instructables

Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chair

by JonLee48

This project was also part of my school wood working since there were no available plans, I made my own.
class. I wanted a furniture project that would really (Update: Shaun now has plans available on his
mean something to me. Hmmm...what could be more website).
meaningful than a chair that I sit in 24/7?! What about
a chair with a really cool design? So I began to look for In this Instructable, I'll take you through my build
some inspirational chair designs, and I stumbled process start to nish!
across Shaun Boyd's Mid-Century Modern Lounge
Chair. It was a stunning piece, as are all the projects I hope you enjoy!
on his channel. I knew this was the project for me, but

Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chair: Page 1

Step 1: Materials and Tools

M a t e ria ls

5/4" x 7 1/4" x 8' oak

3/4" x 7 1/4" x 12' oak
19" x 21" Seat Cushion
Pillow (I bought mine from Costco)
Wood Screws
Dowels

To o ls

Below is a list of tools that I used. Other tools may be used as a substitute. As always, use proper safety precautions
when working with machinery.

Miter Saw
Table Saw
Band Saw
Spindle Sander
Hand Sander
Dowelling Jig
Plug cutter
Portable Belt Sander
Portable Router
Hand Screw Clamps
Bar Clamps
Wood Glue
Double Sided Tape
Ruler

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Step 2: Designing

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Using images from Shaun Boyd's chair, I began like dowels, tongue and groove joints, and screws. I
making some sketches and full size drawings of how I tried to make everything as accurate as I could. Also, I
wanted my chair to look. While I'm sure its not an made full scale PDF drawings, also available below.
exact replica, I think I did a pretty good job of Note: these are large documents and need to be
capturing the unique style of the chair. printed on a large 44" x 34 " pa pe r o r co lla t e d o n
s e v e ra l 8 . 5" x 11" s he e t s t o be f ull s ca le .
Fo r co nv e nie nce , I co nv e rt e d m y f ull s ca le S e e t his g uide o n ho w t o " t ile " do cum e nt s
dra w ing s t o C AD dra w ing s w hich ca n be a cro s s m ult iple s he e t s o f pa pe r.
f o und a s a S T EP le be lo w. T his is he lpf ul t o
v is ua liz e t he cha ir m o re . I a ls o a dde d de t a ils

1. CAD File Isometric View 1. CAD file with some joinery exposed.

1
1

1. CAD File Side View 1. CAD File Front View

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 https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FV3/5UPJ/JIUK3UBY/FV35UPJJIUK3UBY.step
… Download

Download
https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FYD/RRYB/JIUK3UBZ/FYDRRYBJIUK3UBZ.pdf
…

Step 3: Prototype

(Building a prototype is optional, but it could save you from avoidable mistakes on the actual build!)

The prototype was quick and cheap since I used some cheap 3/4" painted pine and scrap plywood. I also didn't
bother constructing the "L" frame and seat stretchers. I constructed the legs using the same process I detailed later
in this instructable and used them as templates for the actual legs.

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Step 4: Leg Stock

The legs and armrest are made from 5/4" oak. The leg surface for that miter saw). Then I rough cut all the
assembly has three parts: the front leg, armrest, and leg parts on the band saw.
back leg. I was able to get two of each part from a 7
1/4" wide board, so I only used 3 sections of 5/4" Now, I used double sided tape to stick the pairs of
board. I cut out the 3 sections from an 8' long board identical parts together. I made all the angled cuts on
and then traced the leg parts using the prototype the miter saw, cutting both pieces at once. This
legs. I made sure to trace with the straight side of the ensured that both sets of legs would be identical.
leg along the edge of the board (this is a reference

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Step 5: Leg Assembly

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On each mitered joint, I marked the position of the up, I could prepare to glue the leg parts together. I
dowels, making sure the line met up with the other tightened hand screw clamps parallel to the face of
half of the joint. Then I used a 3/8" drill bit and a each joint. These would act as cleats to give me
doweling jig to drill out the holes for the dowels. I set something to clamp onto when gluing the joint. Next,
the depth of each hole to a little more than half the I spread wood glue on all the faces of the joint and
length of the dowel. pulled it all together with 4 bar clamps per joint. I
wiped away any glue squeeze-out using a wet rag.
I dry t each joint and once I was sure the holes lined

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Step 6: Final Leg Shape

Once the legs were dry, I used double sided tape to stick both sets of legs together. I used the spindle sander and
and hand-held belt sander get the parts to nal size. Another method would have been to use a pattern bit on a
router to get the legs to get an exact match of the prototype template.

