Approching the World of Wood Through a Chair!

So I've always loved to do handcrafted things, cards, paintings, even origami! But even when I was wanting to do more "complicated" stuff with wood or MDF, I didn't know how to until I got a class that basically was made to give us a wood workshop introduction. I find it really good because with some easy steps on how to built a chair I started to discover an amazing world! I hope you find this Instructable as enriching and good as my class!

Step 1: A Creative Idea

This step is where you need to let your creativity run wild! Either a bench or a chair, think on the form you would like it to have. Important to say that, as it is one of your first approaches to the wood world, I recommend you to think it in a 1:5 scale and as a two part chair:

• Frames (left and right)
• Ribs

Sketch as much as you need and once you have the winner design, draw in a white piece of paper the patterns that will help you cut the wood.

This 2D patterns should be in the exact size and form you want your chair. As in the image, you should have one for the frames (in my case, the left and right frames are equal) and one for the ribs (for my chair, ribs are all the same too).

For the frames, we are going to cut them by strips and then by assemblies, we will built it in order to avoid wasting material and have a great structure.

So, as you can see, the frame can be built with four parts. Cut the paper pattern in those for parts and cut the rib pattern. Mark them in the wood and let's continue!

Step 2: First Cuts

Now that you have them all marked, it's time to cut!

With the help of a vertical band saw, slowly start to remove all the excess of material around your mark leaving one or two milimeters of contour. After you have them all, rectify the cuts with sandpaper or a sander.

Remember we had our frames in four separated pieces? Well, it's time to join them with a biscuit joint, a pocket joint or whichever you find useful.

Perfect! We have our pieces ready to make a chair!

Step 3: Build It Up

With the help of a drill and wood cap screws, we will start to put the ribs right in the middle of our frames. Follow the idea you had and accommodate the ribs as close or separated as you like.

When you decide on the accomodation, mark the center of the holes in the frames. Now use a small drill and make a guiding hole so that it helps you lead the way of the bigger sized drill.

Help yourself with a press and once you have the ribs accommodated, drill the hole in both pieces, put some glue in the holes and place the cap screws.

Once you finish, help yourself with a sander again to eliminate the "tails" of the screws.

Step 4: Almost Done

Now that you have all your chair assembled, time for the last step!

First, you must use the sandpaper to eliminate the wood chips and all dangerous pointy corners. Once you are done with this, clean all the surfaces of your chair and let's paint!

With the lacquer of your preference, spray your chair and let it dry. You can spray it as much as you want so it gets a more uniform color.

We finished! First wood project done!

Hope you enjoyed it :)