9/10/2008 Update
The Yemassee side chair has been on our camp porch now for almost 3 months. While people sitting in it say its comfortable - it gets little use. They prefer our conventional Adirondack Chairs - with arms for their drinks and snacks.
So - though it may look like h--- - I 'pasted' on some arms. What I loosely based them on was seeing the design for the original 'Westport Chair' of 1905.
I just ran across this design recently after seeing them at the Shelburne Museum in Burlington.
FLLW must have seen them. There seem to be a lot of similarities with his plywood chairs, and particularly the Auldbrass Adirondacks.
Here is a line drawing of the Westport:
The Construction Drawing for the above is available from the Adirondack Museum - http://www.adirondackmuseumstore.com
I've ordered it, but not received it yet.
"Westport Chair Plan
Construction Drawing: Westport Chair, Westport, N.Y., 1904-ca. 1930
This design is often confused with what is known as an Adirondack chair-that angular classic and ubiquitous icon with slatted seat and back. Unlike the Adirondack chair, however, the Westport chair is certifiably Adirondack. It was patented in 1904 by Harry Bunnell, a carpenter in Westport, N.Y., a village on the shores of Lake Champlain. Bunnell's design shares an assertive plainness with the Craftsman furniture produced by Gustav Stickley and others during the same period. Original examples, identified by the maker's stamp on the back, have become collector's items. Drawing size 30 inches X 42 inches, one sheet.
Price
$15.00 SKU 1654"
Below is are drawings of the Westport from the 1905 patent:
Now on to the 'pasted arms':
Below is a detail of the front arm supports. I used the offcuts from the original chair plywood sheet. The vertical front supports are 5" wide at the top, 2 3/4" at the bottom, and 12 3/8" tall (as measured from the bottom of the leg to the top). The top edge is mitered 12 degrees so the front arm edge can be parallel with the stretcher while the top is level.
The 'corbels' are 2 3/4" wide at the top, 5" tall, and 1 3/4" wide at the bottom. They are fastened with Kreg pocket screws through the back of the corbel (not shown).
Three vertical pocket screws will fasten the arm - 2 shown on the leg, the third on the corbel (not showing).
In my opinion, this design is not terribly strong - so I did use PL 'Ultimate' marine construction adhesive along with the pocket screws on all joints.
At this point the front arm supports are a dry-fit to the chair. The arms will be fastened with the construction adhesive and 2" deck screws, but first a small (unseen) 'riser' block about 2"W x 4" tall was glued and fastened to the inside of the chair corner for additional arm support. The riser block is flush with the chair seat-front stretcher edges. That way the arms are supported by more than just the plywood edges of the seat and stretcher..
Shown below is the back arm support. They are positioned so the top edge is level with the top of the front arm support. Note the top edge is beveled 12 degrees so it will be level with the arm when attached.
This support is 5" across, 5" tall inside edge, and 2" tall outside edge. Fastened with adhesive and pocket screws into both the chair back and back leg.
Here are the mirror image arms. They are 8 1/2" wide in front, 26" long, and 3 3/4" wide in back.
Finally, here is the completed chair. The inside edge of the arms is flush with the inside edge of the legs. There is maybe 1/4" overhang in the back.
The top and bottom arm edges were router rounded over with a 3/8" roundover bit - as were the side edges of the front arm supports.
Thats it! Ugly but functional...
Wife uses it all the time.
