Greene & Greene Inspired Adirondack Chair

Last week I wrote an article about having patience in the shop. The inspiration for that article came from the two Adirondack Chairs that were nearing completion in my own shop. If you’ve ever built a Greene & Greene project, you know that the real magic occurs at the end when the soft subtle curves become punctuated by the pillowed ebony plugs. Since I had two chairs on the bench, I had to make 68 of these little buggers! Talk about testing your patience! After tapping a few plugs into place, I knew that all the hard work was well worth it!

So here’s the final product. One chair made with Honduran Mahogany from a local source (left) and the other made from plantation-grown Fiji Mahogany from Bell Forest Products (right). As always in the Guild, I try to show numerous options in materials, techniques, and finishes. Since I had two chairs, this was the perfect opportunity for a comparative experiment. One chair received two coats of Watco Teak Oil and the other received two coats of Sikkens Cetol Marine. The Sikkens actually contains some pigment which is partly responsible for the cleaner more consistent look of the chair on the right.

Personally, I think the chair on the left has more personality, so here are a few more photos for you to check out. Want to build this project for yourself? Get immediate access to the entire video series in the Guild!