Adirondack Loveseat

This is from reclaimed redwood. Like my adirondack chair, I followed the plans from Norm Abrams, except that the material is thicker and the backslats are 4” taller. For this project I plugged all the screw holes that may come in contact with the sitter. Every joint is reinforced with Liquid Nails and either screwed or through-bolted. Finished with one coat of Bark Penofin, and two coats of General Finishes Clear Outdoor Oil.

For those that have never attempted, using reclaimed wood is a lot of work. The pieces need to be sorted, searched and scavenged, and that’s after it’s in your shop and cleaned up. Looking for each workpiece in the pile and trying to keep the waste to a minimum takes time and effort. Each workpiece needs to be traced and labeled to make sure there is enough raw material to build the project.

Then rot or loose knots need to be eliminated or stabilized. The pieces need to be jointed, planed and squared. Then, and only then, is it ready to work into what the project calls for. If redwood were not so difficult to obtain here in central Iowa I wouldn’t have put in all the effort. It was much more work than I anticipated.

In the end I am very pleased with it. Very solid and tight. The individual who commissioned the project wanted one long footrest. I wasn’t sure I had enough material to pull that off and so didn’t commit to it. After sleeping on it, I perceived difficulty entering and exiting the seat. Upon trial, my wife and I agreed two footstools work better than one. But I would be pleased to hear opinions regarding whether one long footrest would look better than two.

-- Worry does not empty tomorrow of it's sorrow, it empties today of it's strength.