Projects from the workshop of Sander Viegers
Honored was I, when asked to donate a chair for the Kirkland Arts Center. Donating the chair turned out to be a great thing in many ways. First of all, it helped the art center in raising funds. Second, it made the winning bidder a happy chair owner. Thirdly it made me happy, as more people now enjoy the chair. So, call on all makers to make chairs and donate them for auctions. Free plan can be downloaded as well as more detailed step by step instructions.
Pierre from Canada is making the scene with the chairs he is building. As he comments on this blog “I’m getting rave reviews; people want them, men fear me, women seek me."
One of the cool things Pierre did, was modifying the existing design. The result is a very nice looking indoor chair. The one below is made out of walnut.
Earlier, Pierre had built a Rietveld crate chair. See picture below. Currently he is working on a version with one armrest and he plans to test different designs. So stay tuned for more!
Update: Just received the photo of the chaise. Nice concept. I encourage Pierre to start his own website.
Last summer while visiting my sister in Utrecht, we built a 2×4 bench. We used the wood that was available in the local store. However, the wood was of different dimensions and it cost a lot more too.
So this year we decided that it would be easier to make a chair here in Seattle out of actual 2×4’s. After building one, and taking it apart again, it appeared to fit perfectly into a suitcase.
On the picture you can see how it fits nicely in the Dutch patio, also notice the bench in the back ground.
Zac from Memphis built a chair and two tables and said: “It is my first project. I’m definitely hooked.” In the meantime, Zac also completed a bench. Keep going Zac, more tables and dining chair designs are in the making.
At Fuel on capitol hill in Seattle, you can now enjoy espresso in espresso brown 2×4 chairs outside.
Kurt decided to build a chair for his wife’s birthday and he sent me a picture of the result. Kurt mentioned that getting the angle for the back right was the hardest part. I’ve heard more people saying that. If you make sure you have enough length on either side of the cut, you only have to cut it once and you’re sure that they’re both exactly the same.
Marty just finished building her chair and posted a picture online. It looks really good. She also points out correctly that the 1.5 inch screws are too long for the back pieces. 1.25 is long enough. I will update the instructions to reflect that. And yes, the 27 degree angle for the blacklegs, I just do with a regular kill saw. Here’s what Marty had to say about her 2×4 chair.
Finished building your chair 2 days ago. First piece of real furniture I’ve built. Your design reminded me of the bomb-proof bunkbeds I helped my dad make out of 4 x 4s when I was a kid, so that and the sleek design inspired me to make it.
I found that 1.5 inch screws were too long to join the back boards together. They would punch through to the front of the boards, so I switched to 1.25 inch. Nothing wood putty couldn’t fix.
The warnings to make sure the sides and angles matched were very helpful, maybe you could point out some times in the assembly where it is also helpful to check to make sure things are square?
Also, I’m curious–when you cut the 27 degree angle for the back legs, did you rip it lengthwise on a table saw or just do it with a regular Skill saw? That’s the only one that didn’t seem to work on my chop saw.
Evan from Wheaton IL sent an awesome message with photo’s of the chairs he made. This was his first woodworking project since grade school! Here’s what he has to say:
I made two, one straight from the design, and another with a modified back. Stained the crap out of both of them. I guess it was a father’s day thing. Made one yesterday, took most of the day, and one today that took about 3 hours. The backs are all from one pallet, on which was shipped the shingles for my father’s roof. Other than that, all but one of each chair’s front legs are 2×4′s from HD. The pallet wood seems to be much harder than the 2×4′s. Your design is flawless as far as I’m concerned, thank you for sharing.
Looks great Evan, thanks for sharing your pictures!
Jeremy from Boone NC just sent me a picture of the chairs he built as an anniversary gift for his wife. What a great idea. Jeremy used rough sawn cedar which turned out really nice. you can also check out his website: www.mountainlumbercompany.com
