Sweet Sixteen

I never really understood what the big deal was with cherry wood. I knew it was expensive; perhaps the most expensive domestic hardwood along with walnut. I also knew it had plenty of snob appeal both with "cabinetmakers" and their "clients". I never really got it. Until now that is. This is my first cherry wood experience and it won't be my last. What a wonderful wood to work and look at and touch. A couple of coats of tung oil and it shimmers. I managed to purchase 300 ft. through Uncle Henry's. A local gentleman was cleaning out his barn and figured he was never going to get around to build anything with it after all. He'd purchased the wood at auction some 15 years prior. A cabinet shop going out of business. 300 board feet should yield 20 or so chairs. Can't wait to get back in the shop and see what magic these boards will yield. This is ADK #16 in my Journey of 100 Adirondack Chairs. Sweet Sixteen. Indeed she is.

Circle of Friends

ADK 10 and 11 were recently joined by ADK 12, 14 and 15 for an afternoon chat on the first day of fall. They are concerned, as we all are, about the failures on wall street and the pending big government bailout. They are not too too worried though, as they have all been smart investors, putting their money in real assets, like paintings, sculpture and fine craft; not silly little pieces of worthless paper. They have some sound advise for us all: Buy Art. It's smart for your wallet and good for your soul.

ADK 10 and 11 in "Baltimore Sky" and "Salmon Run"

Progress Report

Completed assembly of two chair bottoms today. Pat Metheny's "Secret Story" and Neil Young's "Broken Arrow" on the workshop boom box. Made inquiries to purchase 500 feet of Cherry through an ad in Uncle Henry's. Will look at the boards on Tuesday. Rode our bikes to Big Daddy's for homemade ice cream. Me, Aidan, Karl and Ava.

Lawn Party

As a boy I enjoyed sitting in the backyard after supper with my father and the two Herbs. Herb Fletcher lived next door and Herb Benner lived up the street. Herb Benner was a retired machinist and he would start in with one of his war stories from his glory days at the Watertown Arsenal. Herb Fletcher would add appropriate color commentary to the play by play. My father couldn't get a word in edgewise. I sat quietly and listened. The stories would go on and on into the night. Herb Benner's cigar glowing orange. It brightened when he'd take a puff. He'd bust an occasional fart but nobody seem to mind and the story never missed a beat. Those were great lawn parties. Hearing Herb's Heroic Tales of a mid-summer's night long past. I wish I could remember just one of them.

The Weekender

Eight of my first nine ADK chairs are based on what I have come to call my "Weekender" design platform. I am quite happy with it and am not sure I am ready to leave well enough alone. The next step will be to taper the front legs and tinker with the joinery where the back slats meet the rear brace.

The Weekender is rigorously simple in it's form. It does not beg to be be noticed. Rather it sits quietly; a serene complement to the landscape. The colors harmonize with the surrounding flowers, trees and sky. This chair hugs the ground and at the same time seems to spring up from it.

I worked the angles to get it just right. The height of the seat is 17.5" which is 2" higher than the standard Adirondack chair and the flattened pitch makes for effortless egress. The big seat is a generous 18.5" deep. Wide "paddle" arms (8.75") comfortably support your arms, and your drink and plate as well. Overall dimensions are: 36" wide by 37" tall by 31" deep. Built of solid white oak for it's weather tight properties, and colored with Benjamin Moore exterior acrylic finishes over a Kilz premium exterior primer. Stainless steel screws ( #10's) are hidden beneath oak bungs. Edge-glued boards are joined using #20 beech plates and Titebond III adhesive. My expectation is for the Weekender to survive many Maine summers and to bear witness to a lifetime of lawn parties and beautiful sunsets.

Once you sit, you can forget about whatever you were planning to get done. Your week is over.

Hence the name: Week Ender.

Daydream Believer

Not a good thing to daydream around woodworking machinery. I am reminded of Ishmael's warning to Ship Captains in "The Masthead" chapter of Moby Dick not to put dreamy-eyed romantics in the crow's nest to lookout for whales. They get so caught up in their reveries they lose track of time, forget all about whaling and sometimes fall right out of the rigging.

When I'm feeling particularly daydreamy, I turn off the machines and do the work that will allow my mind to wander. Sanding and finishing let you do all the thinking you want with minimal danger to life or limb. They are both meditative processes and after a few strokes, I usually find myself in daydream land. Most of the time I think of boring stuff like: the number of steps I need to take to complete a particular project, or the phone calls I need to make; the many todo lists that are part of running a business. The other day I imagined a "Dagwood" sandwich. It was the type my mother made for us many years ago and consisted of baloney, red onion, iceberg lettuce, thick sliced tomatoes from the garden and bright orange Velveeta processed cheese on very white white bread. The key ingredient was Miracle Whip slathered heavily on both slices of bread. Mmmmm. Good. With Boyd's (of Lynn, Mass) potato chips on the side and a tall glass of whole milk. Now I'm eating humus and tabooli salad on peta bread with a side of cantaloupe. I wash it all down with bottled mineral water. Where did I go so wrong?
I wonder.

