Suspended Wooden Chair

The purpose of this project is to create something out of wood alone that either solves a problem or enhances an experience. Our group decided to create something that could be placed in a home and complete a specific function. Some of our ideas were creating a table, a cabinet, or a chair. In the end we decided to create a chair, but instead of making a simple chair we chose to make a chair that is suspended slightly off the air. Our motivation for creating a chair that is suspended is because it allows you to swing back and forth and not being on the ground can make it more relaxing. Lastly creating a suspended chair adds a creative element that is more appealing than just a basic chair.

Step 1: Brainstorming

We first searched online to see what cool things can be created from wood alone. Once we had some ideas we brainstormed some possible projects that we could do and then sketched out our ideas. In the end we decided to create a suspended wooden chair that would hang on to a frame by ropes. After having our set project we created a new sketch of the chair and the frame with dimensions included, as well as planning out all of the steps and materials that we would need to create this project.

Step 2: Buying Supplies

Go to Lowe's and buy all of the materials. We needed to buy 8 2x4's for the frame and 100 feet of Blue Hawk rope to weave through the chair and then attach the chair to the frame. The rest of the materials were donated to us by our teacher, Mr. Bartels. These materials included all of the screws used, tape, and all of the scrap pieces of 2x4 wood which were used to build the chair.

Step 3: Creating the Frame

The suspended chair needs something to hang on, and since the project needs to be created entirely of food we built a frame to hold the chair. The frame was made out of 8 2x4's. The height of the frame was 6'6" with a length of 3'4" and a width of 3'. To put the frame together we simply cut our 2x4's into the appropriate lengths and then screwed it all together. In total there should be eight 3' pieces of wood and four 6'6". To test the frame we did pull ups on it and our conclusion was that it was effective.

Step 4: Create the Chair: Cutting the Wood

We found 16 pieces of 2x4 wood in Mr. Bartels scrap pieces of wood. We then decided to make every piece of wood 2' 1" long and after lining them all up we proceeded to cut all 16 pieces.

Step 5: Creating the Chair: Sanding

Since we were creating a chair out of scrap pieces of wood we had to make sure that it was comfortable. Sanding it was very important because any splinters could hurt someone when they sit down and defeat the entire purpose of the chair. We used an electric sander to sand down every piece of wood carefully.

Step 6: Creating the Frame: Drilling Holes

The chair is connected together by rope alone. To do this we had to drill holes into the 16 pieces of wood and then weave the rope through the holes. We first had to lay down the locations for all of the holes. What we decided to do was make 11 holes on one end of the wood and 11 holes on the other end of the wood, so all together there are 22 holes, each with a 9/16" diameter, in each piece of wood that will be connected by rope. After we made the holes we decided to sand down the wood again because drilling holes through the wood can make it rough again.

Step 7: Creating the Chair: Weaving the Rope

Weaving the rope is a very long and tedious process but it is essential to the contrusction of the chair. Since the only thing that is holding all of this pieces of wood together is the rope, we had to create a pattern that would run through all of the pieces and hold the wood down into a set form.

Step 8: Final Assembly

The final step is connecting the chair to the frame itself. For this step we simply used the rope that we left hanging from the ends of the chair and connect it with the frame.

Step 9: Conclusion: Suspended Wooden Chair

The final thing we did was test out the chair to see if it was effective. After testing it we conclude that it is safe to use and effective in its desired function.

Sources: The only source that we used was the cite from which we got the idea of the chair from.

http://www.howtogeek.com/93673/hack-a-wood-pallet-into-a-hanging-chair-diy/