I have been busy in the workshop this week designing and making a really nice and very comfortable Deckchair in readiness for the long awaited summer months
I first made a mock up based on my original drawing and measurements in order to test the dimensions and make sure everything would be correct and work how I wanted it to and once this was completed I set to machining some beautiful Iroko boards in the machine shop, sawing to rough sizes on the bandsaw and then feeding them first over the planer to get two perfectly straight edges and faces which are square to each other and then through the planer to the required final dimensions
Iroko is a very strong and durable hardwood which is often used as a Teak substitute and is perfect for this project where it will be exposed to many different elements of the weather
I then cut all the components to exact lengths and used a template to shape the ends on the router table with a template cutter before running all the components across the router table to soften the edges using a thumb mould cutter
Everything was sanded well and then i marked out for the domino joints, pivot fixing holes and the notches for the seat rest
I drilled the holes on the pillar drill using a brad point drill bit which drills a very accurate clean hole – its very important here to get the drilling locations exact, I cut all the domino locations next using the Festool XL jointing machine and then cut the notches using the pillar drill and an auger bit then finished the cut on the bandsaw then hand finished everything to ensure all the cuts were clean and I could then proceed and get each component glued and cramped
After leaving the glue to dry overnight the frames were removed from the clamps and sanded again with 320 grit sandpaper to give a silk like feel to the wood, I could then proceed and get the frames joined together using stainless steel mushroom head connectors with thread locker liquid applied so they remain together in use and I put plastic washers as spacers in between the individual frames
Then the fabric was cut to length and fixed onto the frames using stainless steel upholstery nails and its good to go for years of service comfort and pleasure 🙂
