Dugout Chair Part 4, Cut the Arms

I laid out the shape of my my dugout chair in chalk. Then it rained.

The next day I laid out the shape of my dugout chair in lumber crayon. Referring to my CAD drawing (below), I drew in the seat at 17” from the ground. Then decided to put the arms 8” above the seat and have them slope back about 1/2” or so. The depth of the seat (and arms) is 17”.

For the “crest” of the chair, I decided to make it 16” wide. Then curve the edges of the backrest down to the arms.

Rather than do this all in one go, I first sawed out the waste above the arms – minus the section that will be curved. First I made the horizontal cut with the chainsaw. Then the vertical cut. This is the safe way to do it.

I also use the chainsaw to cut away some of the rotted interior that was protruding into the seat area. This will save on time with the angle grinder (I hope).

Next up, I’m going to cut the curves. My plan is to make horizontal stop cuts up each side of the back. Then I’ll connect these cuts, trying not to twist the bar of the chainsaw. It should work.

— Christopher Schwarz

Oh and if you want to build a real chair, check out this video on building a Welsh stick chair  from Don Weber.