A l l - W eat h e r

M o r r i s c ha i r

10

If you read the introduction to this book, then you

know that this next project is special to me. It was
the spark for all of my one-by furniture designs,
and is still the most comfortable. The original All
Weather Morris Chair was designed to fit a seat and
back cushion. This made the chair comfortable, but
if it had just rained and the cushions were wet, the
bare chair wasnt designed for sitting comfortably.
The chair shown here is version 4.0 and Ive
modified it to work with, or without cushions, and
Ive adjusted some design and building techniques.
I think its an excellent upgrade. Oh, did I mention
the price? Built from pine, each chair runs about
$60 in materials, plus the cost of the hinge. A good
coat of exterior paint and youve got a great chair
for under $100.

86

87

ch apter 10

a ll- w eather morris ch air

112

512"

212"

112

S
C

length

(mm)

pine

3 4

19

31 2

89

22

559

B 4 rear legs*

pine

3 4

19

31 2

89

20

508

C 4 side strtchrs** pine

3 4

19

31 2

89

233 4

603

D 2 f&b stretchers pine

3 4

19

31 2

89

261 4 667

E 2 side slats*

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

141 2 368

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

141 8 359

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

133 4 349

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

131 2 343

pine

3 4

19

51 2

140

35

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

261 4 667

2 side spprts*** pine

3 4

19

51 2

140

191 2 495

2 side slats*

G 2 side slats*
H 2 side slats*
2 arms

K 1 rear support

22"

D
D

(mm)

A 4 front legs*

8"

2234"
1434"

(mm)

width

thickness

512"

stock

2 12"

part

218"

Quantity

21"
212"

Reference

all-weather morris chair inches (millimeters)

1934"

10 2"

312"

L
1634"

23 2"

25 4"

7"

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

261 4 667

N 2 back frame

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

30

P 3 back frame

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

191 2 495

Q 2 back plates

pine

3 4

19

51 2

140

21

533

pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

19

483

1 back suppport pine

3 4

19

21 2

64

31

787

1D

25

51

M 6 seat slats

R 5 back slats
S

T 2 dowels

hrdwd

* 5 angle, one end

2614"

** 5 slope on top edge of two

2"

889

762

You might notice that the

lumber in the photos looks a
little weird. It is. Half of it is over
40 years old. In rehabbing our
house, I pulled out some old
pine closets. Rather than throw
the boards away, I tucked them
aside, and when this project
came around, I knew I could be
earth conscious and reuse them.
Since the whole piece was getting
painted, no one would be the
wiser. I did cut all the pieces to
standard home center sizes, so I
wasnt cheating.
There are a lot of pieces to this
chair, but if you go ahead and cut
them all to length, assembly will
move pretty quickly.
Building the Legs
Each of the legs is made of two
pieces of wood screwed together
length-wise to create a T-shape.

*** Cut to match template.

3
212" 8 4"

212"

J
35"
112"

2334"

2514"

The T-shaped front and back

legs have a 5 bevel at the top.
Its easiest to cut that bevel before
assembly. With the four front- and
rear-facing pieces cut to the length
given in the cutting list, set the saw
for a 5 bevel and trim one end of
each piece.

212"

512"

2212"
3312"

88

312"
12"

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ch apter 10

But to give the chairs their backward slope, the tops of the legs
are cut back at a 5 angle. This
means the front legs (with the
flat piece facing forward) need
a 5 angle on the top edge of the
front piece, across the thickness
of the board. The leg of the T
that fits behind the front piece,
needs a 5 cut from the front-toback on the width of the board.
This process is reversed on the
two back legs, since the flat piece
is to the rear of the leg. Take your
time marking and identifying the
angles before making the cuts
with your miter saw.
The chair is essentially
screwed together. I used a countersink bit to drill clearance holes
and recesses for wood plugs in
one motion.
Start by marking the center of
each flat piece of the front and
back legs. Drill the countersink
holes and screw the legs together.
Making the sides
To join the front and back legs
to create left and right leg sets,
mark up 7" on the outside of
each leg. Make sure you have
front and back pairs. Then screw
the two lower side stretchers in
place on the legs.
The upper side stretchers
will require a 5 slope on the top
edge. Place an upper stretcher in
position, flush with the top edge
of the front leg, and make sure
the space between the stretchers
is even at front and back. Then
make a mark at the leg heights at
both the front and back ends of
the upper stretcher.

