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Lace-Up Chair
by JON-A-TRON on August 5, 2014

Table of Contents
Lace-Up Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intro: Lace-Up Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 1: Tools & Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 2: Design & Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 3: Cut Out the Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 4: Join & Glue the Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 5: Cross-Dowels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 6: Lace it Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 7: Sit Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

Author:JON-A-TRON
As of June, 2014 I'm a full-time Designer at the Instructables Design Studio (best job ever). My background is in residential architecture, film set design, film
animatronics, media arts, exhibit design, and electronics. I'm also a part-time AIR at Pier 9 currently working on the Escape Pod Project.

Intro: Lace-Up Chair

If you want to use CAD software to design complex geometry, you don't have to have expensive CNC machines to make the finished product. With a local copy shop and
a little patience, you can produce just about anything you can design in the computer. This instructable shows you how.
The Lace-Up Chair is part of a broader study I'm up to experimenting with ergonomics- trying variations on the dimensions and posture of Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona
Pavillion Chair (1929). This one uses two wooden sides with eyelets, dowels separating the sides, and rope laced through the eyelets that create a sitting surface that
doubles as the chair's structure. I also took a cue from this awesome instructables project using rubber hose: http://www.instructables.com/id/Rubber-Hose-Chair/

Step 1: Tools & Materials

Tools
Drill & drill bits
Doweling Jig
Bar Clamps
Center Finder
Combination Square
Rubber Hammer
Printed full-scale templates
Jigsaw
Materials
Wood Glue
Dowel Pins (3/4" and 1/2")
2X6 Wood (12 linear feet). NOTE: I used off-the-shelf douglas fir, I would highly recommend spending a little more money on hardwood. Standard framing lumber
is soft and will not last long. Invest in some Walnut or other hardwood and you'll get a much better result.
Wooden Dowels: 1 1/4" , 3X 26" lengths
1/2" rope, 100' length

Step 2: Design & Templates

SOFTWARE:
This is my first project designed in Fusion 360. The interface takes some getting used to- it feels more like a web page than it does a CAD program, but once you get past
the "Home" interface and start working, it's a remarkably simple program that has very advanced capabilities. Also, it's FREE if you sign up as an enthusiast! If you want
to use it for professional purposes, it's only $40 per month.
When you open the file, you'll notice there are a lot of "sketches" plus the 3D parts. I used multiple sketches to design and alter the parts, then when I was satisfied with
the design, I created new sketches derived from the finished parts to make the templates- to do this, you just click "create sketch" and select the face of the 3D part you
want to make a template of, and there's your template!
I designed the chair so that no part was wider than 5 1/2", that way I could cut all the pieces out of 2X6 lumber.
WORKSHOP:
Having created my templates with a 5 1/2" wide box around the parts (that's the actual width of a 2X6 member), I had a local copy shop print them for around $5. Then
simply cut the templates out and spray-glue them to the lumber.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

File Downloads

Lace Up Layouts-PLOT.pdf (95 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Lace Up Layouts-PLOT.pdf']

Lace-Up Chair.f3d (1 MB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Lace-Up Chair.f3d']

Step 3: Cut Out the Pieces

The quickest way to cut the pieces out is with a jigsaw. There are far more accurate ways to do it, especially on the straight cuts where a circular saw would be more
reliable, but if you want to do these kinds of projects and don't want to break the bank, a jigsaw should be the first tool you buy.
I added crosshairs at the center of each circle (the eyelets) so that I could easily find the center with the drill bit. The eyelet holes are 3/4" and the center holes for the
cross-dowels are 1/2" .
A good trick for cutting tight curves is to add perpendicular cuts to the curve- that way the jigsaw won't bind.
Make sure to go slow and steady with the jigsaw, always keep the base flush on the face of the wood, and be mindful of which side of the line you're trying to cut. With a
little practice you can produce good results.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

