8 Different Free Adirondack Chair Plans
In my opinion, you can’t have too many Adirondack chair plan varieties. This is a terrific project that is good for any skill level. In fact, this was the first large scale project that I tackled after getting back into woodworking in the early 1990′s.
The Adirondack chair is a classic item. It comes in many shapes and styles and provides a framework for you to experiment and test your design skills. The structure of the chair is rather basic, yet stylish. I have seen some creative people come up with some designs that have landed in the pages of the higher end outdoor furniture retailers. I am occasionally asked about plans for the “martini glass” Adirondack chair or the “Old ski” Adirondack chair. Let yourself experiment with this one.
Here are a number of different free Adirondack chair plans. The plans are not listed in any particular order. It is all a matter of your personal taste. You can reach the full wood plan by clicking on the picture. Enjoy!
- From Rockler Woodworking (you might have to provide an e-mail for this free plan)
- Ubuild Adirondack chair plans. This chair is more like a “chair” with 4 legs as opposed to the front to back style of most Adirondack chairs. This can be very useful since your typical Adirondack chair can be difficult to get in and out of if you are up in years, or have a bad back. A more elevate style (like the one below) is a great way to scale the chair so that it is functional for the person who will be using it. Stylish too.
- Hometime Adirondack and Patio Furniture. If you are a fan of DIY television shows, you will probably recognize the people building this one. These plans are from the people at Hometime. They also provide plans for a nice side table and footstool.
- Buildeasy.com Adirondack chair plan
- Amateur Woodworker Adirondack chair plans
- A double Adirondack Chair (Loveseat) from Buildeasy
- This is a classic style Adirondack from Popular Mechanics. As expected these plans are very well laid out with a great exploded view of the project.
- This is a direct download of a chair known as Jake’s Chair. This plan has been around for a while and has always been free. You will probably find it in many places, but we felt that we couldn’t write about free Adirondack chair plans without including “Jake’s Chair”. When you click on the image, you will be prompted to download the free plan file.
Don’t be afraid to mix and match some of your favorite features from all of the chair designs above. You might like the concave back of one of the chairs, but prefer the scalloped look of another. You might prefer a straight arm to the curved arm. Come up with your own plan. There isn’t any right or wrong answer. If you do come up with your own, send us a picture to post here.
If you are a family with children, you will understand the need for a playground or swing set in the backyard. How many of us grew up with those old swing sets made of the metal polls?
Simple swing set plans - A-Frame style
It doesn’t seem like many people built their own swing sets back in the day, but with the availability of plans, and material from Home Depot or Lowes, it is hard not to say “let’s build this ourselves”. Not only can you save a few dollars, but you can get exactly what you want along with the satisfaction of working on a family project together.
This swing set is a simple one. You might be adding on to an existing playset or playground, or just starting with this basic structure. Either way, this is a simple plan that virtually anyone can pull off. Take your time, read the full set of plans before you start and understand that any mistakes are simple to correct with a fresh piece of lumber or hardware.
This swing set plan is a simple A-Frame style. The original plan comes from HGTV (show: Don’t Sweat It) and is well detailed.
Materials Needed:
- 6 @ 12′ 4×4 pressure-treated posts
- 1 @ 12′ 4×6 pressure-treated post
- Childrens swing set toys
- 4 metal post brackets for swing set
- 1 @ Toddler swing
- 2 @ swing hardware
- Post brackets
Tools Needed
- Cordless drill with battery and magnetic screw tip
- Drill bit set
- Level
- Post hole digger
- Power miter box
- Power router
- Safety glasses
- Socket set
Plans located at: How To: Building A Custom A-Frame Childrens Swing Set : Archive : Home & Garden Television.
We retained a PDF version of the plans in case HGTV removes them in the future. Contact us if the link is bad.
Wainscoting will make any home look a little bit more special. If you are in a new build with plain beige walls, a simple wainscoting detail can make a world of difference. The best part is that it is simple and relatively inexpensive to achieve a very nice look. In many cases your material choices will determine the perceived value of the work. Don’t skimp on material since this will make a lasting impact. Select quality wood material for your trim (MDF is fine if it is painted) and plywood (or painted drywall) for your inset panels. Paneling type material will not cut it. Nothing looks more phony than sticker over wood composite.
