Cedar Chaise Lounge Plans

This chaise lounge is more than just a platform in the sun. In addition to being built with red cedar to stand the abuses of the weather, it's portable, so you can follow the sun if you wish, and its three-position back suits everything from reading to cloud gazing.

Key	No.	Size and description (use)
A	2	1 x 4 x 74 1/2" red cedar (side)
B	4	1 x 4 x 9 1/4"* red cedar (leg)
C	2	1 x 2 3/4 x 25" red cedar (crossrail)
D	4	11/16 x 3 1/4 x 4 1/4" red cedar (brace)
E	2	1 x 1 1/4 x 73" red cedar (side cleat)
F	2	1 x 1 1/4 x 26 1/8" red cedar (back cleat)
G	2	1 x 1 1/4 x 14" red cedar (support leg)
H	26	11/16 x 2 1/2 x 23 3/8" red cedar (slat)
I	2	10"-dia. wheel

* Cut two legs 3" shorter for wheels.

Misc: 1/2 x 4" carriage bolts; 1/2" flat washers, lockwashers and nuts;
3/8 x 3 1/2" carriage bolts; 3/8 x 4" carriage bolts; 3/8" flat washers,
lockwashers and nuts; 1 1/4" No. 8 fh galv. screw; 2" No. 8 fh galv screw;
3/8"-dia. red cedar plugs; No. 20 joining plates.

Building The Frame
Rip 5/4 stock to width for the side rails and crosscut the rails a few inches longer than the finished dimension. Make a pattern of the rail-end shape from 1/4-in. plywood and trace the shape onto each rail. Use a sabre saw to cut the rail-end profiles and remove the saw marks with a spokeshave and sandpaper.

Lay out the mortises for joining the legs to the rails. Then, use a plunge router with an edge guide to make the cuts. Rout each mortise in several passes to avoid overloading the motor and bit. Square the mortise ends with a sharp chisel.

Cut the legs and crossrails to finished size. Then, install a dado blade in your table saw and make the broad tenon cheek cuts on the two faces of each piece. Next, cut the tenon shoulders in the same way.

Lay out the crossrail mortises on the leg inner faces. Rout the mortises and square the ends with a chisel. Test fit all the mortise-and-tenon joints to make sure they're snug yet go together without excess force.

Make a template for the leg bracket and trace the shape onto redwood stock. Orient the template so the grain of the stock runs diagonally and cut out the brackets.

Mark the joining-plate positions on the legs, brackets and side rails. Clamp each piece to your bench to cut the slots. Hold the plate joiner against the benchtop to ensure accurate slot registration.

Spread glue in the plate slots of a leg and adjoining bracket, and spread glue on the plate. Assemble the parts, clamp and repeat the process on the other legs.

Prepare to join a leg/bracket subassembly to a rail by spreading glue on the mortise-and-tenon joint mating surfaces, in the two plate slots and on a joining plate. Join the leg and bracket to the rail and clamp. Repeat the procedure for each leg.

Rip 5/4 stock to width for the rail cleats, and cut them to length so their ends match the rail ends. Lay out the angled notches for the back-support assembly, make the cuts and sand each notch to remove the saw marks.

Use an exterior glue and galvanized screws to fasten the cleats to the side rails. Countersink the screwholes so the screwheads are just below the wood surface.

Mark the locations of the carriage bolts that fasten the chaise back to the side rails and bore the holes through the side/cleat subassembly.

Apply glue to the crossrail joints, assemble the base frame, and clamp until the glue sets.

The Back And Slats
Cut the backrest cleats and support legs to size. Use a sabre saw to trim the ends of each piece to the profiles shown in the drawing. Then bore the bolt holes and join the support legs and back cleats with the bolts. Use one flat washer between each leg and cleat.

Rout the long edges of each slat with a 3/16-in.-rad. rounding-over bit. Bore screw pilot holes in each slat and counterbore for 3/8-in.-dia. plugs to cover the screws.

Install the bolts to hold the back cleats to the frame sides. Use three washers between each back cleat and main side-rail cleat. Clamp the cleats to the chaise sides. Then screw the first slat to the back-support legs.

Use 5/16-in. blocks to space the slats and screw each slat in place.

Bevel the last slat on the back to provide clearance for the back to move to the highest position. Leave a 1-in. space between the beveled slat and the first slat on the chaise seat.

Use a 3/8-in.-dia. plug cutter in a drill press to cut plugs for all the slat screwheads. Glue the plugs in place so the grain of each aligns with the slats. Saw each plug close to the surface, and pare flush with a sharp chisel.

Lay out and bore the holes in the legs for mounting the wheels as shown in the drawing. Then, cut these legs 3 in. shorter.

Use a file or small grinding wheel to remove the square shoulder on two 1/2 x 4-in. carriage bolts. Then install the wheel with the modified bolts, washers, lock washers and nuts.

Sand all surfaces with 120- and 220-grit sandpaper.