DIY Double Chair | Built in Storage/Cooler | Drink Holders | Wide seats | Plans

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hey there welcome to diy projects with pete 
thanks so much for tuning in in today's episode   we're going to build a new version of the double 
chair we spend a lot of time out on the patio   and these chairs have been a great addition to 
the space now a lot of fellow diyers have built   and customized the first version and it's been 
really cool to see what everyone has come up with   so if you've built this or something similar 
i'd love to hear about it in the comments below   the old version i built about six years 
ago has been great and we love using it   but a few suggestions i've had over the 
years have been to make the seats wider   the back rest taller and add drink holders and a 
storage area i hope this project inspires you to   get out in the garage and to try some woodworking 
alright let's get started with today's build   i started by picking up some lumber at the 
hardware store and this project was built mostly   out of one by and two by material i used pine to 
help keep the costs down but cedar is another good   choice or used reclaimed materials if you have 
them we'll start by building the front legs for   the double chair and the plans are available at 
diy pete dot com forward slash diy double chair or   they're linked to in the description below if this 
is a project you're interested in building i'll   use a miter saw to make each of the cuts and i've 
built up my tool inventory slowly over the years   but remember getting started with a used 
miter saw i found on craigslist for 65 dollars   which is the one i'm using in the old double chair 
video six years ago but don't feel like you have   to go buy a bunch of expensive tools if you're 
just getting started definitely look for deals   or try to pick up used tools to save money the two 
front legs are cut straight at a 90 degree angle next we'll cut the two rear legs the rear legs 
are cut with a 15 degree angle on each end   and the cuts are made parallel to each other 
start by making the first 15 degree angle cut   then measure down 24 and 5 16 inches and make a 
mark and then make another 15 degree angled cut   for today's build every cut will be either 
straight or cut at a 15 degree angle we'll cut   the two armrest supports next one end will be cut 
at 90 degrees and the other end will be cut at 15   degrees then move on to cut the front 2×6 support 
board at each end for those beginners out there   it's kind of confusing but a two by six board is 
actually one and a half inches thick by five and   a half inches wide the store will say its nominal 
size but the actual size is going to be smaller   the front support is cut to 70 inches in length 
next cut the rear support 2×4 board to 67 inches   in length here's a look at the boards we've cut so 
far which will start to form the base of the chair   for the front legs we'll measure up nine and 
a half inches and then create a notch for   the front support board now this notch 
will be one and a half inches deep by   five and a half inches tall draw out the 
notch using a straight edge and then cut   using a jigsaw take your time with this process 
so you can get as straight a cut as possible before assembling i like to sand each board 
to remove rough edges to smooth the board and   to remove any printed marks on the boards and 
i prefer doing this outside but it was pretty   cold so i just did it out in the garage we'll 
assemble the sides of the frame first using a   combination of wood glue and screws now for 
demonstration purposes during this video i'm   not going to use glue for each connection but i 
would recommend using it for some of the joints   make sure the front leg is oriented correctly so 
the taller nine and a half inch section below the   notch is closest to the ground the armrest support 
will then be secured flush with the top of the leg   at a 90 degree angle and always pre-drill and 
then insert the screw i use about three screws   for most connections and for this part use two and 
a half inch long wood screws the rear leg will be   placed 12 and a half inches behind the back of the 
notched leg where it connects to the armrest so   just measure and mark where to line it up and then 
more details are in the plans if you need them   make sure the top of the rear leg is flush with 
the top of the armrest support and i used a   straight edge below the legs to check that they'll 
rest flush on the ground once they sit upright next we'll repeat the same process to assemble the 
other side of the bench the armrest support piece   is placed to the inside of the legs on each end i 
like to use a countersinking bit when pre-drilling   because it gives the screw head a cleaner and 
more professional look once they are countersunk then i'll place each assembled side together 
to see that they match up and that the legs are   lined up correctly this is going to help ensure 
you have a solid foundation for the project and   that it's going to rest evenly on the ground the 
next step is to install the front support board   pre-drill and then lift the board into the notches 
on each side i used three inch long screws on each   side and if you'd prefer to put the screws in from 
the back side or behind each leg to hide them go   ahead and do so i'm putting them in from the front 
side in this video we'll make the cuts for the   four cross supports next one end will be cut at a 
90 degree angle and the other at a 15 degree angle   pre-drill on each end and then attach to the 
front and rear legs the front of the cross support   will be flush with the top of the front support 
board and you can check to make sure it is level   on the rear leg by checking that it is five inches 
down from the bottom of the arm support board   clamps are going to be helpful to hold 
the boards in place during the install   and use two and a half inch long 