You can customize a simple wainscoting in many ways. Some prefer a deep cap in the mission style look, others prefer the store bought chair rail molding at the top. The more detail you put into your design generally translates into a more expensive look.
Good luck with your own wainscoting project. Mine is going into a tiny bathroom to cover up some walls that have too many layers of wallpaper to cope with. Click on the image for the full plans:
via: http://www.gifford-park-assoc.org/raised%20panel%20wainscoting.pdf
Other resources: http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,216493,00.html
Tags: plans, wainscoting, walls
Free Garden Stool Plans.
The thing that I love about a garden stool is the versatility that it provides. Once you build a stool, you will find yourself using it in the garden, on the deck, in the garage, etc. I think you get the picture. A nice solid stool is incredibly versatile and a great project. When you build a stool, you will probably find yourself modifying it slightly to double as a side table (end table).
These free garden stool plans are from RunnerDuck. We featured a very nice Cupola plan from this site in the past.
When building this garden stool, I would recommend a couple of alterations from the existing plan image and the writer at RunnerDuck does the same. Be sure to read a plan completely before ever building a project. This step makes a big difference. The plan calls for a handle at each end that only has about 1″ of meat at the top. This is not enough material to remain solid with the vertical grain. I would be sure to have at least 2.5″ – 4″ of meat above the handle cutout. I also wouldn’t extend the cutout the entire width of the end. It isn’t necessary and will only weaken your piece. You only need a cutout that can accommodate your hand.
The material list is short:
20′ X 3/4″ X 6″ Cedar.
(16) 1″ #6 flat head stainless wood screws
Exterior Wood Glue (I like the Gorilla Glue 6205001 since it doesn’t foam up and mark up your work)
Good luck building your own garden stool. Click on the image to view the full plan.
Tip 1: With cedar or redwood, a finish isn’t needed.
Tip 2: Use stainless screws. Galvanized, zinc, or primeguard will react with your wood leaving ugly dark spots where it is screwed.
Tags: bench, garden stool, table
The following project is a terrific one to do with your kids. If they are 4 or 14, they will be able to help. I built a playhouse with my son when he was about 4 years old and he uses it more today (he is 9) than he did when it was built. There are parts that your kids (and spouses) can help with and some that they cannot. When my son was 4, he would help screw in screws for the framing and help with some of the nailing. Once the structure was in place, he helped to paint the playhouse with his mom. It was a terrific family project that we stretched out over a couple of months.
We placed this in an area of our yard that floods with about 5 inches of water a couple of times a year so we decided to build the house on stilts and then built a cool bridge going out to it. The touches that make your playhouse different from anyone else’s are really what will stand out in the end.
On to what you are here for, Free Playhouse Plans. These plans come from the site ana-white.com. If you haven’t visited, you really must. It is a terrific site full of DIY’ers who share their projects and plans.
You will find the free plans by clicking on the image. I would suggest you read the comments and then read the “brag” posts about others who built their own and consider the modifications that they included.
In my case, one of the best suggestions offered to me had to do with the width of the door. A neighbor cam by as we were framing it up and I said that I would probably use this as a storage shed when my son was no longer using it. He asked if I could fit my lawnmower through the door. I couldn’t, but 10 minutes later I could. That change was a great one that I am happy about to this day. You can never have too much storage.
One other suggestion that I would make has to do with buttoning up the structure to the elements, vermin, and insects. We built ours as if it were a seasonal home. In the plan from Ana White, they have a deck-like floor. This will be a favorite of mosquitoes and spiders. I would suggest using a plywood material for the floor. There are 2 benefits to this:
- The bugs can’t get through
- A sheet or two of plywood will be much less expensive than deck boards.
Tags: play house, playhouse
Lowe’s has come up with some terrific projects over the past few years and this outdoor water feature / water fountain plan is another one of them. As I have said in the past, I enjoy the project plans from Lowe’s because you can walk into the store with a list and walk out with all of your materials. Easy as can be for that part. The rest of the project is essentially assembly (like an Ikea project) with a little bit of woodworking and/or building skills involved.
