05 - Build Crate Chair

PROJECT #2005
Skill Level:
Beginner
Time: 4 hours
Cost: $50
Crate Chair
PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
Gerrit Rietveld’s simple design for a lounge chair is a

great platform for exploring ergonomics. By Andrew Zoellner
50 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING
Gerrit Rietveld was a Dutch so the glue is strong enough to
furniture designer and architect hold everything together. The pin
that worked in the first half of the nails are just to keep things in place
20th century. Part of the De Stijl art while the glue cures. Don't be afraid
movement, Rietveld’s furniture was to use screws or other nails if you'd
often reduced to just the essentials like, just try to keep things even
to make a piece work. His 1917 Red and symmetrical.
and Blue Chair is an icon of modern The chair legs are 24" long. The
design. After breaking away from top of the rail should be 6" below
De Stijl, he also designed the Zig- the top of the leg (leaving 12" of leg
Zag Chair and the Crate Chair. below the rail). I put a coat of glue
I was drawn to the form of the on the first leg, then put a few pin
crate chair immediately after seeing nails in the joint to keep it in place. 1
a pair in an online auction. It looked Flip the assembly over and glue and
pretty straightforward to build but pin the second leg to the rail.
still had a modern feel. Plus I had a For the second side, you repeat
pile of ash offcuts that I’d collected the steps, but make sure you’re
over the years, and they seemed creating a mirror of the first side.
perfect for a project like this. (Avoiding this mirrored assembly
The design itself is pretty inge- issue is one strength of the original
nious. Most of the pieces are the design. Because the legs were 18"
same width, no pieces are longer long, with the 6" rail, there is 6" of
than 30" and there are no panel material above and below the rail,
glue-ups needed. Researching the so both sides are assembled exactly
design further, the chairs appeared the same.)
with different seat angles, back an-
gles and even different leg heights. Seat and Back
The original design had the seat The seat and back are another 2
about a foot off the ground. I set- opportunity to adjust the sizing of
tled on a size that better handled the chair. The back of the original
my burly frame, with the seat and design was about 18" wide and the
back angled for comfortable loung- seat about 19 1/2" wide. I needed
ing. Now, let’s get building. a little bit more room and wanted
some space between the back slats,
Gather the Pieces so I took the back to 18 1/2" wide
The bulk of the boards in this chair and the seat to 20" wide.
are 6" wide, save for the arm rests I assembled the back first with
(2 1/4" wide) and the battens for the glue and pin nails. I cut a pair of
seat and back (2 1/4" or so—whatev- battens to 18 1/2". Then, I attached
er offcuts you have available). the two outside boards to the
You can get the bulk of the pieces battens. After that, I eyeballed the
for one chair out of four 8' 1x 8s if spacing for the middle board and 3
you’re shopping at the home center. glued and pinned it in place.
That’s what I’ll do when I build a With the back assembled, I used 1 Make the leg assemblies first.
pair of these for the front porch. it along with two offcuts from the Start by marking a line 6" from the
(And I’ll paint them blue and red in legs to get a precise length on the top of the legs.
honor of their designer.) seat battens. My lumber was a hair
2 There’s plenty of face grain to
under 3/4" thick after milling, so the
face grain surface for the glue to
Assemble the Sides seat battens came in just shy of 20". hold. The pin nails just keep the
The chair is made up of four main Put together the seat in the same boards in place. Make sure to
parts: two mirrored sides, a seat and manner as the back. This is when mirror the two leg assemblies.
a back. Build the sides first. the fun really begins.
3 Repeat the assembly process
I used glue and pin nails for most Depending on your plan for this
for the back, equally spacing the
of the joints on the chair. They’re chair, there’s a lot of variability in boards on the battens.
almost all face grain to face grain, how you can position the seat and
POPULARWOODWORKING.COM ■ 51
Crate Chair
4 5 6
4 Use the back and two 3/4" offcuts

to get a precise length for the seat
battens, then attach the seat slats to
the battens.
5 Dry assemble the chair and find
seat and back angles you like and
transfer layout lines. Mine were both
at about 10°, give or take.
6 Then I attached the stretchers to
the legs, paying close attention to
make sure I made a pair of mirrored
assemblies.
7 Pre-drill and countersink holes
7 for your screws to attach the seat.
Clamps and an extra pair of hands
help a lot here.
Modifying the 8 Repeat to attach the back.
Original Design 9 The last step is to cut the arms to
Rietveldt’s design called for 18" legs, length and attach them with screws.
which would put the seat about 12" off
8
the ground. I mocked this up in the shop
and it was just too low for me to sit in
comfortably. So, keeping in mind that most
dimensions in the chair were based off 6",
I added 6" to the legs, which brings the
seat up to about 18" off the ground, which
felt much better.
52 ■ POPULAR WOODWORKING
Crate Chair
back. I used a few clamps to try some
different seating positions. I was
aiming for something borderline
lounge-y, but not too reclined.
With a comfortable seat and back
angle established, I traced the posi-
tions of the seat and back onto one of
the leg assemblies. Then I unclamped
the chair and mirrored those layout
lines to the other leg assembly.
Next, I marked out and predrilled
a few holes for screws in the leg A A A
assemblies. I used three screws
on each side of the seat and two
screws on each side of the back. 30"
I then clamped the chair back
together and used those holes to 181⁄2"
predrill into the seat and back. FRONT VIEW
With the four pieces ready to go
together, I countersunk the screw
holes and did some sanding. With a
name like crate chair, I’m not aiming A A A 18"
for perfection here; I just did my best 23"
to make sure there were no stray glue
marks and paid extra attention to
where you’re likely to touch the chair
with your hands (arms, seat, back). BACK
D
The last thing I did was add a
couple coats of finish. Because the
chair will likely end up on the porch C
at some point, I opted for a hard 24 3⁄4" 24"
wax oil (this one made by Briwax).
It brings out the grain in the ash B B
and offers some protection. It’s also
easy to reapply as needed. But per- 20"
haps the best part, is that it’s very
low VOC, so I could apply the finish LEG ASSEMBLY
in the comfort of my dining room
without stinking up the house.
As for the chair itself, I’m quite A A A 18"
happy with how it sits. I also have
grown quite fond of the form,
which really emphasizes the core
elements of a lounge chair. Plus,
it’s quick to build, making it a great SEAT
project to introduce a budding
woodworker to some of the basic
tenets of furniture making. And I Cut List
can definitely see building a pair or
more to sit outside around the grill, No. Item Dimensions (inches) Material
comfortable enough to relax but T W L
still keep your wits about you. PW 6 A Slats 3 ⁄4 6 18 Ash
4 B Legs 3 ⁄4 6 24 Ash
Andrew Zoellner is Popular Wood- 2 C Stretchers 3 ⁄4 6 26 Ash
working’s editor in chief. 2 D Arms 3 ⁄4 2 1⁄4 26 Ash
2 E Seat Battens 3 ⁄4 2 1⁄4 20 Ash
2 F Back Battens 3 ⁄4 2 1⁄4 181⁄2 Ash

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PROJECT #2005

Gerrit Rietveld’s simple design for a lounge chair is a

4 Use the back and two 3/4" offcuts

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