At a glance
Finished dimensions
Overall sizes
- Overall
- 42-1/2 in deep × 26-1/2 in wide × about 36 in high
- Seat
- 15-3/4 in high at the front, sloping back at 14°; 23 in wide
- Arms
- 21-3/4 in high, 5-1/2 in wide
- Back
- Five slats 19-1/2 in wide overall, 25° from vertical
Materials
| Item | Quantity | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Cedar 1×6 (3/4 × 5-1/2 in dressed) | Two 8 ft boards | Rails, arms, apron; heartwood |
| Cedar 1×4 (3/4 × 3-1/2 in dressed) | Five 8 ft boards | Legs, slats, braces, arm supports |
| Carriage bolts 1/4 × 2 in, with washers and nuts | 4 | Rails to legs; stainless or hot-dip galvanized |
| Exterior screws, 1-1/4 and 1-5/8 in | About 70 | Stainless or hot-dip galvanized |
Cut list
| Part | Qty | Dimensions | Material |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rail | 2 | 3/4 × 5-1/2 × 41-1/4 in along the top edge, ends angled (see layout) | Cedar 1×6 |
| Front leg | 2 | 3/4 × 3-1/2 × 21 in | Cedar 1×4 |
| Apron | 1 | 3/4 × 5-1/2 × 24-1/2 in | Cedar 1×6 |
| Seat slat | 5 | 3/4 × 3-1/2 × 23 in | Cedar 1×4 |
| Back slat | 5 | 3/4 × 3-1/2 × 34 in | Cedar 1×4 |
| Lower back brace | 1 | 3/4 × 3-1/2 × 21-1/2 in | Cedar 1×4 |
| Upper back brace | 1 | 3/4 × 3-1/2 × 26-1/2 in, top edge bevelled 25° | Cedar 1×4 |
| Arm | 2 | 3/4 × 5-1/2 × 27-5/8 in on the underside, rear end bevelled 25° | Cedar 1×6 |
| Arm support | 2 | 3/4 × 3-1/2 × 5 in | Cedar 1×4 |
Tools
- Saw for straight and angled cuts
- Bevel gauge and square
- Drill/driver
- Clamps
- Wrench for the bolts
The design
Each side has a rail and a front leg. The rail runs from the front, where its top edge is 15 in above the floor, back and down at 14° to the ground 40 in behind; its rear end sits on a short level foot. The front leg stands upright against the outside of the rail, flush with its front end, and carries the arm at 21 in. An apron across the front of the legs, 5-1/2 in deep with its top at 15 in, ties the sides together. Five seat slats lie across the rails' top edges with 5/8 in gaps. Five back slats, 1/2 in apart, lean back at 25° from vertical: a lower brace between the rails holds their feet, and an upper brace in front of them carries the rear ends of the arms.
| Point | Position |
|---|---|
| Rail top at the front | 15 in above the floor |
| Rail meets the ground | Bottom edge at 37-7/16 in behind the front; rear end 40 in behind it |
| Back slats' front face | Crosses the rail top 20 in behind the front, measured level |
| Back slats' feet | 5-1/4 in above the floor, between the rails |
| Upper brace top | 21 in above the floor, under the arms |
| Arms | From 2-1/2 in in front of the legs to the back slats |
All positions follow from the 14° rail, the 25° back and the part sizes; the drawing is to scale.
Laying out the rails
The rails are the only parts with compound layout, and both must match. Mark the front end of a 1×6 at 14° off square. Measure 41-1/4 in along the top edge and mark the rear end parallel to the front one. Down that rear line, mark a point 5 in from the top edge; from it draw a line at 14° to the bottom edge, meeting it 38-9/16 in from the front end. Cut along the front line, the rear line to the point, and the short line to the bottom edge, which becomes the level foot. Use the first rail as the pattern for the second.
Building it
Sides, seat, back and arms
Cut and seal
Cut every part in the cut list. Bevel the upper back brace's top edge at 25°, and bevel each arm's rear end at 25° across its thickness so it lies against the back slats; the arm's 27-5/8 in is measured on its underside. Seal the end grain of the rails' feet and the legs' bottoms, which stand on the ground.
