# First big commission!



## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Okay, so i dont have anything to showcase just yet, but i will in a week or so. Little bit of background. I make lawn chairs from pallet wood, sell em when i can. Sell one or two, here and there to neighbors, friends, relatives and the like. Had an ad up on CL for a while, and get an email from a gent who wants 6. Funnily enough, hes the second guy in the last 2 days whos wanted 6. Guess people are stocking up on seating for thanksgiving and all the football games or something. Anyway, im pretty stoked. First bug commission ive got, and kindve justifies me having a couple hundred bucks worth of tools now! Ill keep updating this post as i get stuff done, as it sits now i had to drop the reclaimed requirement, so ive got a big old pile of 2x4's and 2x6's waiting to get chopped up!

Also attached are pictures of one of the chairs ive already got hanging around. Ive got a busy week ahead of me, what with putting together 6 of those buggers and my actual job.


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## Travico (Dec 25, 2012)

You got a nice chair there and business going on!!


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## difalkner (Nov 27, 2011)

Good looking chair! Looks like you're off to the big business world. Is Etsy next?


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Nice chairs look comfy. 

Al


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## CherryWoodWorker (Nov 11, 2012)

I think you hit a homerun.


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## TS3660 (Mar 4, 2008)

That's a terrible looking chair. Send it to me and I'll throw it away for you. :laughing:


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

TS3660 said:


> That's a terrible looking chair. Send it to me and I'll throw it away for you. :laughing:


Sure thing mate,you just gotta pay shipping. Check out woodgears.ca, I actually borrowed and modified his free plans a bit. Those buggers are comfort than any other lawn chair I've sat it. Got a bit of the Adirondack look, but they're higher off the ground and have a less severe recline too them. I've got a few of those outside my front door, along with a small little end table. Can of coke, maybe a nice steak and its a great way to pass an evening


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Busy bloody day today. Started tearing into the big old wood pile i picked up just to make a batch of 2. 8 Hours and i got all the pieces cut, ripped down, planed, etc, as well as assembling the back frames and putting together a few templates for the parts. Been putting off making those templates for ages, but something tells me theyll come in handy. Get to spend part of tomorrow build an assembly jig for the side frames and hopefully getting the first 2 finished up. Pics to come tomorrow. Meant to take some today, but i got a little preoccupied cleaning up after my cutting sessions. Nothing drives home the need for a dust collector quite like vacuuming up 30 gallons of sawdust and planer shavings after the fact


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

epicfail48 said:


> Sure thing mate,you just gotta pay shipping. Check out woodgears.ca, I actually borrowed and modified his free plans a bit. Those buggers are comfort than any other lawn chair I've sat it. Got a bit of the Adirondack look, but they're higher off the ground and have a less severe recline too them. I've got a few of those outside my front door, along with a small little end table. Can of coke, maybe a nice steak and its a great way to pass an evening


Shut up! I'm getting home sick.

Adirondack chairs are my favorite for doing nothing but watching what ever is in front of me. 

Al


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

epicfail48 said:


> Busy bloody day today. Started tearing into the big old wood pile i picked up just to make a batch of 2. 8 Hours and i got all the pieces cut, ripped down, planed, etc, as well as assembling the back frames and putting together a few templates for the parts. Been putting off making those templates for ages, but something tells me theyll come in handy. Get to spend part of tomorrow build an assembly jig for the side frames and hopefully getting the first 2 finished up. Pics to come tomorrow. Meant to take some today, but i got a little preoccupied cleaning up after my cutting sessions. Nothing drives home the need for a dust collector quite like vacuuming up 30 gallons of sawdust and planer shavings after the fact


I have a set of templates for an adirondack chair. They work on the band saw and go straight to the router table with a bearing bit. Just too many curves to sand otherwise. Go for it.

Al


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Al B Thayer said:


> I have a set of templates for an adirondack chair. They work on the band saw and go straight to the router table with a bearing bit. Just too many curves to sand otherwise. Go for it.
> 
> Al


Mine are just a hair simpler. Only 2 curves on the whole chair, and neither need to be 100% perfect, so I just use the bandsaw. The templates just to same me the trouble of marking everything out every bloody time


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

I really like those chairs. They look comfy. When you get a future big order, let me know if you need some help. I'm just a little West of Springfield in Republic. I'd be glad to help you. 

I make Adirondack chairs myself. I actually started with an old chair that was falling apart. I disassembled it carefully and made templates from the pieces. It sure made things much easier. So far I've made about 8-10 total. Next year I might make a few more and put them for sale. I started out making them from pine and then priming & painting them. I have since decided to only make them from cedar, which requires nothing on them.