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Step 7: Back and Seat

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All the seat components are formed from 3/4" x 7 1/4" sanded the sides of all the stretchers with 220 grit
oak. First, I cut out all the sections of board I would sand paper because they would be harder to access
need. later. I also cut ten 1" spacers to get the proper
interval on the stretchers.
Next, using a dado stack, I formed 1/4" x 1/2" tongues
on both sides of the stock that would make the Next, I glued both the frame for the seat and the
vertical pieces. Then, I ripped three vertical stretchers frame for the seat back. I used 4 bar clamps per glue-
from each 7 1/4" wide board. up to apply even pressure on the horizontal pieces.

I also ripped the horizontal stretchers on the table Once dry, used a 1/4" round over on the portable
saw. Then, I cut grooves in the horizontal stretchers router to smooth the horizontal stretchers of both
using the dado stack and a feather board. frames. Finally, I sanded everything with 150 and 220
grit sand paper.
Once I had checked that the frame t together, I

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Step 8: "L" Bracket

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Two obtuse "L" shaped brackets would be used to After each "L" was dry, I added a 1/4" round over with
connect the seat to the seat back. These were rough a portable router and then sanded everything to 220.
cut on the band saw from the same 3/4" oak boards.
Next, I outlined where the seat and back would get
I used the same process as when making the legs: screwed into the bracket. I drilled ten pilot holes with
double sided taping them together, cutting the a drill bit just smaller than the threads of the wood
angles on the miter saw, drilling the dowel holes, and screw into one bracket. Then I stacked the brackets
glue it together. and transferred the pilot holes to the other bracket.

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Step 9: Seat Assembly

The seat assembly is a two person job since there are cracking. Also, I used a counter sink so the screw
many parts to line up. The seat assembly was glued up heads sit about an 1/8" below the surface of the "L"
without screws. The screws would be added later to bracket. After screwing in all the wood screws, I
give structural support. plugged and glued all the screw holes with oak plugs
and sanded them ush. I made sure to orient the
First, I glued both frames to one L bracket and let it grain of the plugs parallel to the grain of the
dry for about 10 minutes. Then I clamped the second surrounding wood. Some of the grain on the plugs
L bracket on and let the whole assembly dry 24 hours. matched the wood so well that it was hard to tell
there was even a plug there.
Next, I extended the pilot holes into the seat frame
(the length of the screw) to prevent the oak from

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Step 10: Chair Assembly

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Before attaching the legs, I rounded over all the sharp stretchers of the seat. These hid the groove
edges on the router and then sanded with 220. completely and will prevent any dust from collecting
in the groove.
Then I glued one chair leg to the seat assembly,
making sure that the legs were attached at the After 24 hours, I drilled pilot holes, countersunk, and
correct position and angle. After about 10 minutes I screwed in some 2" deck nails where the legs were
glued on the second leg and made sure it was in the glued to the seat assembly. The screws penetrated all
same position as the rst. the way into the seat frame. This helps prevent sheer
forces weakening the glue joint. I also hid these
While the glue was drying, I glued some small wood screws with matching oak plugs.
rectangles into the grooves of the horizontal

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Step 11: Finishing

To prepare the chair for nishing, I sanded any imperfections and wiped all the dust o with a rag.

Then I applied a coat of boiled linseed oil and wiped away any excess.

