Video: Easy-to-Store Outdoor Chair

You can't go wrong with an attractive and sturdy outdoor chair—especially one like this from DIY Creators that has a removable backrest for compact storage. Now you can freshen up your patio, deck or even poolside with a new set of chairs that you can create with just a few tools and home center lumber.

In this video, Glen will show you how he builds it.

Hand Plane to the Rescue for Fixing Box Store Lumber

Glen makes use of economical Douglas fir 2x construction lumber to build this sturdy chair. But the downside to the material is that its surfaces aren't always smooth, flat and square. A jointer would make quick work of improving it, but perhaps that's not an option for you. So, consider trying a hand plane instead, as Glen shows in his build! A Bench Dog #4-1/2 Smoothing Plane is an excellent all-around choice for general surface preparation of hardwoods and softwoods. Hand planes have come to the aid of woodworkers for centuries, and they're just as practical and versatile now as they've always been.

Beadlock Tenon Joinery: A Simpler Solution to Mortise-and-Tenon Joints

There's no question that traditional mortise-and-tenon joinery has its place in furniture construction. But chopping mortises and cutting tenons to fit them requires skill. It also can extend a project's complexity beyond a quick weekend build, like this chair is designed to be. To keep things easy as well as extremely sturdy, Glen opted for our award-winning Beadlock Loose Tenon Joinery System. It uses a clamp-on jig with an adjustable drilling block to create mortises by simply drilling a series of overlapping holes. Once those are bored, our preformed Beadlock tenon stock will slip right into place, to form rock-solid mechanical connections. Click on this video link to see how the system works!

Gluing Accessories that Make Beadlock Joints Even Easier!

When Glen made this outdoor chair video, he didn't have the benefit of a couple of great accessories we've made since! Given the popularity of our Beadlock system, we've added a Silicone Glue Brush Set for Beadlock Joinery that makes it easier to coat 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" Beadlock mortises with glue. Their ribbed heads slip right into the openings, so you don't have to spend time "painting" the glue into place. Or, just thread our Beadlock Joinery Silicone Applicator Tips onto your Rockler or Titebond glue bottles for gluing up joints at production speed! Small openings in the tip dispense the right amount of glue into the mortise with a quick squeeze of the glue bottle.

Bar Clamps Bring the Muscle

Assembling the major components of this chair will require fitting multiple hefty workpieces together at once. And for that job, bar clamps can be your best friends! Glen makes use of our Sure-Foot Aluminum Bar Clamps. They feature an extra wide 2-1/2" foot for exceptional stability, with a higher base that raises the bar 1-1/2" above the table for excellent handle clearance. Aluminum keeps the clamps lightweight but strong, and they won't rust like other clamps with steel bars.