Click on the image for the free plans from Lowe’s.
If the plans are no longer available on the Lowe’s site, here is a local PDF copy (Free Water Feature Plans)
Tags: fountain, water feature
Free Raised Planting Bed Plans
The inspiration for my plans often come from my wife, or from friends who mention a project that they are going to build. Always thirsting for an idea for a wood plan to share, I immediately jump at them “Do you have a plan?”. When they don’t, I kick into gear and look for a woodworking plan that is perfect for their upcoming project.
A friend decided to build a number of raised garden beds on his property. He has plenty of land and wants to accomplish a couple of things with his raised garden beds. He would like to eat healthy without the added chemicals and genetic engineering that is found in today’s crops, and he wants to save a few dollars while doing so. In addition to that, he can teach his children some responsibility by including them in the care of the garden beds. The more I type, the more I think I should have one of these planting beds for myself.
The following planting bed plans come from Sunset Magazine. It is very simple and uses little hardware. You can purchase hardware kits for the corner joints, but they are surprisingly expensive and rather unnecessary. The person who will be building these also has a bit of a slope, so he needed something that he could anchor and the extended 4×4 at each corner should handle that job.
Cedar is an ideal (although expensive) wood for this project. Some will use pressure treated and claim it is just fine, but I would not want the harsh chemicals used to treat the lumber seeping into my daily salad. Spend the extra money for Cedar or Redwood.
Click on the picture for the full set of raised planting bed plans. If the link is dead, let us know since we retained a local version to share.
How to build a raised bed for your garden – Sunset.com.
Pub tables, or dining tables at pub table or counter table height, seem to have been all the rage for the past few years. Family dining is moving up. Just as bath vanities have increased in height with the average adult height, dining might get there as well.
Most of the plans that I include on WoodworkCity.com come from my own needs, or just from Pub table and stools plans project that I would like to build in the distant future. My wife just mentioned using a pub table in a sunroom as an all-purpose type of table. It could be used for snacking, dining, homework, or computer work. Turns out, I have the material on hand to build a set for myself.
When searching for a plan, I wasn’t likely to find the exact style or dimensions that I wanted. Because of that, I am going to marry a plan that I found via Google Sketchup and a finished set that I located at GreatPubTables.com (very good prices, by the way). The Sketchup plan seems to be built from a complete plan from Lowe’s (see below).
The plans are in Google Sketchup format. Most experienced woodworkers should be able to run with the plans after seeing the Sketchup drawing. The beauty of using Sketchup for woodworking plans is that you can always go back and measure.
If you are looking for something that is more of a step-by-step pub table plan, you can view this video series at Lowe’s Creative Ideas: http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/idea-library/projects/pub_table_0909.aspx There is a step by step, along with a material list and 4 part video to follow while building your own pub table and stools.
I love finding projects to build with what I would consider workshop scraps. I HATE to throw anything out. I have various bins for leftover material and it is a thrill when I find a plan to make use of the scraps. Heck, the cedar bat house plans were built from leftover items from the privacy fence plans.
The following plan is for an incredibly colorful floor mat. The free wood plan comes from Lowe’s Creative Ideas magazine. The beauty of the plans that come directly from the home centers is that you can walk in with the plan and walk out with 100% of your material (usually).
If you have been a woodworker for any length of time, you probably have enough scrap lumber to build this floor mat without purchasing extra. I know that I certainly do. In addition to the leftover lumber, I have an abundance of paint that is left over from my home and a number of fixer-upper projects. FINALLY, a use.
I am very excited to build this floor mat for our cottage (tentatively named “sandy bottoms”).
Click on the image for the full plans.
Measured drawing:
Wooden Floor Mat measured drawing
This is the perfect item for the gardener who wants to start their plantings a little early. This gardener’s bench serves as a cold frame, a propagating shed and as a raised planter. It is really a terrific piece of outdoor furniture/equipment for the gardener or landscaping lover.
Click on the image fort the complete plans, including material list. The plans come from the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association (wrcla.org). For additional information regarding the cold frame / propogating bench plans.
Tags: cold frame, gardening, propogating