After letting the oil soak in for 24 hours, I put on a coat of polyurethane and sanded with 500 grit sand paper.
Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chair: Page 17
Step 12: Woodburning

For a nal touch, I wood burned my name into the back of the chair with a ne tipped wood burner. This now makes
the chair an o cial family heirloom!

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Step 13: Add Cushions

Lastly, add cushions, sit back, and relax!

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First time constructing a proper piece of furniture for me. Wanted to make a template for the chair
so i could reproduce it. I used a festool domino for the joints and marked the locations for the
dominos on the template and glue-up jig. This saved loads of measuring and calculating time on
the second chair. Your plans were fantastic but being used to metric quite challenging at times :).

Had a lot of fun and learned a lot in making this project. I made a second chair this week so we
now have a pair to enjoy the sunset.

For the second chair i centered the seat and back in the middle of the side pieces, something i
didn't do on the first chair. The difference is small but makes a huge difference in seating comfort.
The inclination is slightly better now and the back piece is slightly lower than on the first chair. I
was really surprised to see what a huge difference these things made in feel. It's all in the details i
guess!

Thank you very much Jon!

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Congrats Peter! Great idea making a template. And those chairs look amazing with the decor!!

Just finished making this! My first bit of furniture and I really enjoyed making it. Made a couple of
mistakes along the way but I'm really pleased with the end result - Thank you Jon!

It's my pleasure, and the chair looks great! You've got a nice and cozy setup with those cushions :)

This is the first 'proper' bit of furniture that I've ever made and it was so much fun making it! Thanks
Jon for the clear instructions and images.....Now I need to find the next woodworking challenge!!

noa consigo baixar os desenhos das pernas, me ajude por favor.

I decided our chairs needed a table to go along with the set. Here is a picture of the table I just built
using the same idea as the chairs.

love it

That looks awesome, great idea.

Chair still solid after a few months? Ty for your plans, was inspired by the same video and was
looking for plans. Almost gave up and was going to make my own ones from scratch until I found
yours. Will probably adapt them a tiny bit and then make my own!
Yep it's still rock solid. But if I were to make some improvements, I would consider making the arm
rests wider and adding a head rest. Also choose the seat back angle that works for you by testing
different angles on a prototype. The angle I chose is perfect for watching TV or reading a book.
Good luck!
Cool. Thanks for the reply. I think the arm rests are a design thing. They look nice small and even
chamfered like the other guy who made your chair did. Im now looking into the design of the Selig
Z-chair. Very slick looking design, with wide arm rests. I think you could add those to your design
without a problem.
Mine also is still solid (2 months) but I have changed the place of the dowels between the back leg
/ armchair and back of chair in a way that there is at least a dowel in each part (one in the leg and
Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chair: Page 21
one in the armchair). See red points in the drawing. In fact I had room to put 3 dowels (2 in the leg
and 1 in the armchair). I will do pictures for the next one.

Yes, I saw the comment of "Jim Collins" here, he did the same. Seemed like a good idea to me.
Thanks!!
Finally!! I was able to do it ;) Thank you very much for the details of the pattern. I have made a mix
of your chair (I have used all your dimensions and patterns) and the original one. I didn't use screw
,I have used dowel. I also don't have all the tools, so I made it with a jigsaw, a belt sander, a
stationary drill and other kind of sanders... It is made of ash we have cut 2 years ago, sliced into
planks (with a chainsaw mill) and planed. We will oil and wax it when we will be able to do it
outside.

Wow, that looks great, especially with the chamfered edges! I like how you used only wood joinery
and sourced your own wood. That's cool!
Thank you. We are very proud to be able to do something else than firewood with our ashes. I
didn't know the word chamfered, it was finally not the most difficult part to do. The most difficult
was the allignement of dowels and angles for the foot and arms...
Great plans and good looking chairs. I just finished two for my daughter in law's birthday and they
look as good as yours. I did move the joint on the leg forward so that the leg is supported by the
joint and the back of the chair.
Jon, here are a couple of pictures. I haven’t done the finish yet, waiting on daughter to pick the
stain. Also, it would have been nice to have an autocad file (to scale), I couldn’t open the step file.