NOTE: Its difficult to tell in the photo but these chairs have a slight curve to the back of them.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Burb said:


> When you get a future big order, let me know if you need some help. I'm just a little West of Springfield in Republic. I'd be glad to help you.


May have to take you up on that sooner than you expect mate, just got an email from a gentleman today looking for another six with matching footrests! :laughing:


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Burb those are nice looking too. You guys are getting me in the mood for a production run on Ad. chairs. The one I make is in the traditional design but it also folds up. Which is a big help when trying to get them out of the weather. 

Al


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## gus1962 (Jan 9, 2013)

You have outdone yourself. Those chairs are crafted perfectly.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

*time to revive and resolve this thread!*

Okay, I've been forgetting to update this thread, but its finished! Got all the chairs fully assembled, stained and finished, and my customer picked em all up today! Almost forgot to grab a picture, I actually managed to snap the attached as he was pulling out. All 6, made from construction lumber and stained with a minwax sedona red. Customer was pretty happy, and I was thrilled; he liked em so much he actually told me on the spot hes probably going to want 4 more.

Couple things I learned, in the spirit of wrapping tings up. First thing I learned was it was a mistake to try going small batches. My initial plan was to buy the lumber for and build 2 chairs at a time. That was a mistake. I actually found that making 4 at a time added minimal, well, time, over building 2. The batch of 4 I did was quicker and more consistent, so, you know, don't split em up. The second lesson I learned was check the bloody weather reports. It got hold round my parts way, way sooner than I initially expected. The ~20f temps ended up putting me on hold for a couple days trying to find an adhesive that would work, as well as massivelyincreased the finishing time. Fortunately, my client was pretty chill about the delays, but still lesson learned. The last big thing was that, surprisingly, wood stain runs very well through a harbor freight pain sprayer. I was able to lay down a consistent coat of stain that got into all the nooks and crannys, as well as being a more even color.

I've got plans for the next 4, once I finilize the order details. First up is make templates for all the parts to save on layout time, the second it doing a better job of prefinishing. I may also actually remember to take pictures to do a build thread. I do also want to thank everybody who's taken time to read what I've said and help not where they could. Y'all are awesome.

Last thing and a slight rant: its bloody ridiculous that in the era of smartphone cameras in the 10mp range that photos upload size is limited to 500x600. It bugs the crap out of me having to resize every photo I post and seeing all the detail lost in the shrinking


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## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

Thats whats up man, it is good feeling when you can turn 2 chairs as a little project into an order or 12 and still going!!


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## Carvel Loafer (Dec 31, 2011)

Way to go, they look great. :thumbsup:

I have a "retired" neighbour that builds lawn furniture and dog houses. He can't keep up with the orders, so hang on, once the word gets around you might be a little busy.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Carvel Loafer said:


> Way to go, they look great. :thumbsup:
> 
> I have a "retired" neighbour that builds lawn furniture and dog houses. He can't keep up with the orders, so hang on, once the word gets around you might be a little busy.


I'm hoping on that. Need something to keep me occupied on my days off after all


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## wumpabill39 (Dec 30, 2013)

Hello epicfail48,this is Bill from Mountain Home ,Arkansas not far from you, I love those chairs,they turned out very nice and beautiful ,Keep up the good work,I just made a dining table called farm rustic Hayrake table,now in the process of building the chairs,hope you get a lot of orders and sales


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## Burb (Nov 30, 2012)

Glad to hear everything was a success and that you might even get more orders from it. 



epicfail48 said:


> First thing I learned was it was a mistake to try going small batches. My initial plan was to buy the lumber for and build 2 chairs at a time. That was a mistake. I actually found that making 4 at a time added minimal, well, time, over building 2. The batch of 4 I did was quicker and more consistent, so, you know, don't split em up.


I learned this lesson myself, especially when using templates. I also found creating cutlist per board helped. I usually started by lettering my boards after jointing 1 side, then cutting my stock based on cutlist. I was able to minimize waste this way.

Mark


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## RouterGuy (Mar 16, 2014)

Awesome chairs!! I bet they are sturdy as hell!


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## erik swanson (Dec 3, 2014)

good on ya! I love all reclaimed lumber projects.. If I may and i am asking first can i add a upgrade? PM me..


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

erik swanson said:


> good on ya! I love all reclaimed lumber projects.. If I may and i am asking first can i add a upgrade? PM me..


Heck mate, i dont care. Whatd you plan on upgrading?


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

RouterGuy said:


> Awesome chairs!! I bet they are sturdy as hell!


I think hell would fall apart before the chairs. These buggers are sturdy as @#$!, even the ones ive built from planks in the 3/8 thick range are solid and going strong


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