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a ll- w eather morris ch air

Transfer the bevel location from the four cut pieces to the side-facing
pieces of the legs. Remember that the front and rear legs are mirror
images of one another, with the shorter leg pair to the rear. The legs are
shown above positioned as they will be, with the rear (shorter) set on the left.
The Ls will become Ts when the horizontal pieces are screwed to the center
of the vertical pieces.

All four legs have the leg of the T centered on the flat of
the T. Mark the center line for screws.

Drill three or four countersunk holes in each

leg flat.

Then screw the leg pairs together, flushing the bevel ends
to form the T. Pilot drill and countersink to avoid splitting.

The lower side stretchers are located up 7 from the

bottom of each leg.

After marking the bevel locations, cut the other four pieces
on the flat.

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ch apter 10

Connect the two marks to

create a straight line, then cut
the angle with a jigsaw. Clean
up the cut with a bench plane if
necessary. Mark the other upper
stretcher the same way, then cut
the slope.
Screw each upper stretcher in
place on the outside of each leg,
and youre getting closer.
To create the box of the chair,
the front and back stretchers are
screwed in place with the front
stretcher located 1012" up on the
inside of the front legs. The back
stretcher is located 7" up on the
inside of the back legs.
Side slats
The next step is to attach the side
slats. Youll see that Ive provided
individual lengths for each slat in
the cutting list. Each slat also gets
a 5 angle cut on the top edge.
Ive found it easiest to mark the
locations of the slats (spaced 138"
apart, starting from the back of
the front leg), then hold the slat
in place and mark the angle on
the top of each slat.
Because I want each slat top
flush to the top of the upper
side stretcher, I cut the slats a
little short, letting the bottom of
the slat fit up slightly from the
bottom edge of the lower side
stretchers.
Screw the slats in place with
a single screw at top and bottom. I couldnt countersink these
screws because the two 34"-thick
pieces dont allow enough room
to add a plug. If you want to hide
the screws, then you will need to
add wood putty and then sand it

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a ll- w eather morris ch air

Screw the side stretchers in place on the outside of

the legs.

10

Connect your front and rear marks with a

straight edge.

11

Space the upper side stretcher 8 above the lower stretcher, which
should be even at the top edge with the top edge of the front leg.

12

Screw the upper stretchers in place to complete the

leg sides.

13

Jigsaw wide of your pencil mark to leave room

for cleanup.

The front and back stretchers are screwed in place to

the front and back legs. Check for squareness where
the stretchers meet the legs.

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ch a pter 10

a ll- w eather morris ch air

178"

14

I prefer to mark the slat lengths with each slat held

in place.

15

Rear

A single screw in the center of each slat (top and

bottom) holds things comfortably in place.

1912"

16

The seat supports fit flush to the top of the front

stretcher, and attach to the slats.

17

At the rear of the seat support, a 1 x 3 is screwed in

place between the two legs. Another screw from the
rear holds the piece against the ends of the supports.