That's awesome! I'm glad the plans worked out. Can you send a picture in the comments? I'd love
to see how they turned out.
Nice design !

is there any rule of thumb concerning the length of the seat and the angle it forms with the back of
the chair? I'm sure these numbers can have a huge impact on the "comfy" factor of the chair; any
thoughts?
Yep that's right. I wanted the chair to be really comfy so one could sit in it for hours without feeling
discomfort, so I did my research beforehand. I found this helpful resource:
https://www.core77.com/posts/43422/Reference-Common-Dimensions-Angles-and-Heights-for-
Seating-Designers and used it for the dimensions of the prototype and then made some slight
adjustments for the final build.
great work

fantastic ! I am inspired.

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Beautiful

This looks JUST like a vintage set I had back in the day - but more solid! Much prefer the wooden
slats over leather ones. :)
Beautiful. Well done. I am a bit concerned about the leg joints, perhaps more elaborate joinery
would be better?
Beautiful chair! I have two mid-century modern chairs that I inherited from my grand parents that I
remember sitting in when i was very young (I'm 50). This Instructable has really inspired me to
make one of my own. Thank you for sharing Jon!
No problem! I'm glad your able to relate with this chair and this Instructable is going to good use!

Great job! Nicely done and documented.

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

will the mitered and doweled joints be strong enough to last decades? I don't know much about
woodwork but it doesn't seem like a terribly strong joint to me. If it is strong/durable enough, that's
great because it seems much easier than more complex joinery.
Thanks for bringing this up! I too was concerned about this during the build, and I found Matthias
Wandel had a great resource on wood joint strength (https://woodgears.ca/joint_strength/). Like
stumitch said, dowel joints are pretty strong. They can take a lot of shear force due to the
penetration of the dowel into the wood. As for lasting decades, it depends on how long the glue
holds. Dowel joints depend on glue for strength (as opposed to dovetails for example), and if the
glue bond is weakened, then the joint falls apart. Wood glue should hold joints together for
decades, but as we see with joints falling apart on old furniture, longevity is not guaranteed. These
doweled joints will definitely hold up in the short term but in the long run we'll just have to wait and
see.
That's art right there! Always loved the style of these chairs, usually made of teak but super
expensive.
great stuff, can't imagine how tricky lining up the legs exactly for glue up must have been!

Haha your totally right! That glue up took a lot of eyeballing and I wasn't able to make too many
adjustments before the glue became tacky. When I got home, I was so worried that it wasn't lined
up that I analyzed the single photo I took. I annotated the photo by extending lines from the legs,
and if all the lines I drew met at a single focal point, then everything was parallel. It was pretty
close and I guess I got lucky in the end!

Well done! I really like the double sided tape idea. You might also like the Selig Z-Chair design of
the same era. Thanks for such a comprehensive post! I also use dowels for joints and to answer
the previous comments for the author, yes, they are pretty strong.
This is a really great looking chair!

Thanks you, I appreciate your feedback!

Your work looks cozy.very nice

Thanks you! It's very comfortable, especially with a footrest, I could sit in it all day :)

Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chair: Page 23

School project, huh? Hope you got an A+. And I, too, sign and date my work, usually in a hidden
place to be uncovered at a later date.
KJ

Thanks! Yep, signing a piece can make the difference between a product that is unremarkable and
one that will always have a story to tell.
Incredible job! Usually furniture on Instructables has been made from 2x4's and focused on
function rather than aesthetics. But recently a lot of talented people have been posting great
projects like this. I'm excited to see what future projects you have
Thank you! I love projects that look great and are fully functional too.

Wonderful piece. I plan on following your instructions.

I have a real '50s chair very similar. It was left in a house I bought years ago, and I still love that
chair.
That's awesome! Please let me know if you have any questions and send a picture when your
done!
Beautiful piece!

Thank you!

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