Wood choice for adirondak chair

If it’s plywood and it’s outdoors, you must completely encapsulate the plywood with a durable sealant. I would use epoxy, then paint over that, as epoxy has no UV resistance. Relying on just exterior grade latex would invite water damage on the feet.

You can also go to any hardwood flooring place to get suitable lumber. I’ve had luck with Ipe (Brazilian Walnut). As long as it doesn’t have grooves on the bottom, you don’t have to plane it. You can build your design around the thickness of the flooring.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

Ipe’s an excellent choice plywood will delaminate if not keep sealed with a weather proof finish just like Skully said.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop, custom furniture ,maker, woodworking school, heirloomwoodshop.com

I would have to disagree with woodfan1975 on the plywood theme. Almost all plywood made today uses what use to be called “exterior” glue and does not delaminate easily. However this would exclude most of those with hardwood veneer finishes. In the distant past there were plywoods made with what was termed “interior” glue and it would not stand up to moisture. There is also plywood made with what is called “marine” glue; meaning they were intended for building boats which are exposed to the water all the time. Check with your suppliers on those.
I assume if you use plywood you will paint the chairs so that will protect them from moisture. Use a good primer and then an exterior house trim paint. Your biggest problem would be the feet contacting the ground where the paint may wear off and moisture could wick into the wood. You might consider putting a waterproof barrier on the feet; some sort of rubber or plastic footing.

Ipe wood would be an excellent choice but would make the chair VERY heavy and much more expensive than plywood. Although it would not necessarily apply to your chairs it can also be difficult to glue together.

Other good choices which are rot resistant are redwood, western cedar, and cypress; especially if you want to leave the wood with a natural oil finish.

-- Les B, Oregon

If I were going this route I would opt for solid wood rather than plywood. You have some good choices mentioned. Another is white oak. I can be used for outdoor furniture and is fairly economical.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

go for cypress. its relativly inexpensive (cheaper then oak) and is a great outdoor wood

OK, maybe the plywood won’t “delaminate” per se, but the grain will absorb moisture and wick due to capillary action. The glue itself may be impervious, but that’s just holding the wood together. The end result is still bad.

I just thought that even if the Ipe has the flooring grooves in it, you can always put that on the bottom/inside. I’ve got some bamboo flooring that’s killing me because it’s so tough and I’m not willing to plane it. I made a spatula out of it last night after dinner.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

Thank you all for your input. I spent some time hitting my suppliers last night and I found a stack of cedar that is already close to the final dimensions that I need, so minimum jointing and planing required. All though I think one day I will try plywood as an experiment and see how well it holds up.

If you make templates, the second chair will take half as long to make.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

ive made a few adirondack chairs out of pressure treated deck wood and it has turned out good for me so far.