wood screws for each connection then repeat the same process for the other side next we'll install the rear support 
board which is made out of a 2×4   and to make this step easier i'd 
recommend flipping the frame upside down   so you can simply rest the support board on the 
cross supports this step was sort of confusing   in my last video so building the frame in this 
order and using this technique makes the process   easier and more straightforward simply rest 
the 2×4 flush with the cross support board next pre-drill and then insert three 
inch long wood screws on each end once complete go ahead and 
flip the frame right side   up then measure in for the placement 
for the other cross support boards the front of the cross support will again butt 
up to the front support board and the top of the   cross support will be flush with the top of the 
front support board now the other side of the   cross support will rest on the rear support board 
go ahead and attach the boards using three inch   long wood screws and you may notice i accidentally 
drilled an extra hole too low so i filled it with   some wood filler i used a square to help keep 
the screws in a straight line when possible pre-drill and then use three inch long 
screws at an angle to connect the cross   supports to the rear support board i used 
a screw on each side of each cross support   this is basically what's referred 
to as toenailing the boards together   except we're using screws next cut the back rest 
support boards the bottom end will be cut at a 15   degree angle and the top end at a 90 degree angle 
there are a total of four backrest support boards   test fit the board to check that it lines up 
correctly then mark where you'll round off   the top edge i used an ice cream bucket to get a 
nice rounded edge and a roll of tape or basically   any bucket would do the trick use a jigsaw 
and slowly follow the line to make each cut   follow up with a sander to smooth 
things out and remove rough edges i used the first board as a template to mark the 
rounded corners for the remaining three boards   then repeated the cutting and sanding process set the backrest support on the 
top of the rear support board   and then line it up so it matches the angles 
of the armrest support and the cross support   pre-drill and use two and a half inch 
wood screws to attach it at each location then connect the inner backrest support to the 
cross support set it on that lower support board   and line it up to match the angle of that cross 
support board add about three screws for the   connection a clamp is going to help keep things in 
place and will make the process a bit easier this   board secures just like the last one and here goes 
the last backrest support simply attach it to the   armrest support and cross support like we did on 
the other side now we'll move on to the backrest   and chair slats we'll use 1×4 boards for all of 
these and cut them all to length on the miter saw   each chair is going to use five slats and each 
backrest will have seven slots start by adding a   slat at the top for each backrest this is going 
to help square up the backrest support boards   i'm using two inch long wood screws for this 
process and the backrest slats are cut to 23   inches long then i'll move on to the chair 
slats which are and a half inches in length   i'm going to use a round over bit on the front 
slat to soften the edges and give it a nice look   now this is totally optional and you can use 
a sander to sort of round over the edges a bit   if you don't have a router i'm cutting a couple 
quarter inch spacers from a scrap piece of 2×4   to help evenly space each slat and to give it 
a gap of approximately a quarter of an inch   the first slot should overhang the front 
support board by a quarter of an inch   and pre-drill and attach each slat using two 
inch long screws if you want to get them lined up   perfectly straight use a straight edge to line up 
those screw heads and the screws near the armrest   support side will need to go in at a slight angle 
i used the spacers to help create even gaps as i   laid down each slat and this process goes quickly 
you'll have a chair to sit on before you know it then you can go ahead and repeat that 
same process for the other chair slots   next install the backrest slats it's easiest 
to work from the bottom side to the top side   and shoot for about quarter inch gaps again 
work your way up until all slats are secured   if the gaps don't work out absolutely 
perfect or one is narrower or one is wider   you can adjust it a bit but 
honestly no one's going to notice   next we'll move on to the armrests now the 
armrests are going to overlap the front a   half inch but then they're going to be flush with 
the back of the armrest support since we're adding   the cup holders we'll need to use a wider type 
of board and so a 1 by 8 board will work perfect   i rounded the corners using an ice cream bucket 
again and it used a straight edge to connect   each of those rounded corners feel free to come 
up with your own unique design for the armrests   use a jigsaw to cut out the shape of your 
armrests and you'll need to have the front of   the armrest about the full width of the board to 
fit that three-inch cup holder with room to spare   use that first armrest as a template for the 
second arm rest and then go ahead and cut it out   just like you did the first i took a look at where 
placement would work for the hole to be drilled   and you just want to make sure there isn't a 
board beneath where the hole is going to be   go ahead and transfer your measurements i used a 
three inch hole saw to create the hole that the   drinks will be lowered in make sure everything 
is clamped and secure for this process since   hole saws can kind of have a mind of their own 
and be pretty dangerous if not used correctly   i used a round over bit around the drink hole and 
then around the entire perimeter of each arm rest   while i had that router out i did the top slat 
