Mike Bon vino photo

Made to last, the slat chair can tolerate all the unexpected uses that children put a chair to, and is decorative as well.

A must in your household is a chair for the little one. Its unlimited use­fulness will justify the few hours and three or four dollars spent. Because its frame is made of plywood, the chair is very simple to build and quite durable—even the be­ginner can build this chair in a long eve­ning.

Because of its curves, a full size drawing on heavy paper should be made, following the graph layout diagram. Keep the full-size layout pinned or taped down until the job is completely finished.

First, cut out the pattern of the seat-leg piece. Trace this piece on 3/4-inch plywood and cut out two pieces. Temporarily tack both pieces together and sand the edges flush. Now, mark the position of screws in the back of the seat-leg unit. Bore 3/8-inch holes all the way through and countersink them on the outside of the piece for flat-head screws. Next, replace pattern just used, taping it with cellophane transparent tape. Cut out the pattern of back leg, and use it the same way as was done with the seat-leg units, tacking both pieces together, etc. Bore two holes, for the back rail, through both back leg pieces and counter­sink the holes on the outside of each leg.

Make full-size layout of chair and trace pattern onto the plywood, thumbtacking pattern into place.

Back ends of seat-leg units are rounded off {not shown in drawing). Bounding is neater and safer.

Temporarily tack the back legs together so as to sand them uniformly into curved edge at the top.

Mark back legs while they are still tacked, for drilling and for guide lines for future assembly.

With back rail in place, attach seat-leg units to back legs. Use 11/4-inch Mo. 8 Hothead screws.

Back rest is next piece to be mounted on; note guide lines for locating position against legs.

Hold all slats together against straightedge to mark them 3/8inch from each end lot screw holes.

Starting against back, fasten slats down; use a 1/2-inch spacer strip for proper and even spacing.

Cut a 2xll-inch back rail from the 3/4-inch plywood, and also a 5xl4-inch back rest. Curve this back rest out in the center about 6 inches long by 11/2 inches deep, ap­proximately as shown in the drawing. Sand all edges well, and carefully mark all guide lines for assembly by checking with the graph and full-size layout.

Assemble chair by first mounting the back rail between both back legs, keeping the rail flush in the back with both legs. Next, mount the front seat-leg units onto the back, lining up with the guide lines. For the entire assembly use glue and l1/4-inch No. 8 flathead screws. After all four holes are bored in the back rest and countersunk on the front surface, mount the back rest to the chair frame with glue and 11/4-inch No. 8 flathead screws. Square and straighten up the chair frame and set it aside to dry.

Cut nine slats from matching solid wood. Slats are to be 1/2inch thick by 3/4 inch (net) wide, by the exact outside width of the apron (14 inches). Place all the slats next to one another against the guard or straightedge, keeping the better surface of the strips facing up. Draw lines 3/8 inch in from and parallel with each end. On these lines, in the exact center of the width of the strips, bore 3/16-inch holes and counter­sink these on the top surface for flathead screws. Set the jointer guard to a 45-degree angle and cut both top edges to a be done with a hand plane. Using the sander, finish off the bevel on both ends, on the top only.

Photos these two pages by Burt Murphy

3/16 bevel on each edge. This can also

Mount the slats to the chair frame, start­ing the first one snug against the back. With the help of a 1/2-inch spacer strip, continue mounting the slats until all nine are in place. Use 1-inch No. 8 flathead screws, and when mounting make sure that the slats are flush with the seat-leg units. Now sand the entire surface of the seat smooth.

Sand all parts well before and after as­sembly, and round all edges after comple­tion. Also bevel the bottom of the legs to prevent splintering.

The chair shown here was made from 3/4-inch birch plywood scrap, and the slats from 3/4-inch solid birch. Paint it with one coat of shellac, sand it, then varnish—see the chapter on painting and finishing. •

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