148 Popular Science Monthly 



Making a Lawn Chair 



THE accompanying drawing sliows 

 a chair for use on the lawn. The 

 materials required are hardwood strips 

 J^ in. by lyi ins.; one ^^^ in. round iron 

 or steel-rod threaded on each end with 

 two nuts; two ^-^-in. bolts, 2}^ ins. long 

 under the head; two ^-in. bolts 2I4 ins. 

 long with two nuts each; two ■■<i-\n. or 

 J'g-in. dowels, 2yi ins. long; one strip 

 of awning stripe duck, or stair crash, 

 20 ins. wide, one piece of >2-in. pipe, 

 some ^-in. washers, and from twelve to 

 sixteen ounces of upholsterer's tacks. 



To make the chair shown cut two 

 strips 4 1/6 ins. long, and two strips 

 say forty to forty-si.\ inches long. 

 Mortise near top of the two long strips 

 for the crossbar. Cut the mortise >-§ in. 

 by 2 ins. in size. The crossbar is i ft. i/io 

 ins. long with a )4-\n. shoulder on each 

 side at each end 14, in. long. 



At the other end bore a ^-in. hole in 

 each strip and fit a Js-'f- dowel into it. 

 This dowel is also i ft. i/io ins. long. All 

 these joints should be carefully squared, 

 fitted tight, glued and wedged. Glue 

 the wedges before you drive them, and 

 make chisel-splits for starting the wedges. 

 Do the same thing to the shorter 

 pieces. Bore a %-in. hole in both short 

 pieces at the upper end. This is for 

 the bolt holding the arm-rest. Cut out 

 the arm-rests, as shown in the illustra- 

 tion, for the adjustable hooks. These 

 hooks are made by boring ^2 -in. holes 

 in the exact center of the strip and 

 making saw-cuts to remove the wedge of 



This adjustable chair, which can be made by an 



amateur from ordinary materials, forms an attractive 



summer feature of the lawn 



wood. Round both ends and also round 

 the top ends of the shorter frame. 



Lay off fifteen inches from the bottom 

 of the long frame, and twenty-five 

 inches from the bottom of the short 

 frame. Bore 3^^-in. holes in both, at 

 the points marked. The steel pivot 

 rod, /"s-in. diameter, is twent\-five 

 inches long. It is threaded on each end 

 for a hexagon nut. Six ^-in. common 

 washers, and a piece of ^-in. wrought- 

 iron pipe i ft. 8 ins. long are required. 



Put the rod through the hole in the 

 short frame. Put on a washer; then 

 through the hole in the long frame, 

 another washer; slip on the piece of 

 pipe; a washer; hole in the long frame; 

 a washer; hole in short frame; another 

 washer. Put a washer on the outside of 

 the short frame, and put on both nuts; 

 screw up fairly tight, and burr the end 

 of the rod, riveting it down on the nuts, 

 so they cannot back off. 



Pivot the arm-rest in the hole at the 

 top of the short frame, with a ^-g-in. 

 bolt 2% ins. long under the head, but 

 make it a loose fit, and burr down the 

 threads to keep the nut in place. Bore 

 a hole through the side-bars of the long 

 frame, 2 ft 3 ins. from the top. Put into 

 each hole a ^-^-in. bolt, 2^,4 ins. long 

 under the head, with a thread 2 ins. 

 long. Screw up a nut on this thread 

 until it joins. Push the thread through 

 the bored hole from the outside, screw 

 up the other nut tight, and burr the 

 threads. The notches in the arm-bar 

 hook on this bolt and make the chair 

 adjustable. 



Fasten the crash or canvas to 

 the crossbars with tacks, tacking 

 on top, and taking a full wrap of 

 the canvas around the crossbar so 

 that the tacks are covered. This 

 prevents strain on the tacks 

 when the chair is in use. Allow 

 slack as shown, so that the boily 

 of the sitter cannot touch the 

 crossrod. The canvas will con- 

 form to the body like a hanmiock. 

 The chair should be painted or 

 varnished for protection against 

 the elements. 



This practical lawn ciiair can 

 be subjected to nnich wear and 

 tear without suffering any dam- 

 age. — H. S. RlNKER. 