ADK Nos. 6 thru 9.

Only The Finest Ingredients...

I use only the finest ingredients in my chairs. I purchase all my hardwoods locally from sawyers whose reputations I know, selecting each and every board by hand. Lately I've been using only white oak for it's exceptional weather resistant properties. I use Titebond III wood glue and Spax stainless steel wood screws. Titebond's reputation is well know throughout the industry and their premium water proof glue is the new standard for exterior applications. German-made Spax drive like a charm and provide superior holding power. When it comes to fine finishes you can't beat Benjamin Moore. I like to use their MoorGlo 100% Acrylic House paint. I have coated several test boards using different colors and left them outdoors through two Maine winters. They still look great. I am amazed at how durable and color-fast this paint is. Great stuff. I suppose I could use cheaper materials and save quite a bit on cost. A pine chair, made with standard hardware and finished with a cheap house paint can cost as little as $25 to make. But will they last a lifetime? I think not. My material costs are just under $100 per chair. For that you get a lifetime of enjoyment and the peace of mind of knowing that the beauty of my chairs isn't just skin deep. The quality goes to the heart (wood).

Today I ...

Sat in a big purple chair.
Visited with some old friends.
Milled enough white oak for two chairs.
Talked with Gracie who stayed out all night.
Picked colors for four new chairs.

Number 5

We just now finished ADK Number 5 , also known as "Steve". Solid beefy white oak. Color is Benjamin Moore "Alpine Trail", which is very close to Martha Stewart's "Mosaic Tile". The guy or gal who has the job of naming colors; I want that job. What a blast. Sit around a room with a group of like minded people, shooting the breeze and laughing your ass off. And getting paid for it. Like coming up with band names. Speaking of bands, "Number Five" is one of my all time favorite albums by The Steve Miller Band, circa late seventies. Check out "Going To The Country" and "Hot Chili". Classic tunes, classic chair. This one's for you Steve.

Early Work

I am still pretty new to this blog thing. This is a test to see how I can add images to the page. I made a random selection from my "pics" folder and this is what came up. A couple of early chairs from my "stick phase" for a client on Mount Desert Island. I definitely see an adirondack style leaning. They were made of rock maple saplings with a "Waterlox" tung oil varnish finish, which should have made them impervious to the weather. I wonder how they're doing. As I write, there is a humming bird by my window, working a flowering bush I do not know the name of. With my Benjamin Moore, classic colors fan deck in hand I identify the color as: "Drop Dead Gorgeous", number 1329. That is going to make a great chair color.

Not Made In China

You want to reduce your "Carbon Footprint"? Then buy locally. That made-in-China summer patio set you just bought at the big box retailer for short money (and the thousands of others that are invading the country one container ship at a time) just left a huge skidmark on the planet. Think about the Chinese factories running 24/7/365 belching toxic stink into the atmosphere. (I don't know how many people will actually be able to "see" the summer Olympics in Beijing.) Think about the amount of diesel a container ship consumes on its transoceanic voyage. Look at all those big scary tractor trailer trucks jamming our highways, hauling "goods" and all the energy consumed in warehousing and distribution. Now take a closer look at that patio set. It's a piece of crap. You'll be lucky to have it last three summers. Then it ends up in the land fill. And what do you do? Head back to the big box retailer and buy another one. That's what we're programed to do: consume, consume, consume. It's time to break the cycle. I'm here to help. Buy one of my chairs. They're made here in Maine, from locally available materials, supporting local jobs. They will last a lifetime and if by chance they end up in a landfill (the horror!) they are bio-degradable. You won't be getting a piece of crap. And you might just save the planet.

Four Chairs

I have now completed four of 100 adirondack chairs. Four baby steps in three weeks. At this pace it's looking more like two years to complete my "journey". Unless I can quit my day job. That's where you come in. I encourage you to visit my website. All chairs are posted there. Buy early, buy often.

My current design platform is called "The Weekender". The idea was to start simple.
Take the basic adirondack form and make subtle changes and improvements. By raising the seat and decreasing the pitch, my Weekenders are a breeze getting in and out of. (< Is that a dangling participle?). My arms are wider than the average adirondack. Big enough for a plate and beverage, eyeglasses and newspaper. I love the Weekender for it's generous proportions. They're made of solid white oak , purchased from an 85 year old gentleman in Madison Maine. I use Benjamin Moore's premium exterior soft gloss acrylic house paint. Two coats over a Kilz primer.
I expect my chairs to serve a lifetime of summer days.

"One", "Two", "Three" and "Four" are all based on the Weekender platform. I am very happy with the way they came out. Simple, substantial and comfortable. Now it's time to move on. New ideas are percolating. It's back to the workshop for me.

Chair Talk

This is my first blog entry and I am very excited. I have built 4 of 100 chairs so far and will talk more about them tomorrow. Right now I'm just interested to see how this works. Then we'll talk chairs. Chair talk.