chair would be made of wood, you can have a gist of what to prepare. You would need seven pieces of a 2 x 2 baluster with mitered ends. You can also get a saw, drill, 2½” wood screws, sandpapers, wood glue, and a pencil.
You might also have materials from the list below. Get them ready, so you won’t have troubles if you suddenly need one:
- Speed square
- Staple gun
- ½” staples
- ⅛” and ¼” drill bit
- 2 pieces of 3” x ¼” bolts
- 4 pieces of ¼” washers
- 2 pieces of ¼” nuts
- Tape measure
- Putty/wood filler
- Paint
- Miter box and saw
After preparing the materials above, you can focus on finding a place. Remember to choose a workspace where you can move comfortably, and you won’t have trouble cleaning later.
Step #2. Create chair legs
Make the chair legs from the mitered-end balusters. Measure balusters from outside of the mitered end at 25”. You can use a pencil to mark this area so you won’t forget.
Draw a line on the marks and cut them to make the legs. Try using a speed square for more precise markings.
Step #3. Set and dry fit cross braces
Measure two pieces of cross braces at 10”, another two at 12½”, and another two at 14”. Mark them with a pencil and cut using a saw or a miter box.
Now, dry-fit these pieces by placing the two 12½” braces between the legs. Follow this action by placing 10” cross braces between the legs too.
Lastly, place 14” cross braces at the legs’ square ends. Make a mark on the 3” on the mitered end.
Step #4. Attach chair legs to braces
Remember the 3” mark on the cross braces from the previous step? You would be using that in this step.
Align these marks on the bottom of both cross-braces. Pre-drill through the chair’s leg and the prop itself with a ⅛” drill bit.
Put wood glue on the cross braces and connect them with the legs using wood screws. Align the top part of the cross-braces with the legs’ square ends. Repeat the process.
After this, make an ‘X’ pattern. Measure 12” from each square end of the chair and drill using a ¼” drill bit. Finally, apply washers on the bolt ends and secure them with nuts.
Step #5. Sand
Once you assembled the chair’s base, it’s time for sanding! A 220-grit sandpaper or sanding block is recommended for the task.
After sanding, paint the chair if you intend to. Let it dry and do the next step for a while.
Step #6. Make a seat
Make your folding chair seat using fabric. Base it on the sizes of the top part of your chair, and then prepare to attach it to your chair.
Now, to attach your fabric seat, use a ⅛” drill bit to pre-drill the top cross-braces. Place the fabric seat above with its staples facing under. Attach and secure them with screws through pre-drilled holes.
How To Make Folding Chair Look Good
Staring on a wooden folding chair might bore you for a day. We know how plain it’ll look once your wooden folding chairs are placed outdoors.
Fear not! There are a lot of ways to beautify your folding chairs and decorate them in your own style.
Whether you’ll prefer to use ribbons, paints, or different kinds of fabric, there is a way for an aesthetic chair! Don’t be afraid to experiment and explore various design ideas.
Conclusion
Prepare to spark up your outdoor bonanza now that you know how to make a folding chair. It’s straightforward, affordable, and a worthy task to do after a long day.
Follow and choose from a thousand folding chair templates available on the internet. Get your materials and choose a workplace, then you’re all set!