of each backrest as well the armrests were then   secured in place using two inch screws and 
wood glue and you might add some additional   blocking under the armrests as well if you feel 
it needs a little extra strength to support it   to make the part of the cup holder that will hold 
up the beverage i cut a scrap piece of 1×4 board   to about three and a half inches long and then 
rounded the two corners i rounded over the edges   and then placed it about two inches down from 
the hole i then pre-drilled through the armrest   support and into the cup holder part then used two 
three inch long wood screws and glue to attach it now if you don't care about the center 
storage feature for your double chair   and just want a table you can simply 
add four 1×4 boards in the center area   connect them with some two by four boards and 
then secure some 1×6 boards for the tabletop   now i thought i'd just show you a quick example 
in case you wanted to do this and you can check   out that full process more in depth in my other 
double chair video linked to in the description   for this build we are going to build a storage 
area and we'll start by framing it out using   2×4 boards to form the base cut these to length 
according to the plans pre-drill and then use two   and a half inch screws at each corner to connect 
them next we'll use 1×4 boards cut to 14 inches   in length and use some wood glue and nails to 
tack them together now if you don't have a nailer   you could connect them using a smaller diameter 
screw or another technique once assembled fasten   them to each corner and you can use wood glue and 
then two inch screws from the inside then go ahead   and place each horizontal slat into the box and 
these are all made from 1×4 boards there will be   three on each side i used one and one quarter inch 
long screws to connect the boards to the corners   now it's time to place the box into the center 
area and it should fit snug between the front and   rear support boards the bottom of the front of the 
box will be flush with the bottom of the front 2×6   support board clamp it to the front support board 
and then use three inch long wood screws to secure   the box to the front support board when securing 
the box in place make sure it has an even gap on   the left and the right side it's designed narrower 
to make sure that the table top lid can open and   close without bumping into the backrest secure the 
box to the 2×4 rear support board the back of the   box will not match up flush with the bottom of the 
rear support board it's actually about an inch and   a half up as seen in this diagram i cut a strip 
of wood down to 1 and 5 8 inches to use as trim   for the top of the storage area i then mitered 
the corners at 45 degree angles now the trim is   going to slightly overlap the outside right left 
and front of the storage area but it's going to   be flush with the inside of the box secure it 
using wood glue and nails or another method i laid out the 1×6 boards for 
the lid or for the table top   and decided to rip them down on the table 
saw so i could use four evenly cut boards i then took measurements to center two 
pieces of 1×6 board on the underside   of the lid which will hold the slats 
together i then tacked them to hold them   in place temporarily and then secured with 
one and a quarter inch long wood screws   again wood glue is recommended for 
many of the connections in this project 1×6 boards were cut to length and 
used to form the bottom of the box   one of the boards was ripped down in width 
on the table saw so it would fit perfectly   and then they were all 
attached with two inch screws   i decided to make a little piece to fill the area 
in front of the storage area so i ripped a board   down in width took some measurements and then 
notched the board with a jigsaw so it fit around   the compartment area i then rounded the front 
with the router to match the other front slats here i'm doing a round over around the left 
front and right sides of the lid and this is   purely optional i then put a bottle opener 
on the front and did a quick round over   of the inside of the compartment trim three inch t 
hinges were then used to attach the lid to the box   to add additional strength to the backrest 
area i doubled up a couple two by fours and   then secured them to both the box and then 
to the left and right backrest supports i used a stainable exterior wood 
putty to cover the countersunk screws   and it's up to you if you want to take the time 
to do this or not i used my fingers to push it   into each hole and then wiped off excess a bit 
before it dried and then a few hours later i   used a sander to remove the rest of the excess 
putty and to smooth out all the boards i sanded   a few hard to reach spots by hand and then ran 
the orbital sander around the bottom of the legs   then remove any hardware before applying a finish 
now i brushed on a semi-transparent outdoor stain   to try and make this wood chair as durable and 
maintenance free as possible and staining the   chair takes a while if you're going to be brushing 
or wiping on a stain but if you have a sprayer   it can be done in a matter of minutes 
if you want to learn more about spraying   outdoor furniture check out my video showing the 
process which is linked to in the description   i let the stain dry and then reattach the hardware 
and put a lid support in for the storage area   i also put on an eye hook so the lid won't 
get blown open when not in use lifting the   double chair is a two person job and the weight 
of it does a good job with standing the winds   all right thanks so much for tuning in i hope 
you enjoyed today's project and found it helpful   if you did please give the video a 
thumbs up and subscribe and i hope   this video inspires you to go out and build 
something take care and cheers for montana you

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