Adirondack Chair (Sketch)
A back-of-the-napkin idea for an Adirondack chair I want to build. No materials list yet. No real plan. Just a sketch and some thoughts. Posting it here so my future self has somewhere to come back to.
Status: Sketch
Just an idea on paper. No build yet. Useful if you want to take it and run with it before I do.
At a glance
- Time
- Unknown — sketch stage only
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Why it fits an ADHD brain
This entire entry exists to make a point: ideas count as work. Capturing a project at the sketch stage is one of the most ADHD-protective things you can do. Future-you will thank you. Future-you might even build it.
Tools you'll need
- TBD — at minimum: jigsaw or coping saw, drill, sandpaper
Materials
- Cedar boards (rot-resistant for outdoor use)TBD — probably 6–8 1x6 boards
- Stainless or brass exterior screwsTBD
- Outdoor finish or leave bare to weatherTBD
The build, broken into units
Each step is one focus burst, give or take. Stop whenever your brain says stop. The clamps will hold the line.
- 1
Notes from the sketch
I want curved arm rests wide enough to actually set a coffee mug on. Most factory Adirondacks have arms that are either too narrow or too rounded for that. The whole chair should slope back enough to feel like a real lounge — none of this upright nonsense. Slats on the seat for drainage. Bolted joints, not just screws, at the structural hinges so it can be flat-packed if needed.
- 2
Things I haven't figured out yet
The angle of the back. The curve of the arm. Whether to do a one-piece curved seat slat or just slats. How to make it knock-down without compromising stability. Whether cedar is too soft for the load-bearing joints. Whether I should just buy the Norm Abram New Yankee Workshop plans like a reasonable person.
Honest notes
The stuff most plans leave out. What broke. What helped. What I wish someone had told me.
- This is a Sketch on purpose, not by accident. I'm putting it on the site to prove that even the half-formed idea has value. If you steal this and build a beautiful Adirondack chair, I will be delighted. If I steal it from myself in eight months and finally build it, I'll be even more delighted.
- An idea written down is an idea you can come back to. An idea that lives only in your head is an idea your ADHD brain will lose tomorrow. Sketch your projects. All of them. Even the ones that aren't ready yet.
More plans
The 30-Minute Cutting Board
A real, food-safe cutting board you can finish in six 30-minute sessions. The classic ADHD-friendly first project: high success rate, low decision fatigue, and you eat off it the same week.
BuiltFive-Minute Scrap Phone Stand
The fastest possible woodworking dopamine hit. One scrap of wood, two cuts, one chamfer. You'll finish before you have time to overthink it.
Half-BuiltModular Workshop Cart (Half-Built Edition)
I built the bottom half of this exact cart and have been using it for three months. The top shelf and the drawer? Still on the to-do list. Here's the half I built, documented honestly, in case you want to copy it.
Make the first cut.
You don't need to finish today. You don't need to finish at all. Just get the wood on the bench and the saw in your hand.