Rethinking the Adirondack Chair

Take a detailed look at the anatomy of Robert Erickson’s comfortable, weatherproof Adirondack chair.

Robert Erickson wanted his Adirondack chair to be as weatherproof as possible. Therefore, he made the whole chair entirely knock-down, so the parts could be coated with marine paint before assembly and disassembled and repainted down the road. He dispensed with interpenetrating joinery, figuring it would attract moisture and tend to rot. Instead, he assembled the chair entirely with butt joints and face joints secured with brass or bronze bolts and screws. For comfort, he left off the low stretcher that adds racking resistance but stops you from tucking your feet under the front
of the classic version. To restore the chair’s rigidity, he added a welded steel bracket under the seat.

Built like a yacht to withstand the weather

Back planks are bent-laminated to lumbar curve from four plies of solid elm using waterproof Titebond III glue.

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