A Morris chair is a great place to settle in and do lots of things, including reading a book, enjoying a drink, chatting with friends and watching a good rain storm. During at least half of the year in the Midwest these things are nice to do outside, as well as inside, but dragging a white oak mortise-and-tenoned Morris chair onto your deck isn’t the easiest thing. Not one to be put out of a comfortable position, I decided painted pine could work for a Morris chair as well, and so I headed for the home center store.

The chair is made entirely from 1 x 4 and 1 x 6 pine, about $40 worth. The hardest joint on this chair is a butt joint, and if you’ve got a jigsaw, drill and a hammer you can knock one out in a day. With the help of a couple extra tools, my personal best time is under four hours. Your hardest work will be picking through the lumber racks to find the straightest and most knot-free lumber from the store.

The chair is designed to have a cushion, but you don’t have to add one. If you don’t use a cushion, the chair may feel a little deep when you sit in it. Because of this, I’d suggest taking 2" off the lengths for the side rails, arms, seat slats and side cleats. Readjust the spacing of the side slats to fit the shorter seat. My cushions came from a home center store and were modified with a little sewing. You also can check out Summer Living Direct and buy their “Winston cushions” (items # W1917 and W1907).

Start your building by cutting out the pieces to form the front and rear legs. Traditional Morris chairs typically have very stout legs, and I didn’t want to lose that look or stability, so I edge-glued and nailed two pieces together to form a “T.” Face-on or from the side, the sturdy leg is still visible. With the legs formed, the rear (shorter) legs need to have the top end cut at a 5-degree angle from front to back. Remember that the back on these legs is the top of the “T.” A miter box made quick work of this step.

The next step is to get your box of 1-1/4" deck screws (available at McFeely's) out and attach the lower stretchers to the inside of the legs with the top edge 8" off the floor. With those attached, slip the top stretchers into place, flush with the front leg, and mark and cut the bevel on the rail to allow the arms of the chair to slope back. Then screw these stretchers in place, also on the inside of the legs and then screw the front and rear stretchers in place, above the lower side stretchers. With the side frames complete, cut the pieces for the side slats using the sides themselves to determine the angle to cut on the top of the slats. I spaced them evenly and used a pneumatic brad nailer to attach the slats as they’re more decorative than structural.

The two arms are cut from 37"-long pieces. Measure 4-1/2" in from the front edge of each, then crosscut the pieces at this point at a 2-1/2 degree angle. By flipping over the shorter piece, a 5 degree angle is formed, and the arms can be attached to the legs and top rails. Cut the taper shown in the diagrams on the back of the arms to add a little more grace to the piece, then center the arms on the front legs and attach. I used screws here, because I knew in my heart that I’d be dragging the chairs around by the arms. I was right. The extra strength is a good move.

The seat of the chair is formed by simply adding nailing cleats to the inside of the chair frame. Screw the rear cleat in place with the bottom edge flush to the bottom of the rear seat stretcher. Then lay a straightedge on the rear cleat, stretching across the front stretcher of the chair. This is the angle the seat will take. Mount the front cleat to the front stretcher so that it fits under the straightedge. The two side cleats are mounted following the angle of the straightedge. Mounting the seat slats is simple from here. Cut the slats and use a router to round over at least the front edges of the boards. If you like, go ahead and round over the long edges as well. Then simply lay the two outside slats tight against the sides and back and nail them in place. Put the center slat in place next, then fill in with the four thinner slats, spacing them evenly.

The back is constructed by forming L-shaped sides, screwing a top and bottom rail between them, then nailing the slats evenly spaced across the back. To allow the back to fold both forward and back, the continuous hinge needs to be mounted to the inside of the back chair rail and to the outside of the lower back rail. Mounted this way, the two back stiles will keep the back from reclining. To solve this I cut a bevel on the back stiles using a hand saw. Mount the back and fold it forward for now.

Next, mark the 5/8" hole locations on the arms and drill the holes using a spade bit. To avoid tear-out, drill through the top of the arm until the tip of the bit pokes through the bottom of the arm, then drill the rest of the hole from the underside of the arm.

To make the chair an adjustable recliner, cut a back support bar as shown in the cutting list and cut a chamfer along one edge. Then mark the bar to match the holes in the arms and drill two 1/2" holes through the piece. Put a little glue on the two 2"-long sections of dowel and insert them into the holes until they are flush with the top edge of the piece. The glue should hold, but to add a little extra strength I shot a brad nail through the back of the piece into each dowel.

It’s not a decent Morris chair unless it has a foot rest. This one is fairly simple, with the four legs again using the strength formed by an L-shaped glue-up. Four stretchers screwed between give the footstool its shape, and cleats and some evenly spaced slats finish the job. Again, this is designed for a cushion, so if you aren’t using a cushion, adjust your dimensions and mount the slats to the top of the stretchers.

You’re ready to finish. Do a little sanding to knock off the sharp edges and make a nice surface on the arms. The best outdoor finish is one that blocks light and seals the wood. Around my neighborhood that’s paint. I picked a nice kelly green and used about seven cans of spray paint.

You may have noticed the reference to my “best time” at the beginning of this story. Since building the first of these chairs I’ve built a second for myself, and there have been orders pouring in from family and neighbors. So why don’t some of you take these plans and start up a side business. Please, take some pressure off me! PW