Front

312"

Side Support Template

94

Each square represents 1".

smooth. I just allowed the paint

to hide the screw heads.
Side supports
With the slats in place, I checked
the pattern (shown at left) for
the shape of each side seat support. Though the supports are
cut from 16 boards, the only
cuts necessary are on the two
long edges. The short ends keep
the squared cuts from cutting
the 16s to length. Transfer the
pattern to your board and cut
the side supports to shape with
your jigsaw.
Clean up the cut edges with a
hand plane, then screw the supports in place on each side.
One last piece to hold things
together. The rear support is the
piece that will support the back
frame of the chair. Its essentially a mount for the hinge. Its
screwed between the two rear
legs, and tight up against the
back end of the two seat side
supports. This piece is screwed
through the back legs, and
through the back support into
the ends of the side supports.
more slats and arms
Were now ready to add the seat
slats. This is pretty straightforward, with the slats spaced 1"
apart. The front slat is notched
78"-deep to fit around the front
legs, and then is screwed in place
to the front stretcher. This allows
an overhang on the front slat.
The front slat gets four screws,
but all the others get two. A
single screw on each end. I countersunk these holes for plugs.

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ch apter 10

The arms seem to bring

things more than a step further
somehow. One of the things that
makes a Morris chair special is
the ability to recline the back. To
make this simple, three holes are
drilled in the arms to offer three
reclining positions. The holes are
centered and at the back of each
arm. The back support has two
dowels attached that fit into the
holes. This is also the reason why
the arms extend so far beyond
the back of the seat, and its one
of the things that makes this
chair a Morris! Clever folks! The
arms should overhang the legs
1" at the front and by 112" on the
outside edges.
building the Back
The chair back is screwed together (countersink for plugs) with
three horizontal cross members.
The two at the top are spaced to
fit a headrest plate, and the bottom to accommodate a matching
plate (for symmetry). Both the
plates should cover only half of
the horizontal cross member,
allowing you to nail or screw
both the plates and the back slats
to the same cross member.
With the cross members positioned correctly, screw them in
place through the backs frame
sides. Next screw the top and
bottom plates in place.
Lastly, to allow the proper
swing of the back, clip the back
corners of the seat at a 45 angle
with your jigsaw.
To complete the back, simply
screw the slats in place on the
frame. The two outside slats are

96

a ll- w eather morris ch air

18

After notching the front seat slat to fit around the legs, I used a roundover bit in my trim router to round the long edges of each slat. Less
chance of pinching something important.

19

The front slat is screwed in place on the

front stretcher.

20

The rest of the seat slats are screwed into the seat
supports on either side

21

22

Three cross members are screwed in place between

the two frame sides.

23

The two arms are also rounded with the router, Then
screwed in place.

The top and bottom plates are then screwed to the

front of the frame, lipping only half way over the two
middle cross members.

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ch apter 10

held flush to the sides of the back,

with the other slats spaced evenly
between. Youll notice a difference between the illustrations
and the picture. On the chair in
the front photo I used three 312"width slats, with two 212" slats
between. Either design is fine, I
just decided to play a bit with the
spacing. Feel free to be creative
with your chair!
I rounded over the top edges
of the back support (using my
trim router), then drilled two
14"-deep holes marked directly
from the holes on the chair arms.
By doing this rather than measuring, Im assured a proper fit.
Next, the two 2"-long pieces of
1"-diameter dowels are screwed
in place on the back support.
A good final sanding to all
surfaces and I was ready to paint.
Any decent Krylon color will put
a great finish on the chair. I used
spray cans, and honestly, it took
about six, so prepare for that.
The last step is to mount the
back to the chair. Ive used a variety of hinges over the years, but
Ive found I get the best look and
performance from a continuous,
or piano, hinge.
Thats it! Youre ready to kick
back and enjoy the day.

98

a ll- w eather morris ch air

24

A 45-degree cut at the bottom of the back allows the back to

swing to full-back position.

25

The back slats are then screwed

in place.

26

After carefully marking the location for the dowels

on the back support, I drill a shallow hole to protect
the top of the dowel from the weather, and to locate the
dowel accurately.

27

The 2 chunk of dowel can then be glued (if you

prefer) and/or screwed in place.

28

After painting, the last step is to screw the continuous hinge to the back, then
rest it in place on the chair and screw the other leaf of the hinge in place on the
back seat suppot.

99