Join each rail to its leg
Clamp a leg to the outside of each rail, flush with the rail's front end and standing plumb, with the rail's top front corner 15 in above the leg's bottom. Drill and fix with two 1/4 × 2 in carriage bolts.
Add the apron
Stand the two sides up, rails inside, and screw the apron across the legs' front faces with its top at 15 in. Check the sides are parallel and the assembly square by its diagonals.
Fit the seat slats
Screw the first seat slat across the rails flush with their front ends, then the other four with 5/8 in gaps, two 1-5/8 in screws into each rail.
Make the back
Lay the five back slats face down, 1/2 in apart. Screw the lower brace across their back faces with its lower edge 1/4 in from their bottom ends, and the upper brace across their front faces with its bevelled top edge 17-3/8 in from the slats' bottom ends.
Set the back
Lower the back between the rails so the slats' front face crosses the rails' top edge 20 in behind the front, leaning back at 25° from vertical; set the angle with a bevel gauge. Screw through the rails into the ends of the lower brace.
Fit the arms
Screw an arm support to the outside of each leg, flush with its top. Lay each arm on its leg, support and the end of the upper brace, with 2-1/2 in overhanging the leg at the front and its outer edge 1 in beyond the leg's outer face, and screw it down. Check that the arms are level and the brace sits tight beneath them.
Wood, fasteners and weather
- Cedar heartwood. The Wood Handbook groups cedar heartwood as resistant to decay, generally satisfactory above ground; its sapwood, like that of almost every species, has low resistance. Choose boards without pale sapwood for the rails and legs.
- The feet are the weak point. The rail feet and leg bottoms stand on the ground on their end grain, which the Handbook says takes up water fastest and is at high risk where it meets a horizontal surface. Seal it, and keep the chair on a deck, paving or pads rather than wet grass.
- Fasteners. Cedar's extractives stain plain steel; use stainless or hot-dip galvanized screws and bolts, all of the same metal.
- Gaps. The 5/8 in seat gaps and 1/2 in back gaps let water drain and leave room for the slats to swell across their width.
- Finish is optional; choices are in wood finish types and choosing a wood finish.
Safety— A seat, not a step
No load, weight or stability rating is claimed for this design. Sit in it; do not stand on the seat or arms, and check the bolts and screws each season. Cutting the angled parts follows woodworking safety rules and each saw's own manual.
Before the first sit
- Both rails identical, feet level on the ground
- Legs plumb, bolts tight
- Apron square to the sides
- Back at 25°, its brace screwed through both rails
- Arms level and fixed to legs, supports and brace
- End grain at the feet sealed
Why cedar, and how outdoor wood is kept dry, is in outdoor woodworking projects. Board feet for the stock come from the board foot calculator; indoor seats are in the bench plan.
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Sources
A BenchRoot design. The geometry — 14° rails, a 25° back and every length — was computed and drawn to scale, but the chair was not built, sat in or load-tested for this page, and no load, weight or stability rating is claimed. Comfort depends on the sitter; the angles are design choices, not standards.
- 1.
Chapter 14: Biodeterioration of Wood. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Cedar heartwood in the resistant group, generally satisfactory above ground, with lower resistance in ground contact; sapwood of essentially all species low in resistance.
- 2.
Christopher G. Hunt. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-282), Chapter 16: Finishing Wood. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, 2021.
Used for: End grain taking up liquid water 10 to 100 times faster than other faces, so sealing it is critical; end grain butting a horizontal surface at high risk.
- 3.
Chapter 8: Fastenings. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Extractives in some woods staining steel when wet, alleviated by stainless steel, aluminum or hot-dipped galvanized fasteners; connector and fastener of the same metal.
- 4.
Chapter 4: Moisture Relations and Physical Properties of Wood. USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook, FPL-GTR-282, 2021.
Used for: Wood changing far more across the grain than along it, which the gaps between slats leave room for.
- 5.
NIST Handbook 130 (2026), IV.B Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities. National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2026.
Used for: A nominal 1 × 6 dressed dry to 3/4 × 5-1/2 in and a nominal 1 × 4 to 3/4 × 3-1/2 in.
About this project
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