Step 4: Join & Glue the Parts

Joining:
I decided to use dowel pins to join the parts of the chair because they're easy to find and they don't require a lot of fancy tools. You could also use biscuits with a biscuit
joiner, or you could do dovetail joints if you want to get really fancy.
I used a doweling jig to drill the dowel pin holes: this handy tool gives you perfectly centered, perfectly plumb holes every time.
The blue tape you see on the drill bit is my marker for the depth of the hole.
Once the holes are drilled, glue the holes and tap the parts together with a rubber mallet. You can glue the surfaces that touch as well, but remember that end grain
doesn't glue structurally. This is why you need dowel pins in the first place.
Gluing
Once your parts are tapped together, use the bar clamps to make sure the parts glue together snugly. I also clamped them to the work table to make sure they were flush
in both dimensions.
OPTIONAL: You'll notice in the photos here that all the parts have smooth edges. I used the table router with a 1/4" fillet bit to get nice rounded edges, but you can do
this with a more hand-crafted result with a palm sander.

Image Notes
1. make sure your drill bit is slightly smaller in diameter than your dowels to ensure
a snug fit

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

Image Notes
1. use a doweling jig for perfectly plumb holes

Step 5: Cross-Dowels
The structure of this chair basically has two parts:
1. A rope in tension.
2. Three Cross-Dowels in compression.
The 1/2" holes are placed on the sides of the chair so that the 1 1/4" dowels will be held in place while the rope is laced up. Just like in the other parts, it's important to
make sure the dowel holes are centered and plumb. Here's how I did that:
Use the Center Finder to get the exact center line of the 1 1/4" dowel. Next, use the Doweling Jig and line it up with the center line you just marked. You can't go wrong!
As before, glue the hole and tap in the Dowel Pin. Then tap the sides of the chair together using a rubber mallet as before. I didn't glue the holes on the sides of the chair
in case I want to break the whole thing down later and pack it up.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

Image Notes
1. Center Finder

Image Notes
1. Doweling Jig

Step 6: Lace it Up
As I mentioned, the rope creates the opposing tension that holds the chair together. To get the rope tight without using a turnbuckle or some other kind of hardware, use
a Trucker's Hitch. This diagram clearly shows how to tie one.
First, tie a knot in the end of the 100' rope. Then starting from the top, lace the rope through each eyelet from side to side. It's basically like straight-lacing a tennis shoe.
The last eyelet gets a short loop with a knot at the end, taking the place of the "anchor eye bolt" in the Trucker's Hitch diagram. Tie a loop in the end of the 100' rope as
close as you can to the last eyelet. Pull the end through the end loop and the loop in the rope- this gives you the leverage you need to get the rope tight.
At this point, you're fine tuning the rope:
1. Sit in the chair, let the ropes stretch a bit.
2. Tighten the rope by hand.
3. Tighten the trucker's hitch.
4. Repeat until comfortably tight.
Once the ropes have a comfortable resting tightness, neatly tie the end of the rope at the trucker's hitch and trim it to get it out of the way.

Image Notes
1. Tie a knot in the end of the 100' rope

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

Image Notes
1. Lace it through, one eyelet at a time

Image Notes
1. Get the rope as tight as you can by hand

Image Notes
1. Loop with knotted end through the last open hole.

Step 7: Sit Down

It's a comfortable posture for a lounge chair, and the ropes make for a nice sitting surface. The dowel at the seat back digs into your back though- definitely consider
placing that further down or further back in your version.
It didn't last long because of my poor choice of wood- it finally failed at the eyelets on the seat. With harder wood (or plywood for that matter), this will make for a nice
chair.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

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Comments
3 comments

Add Comment

turtleson says:

Aug 7, 2014. 6:19 PM REPLY

epic! btw please vote for me, this is my first instruct able. http://www.instructables.com/id/Strip-A-Wire-Life-Hack/

JON-A-TRON says:

Aug 7, 2014. 5:14 PM REPLY

I was also inspired by this awesome Rubber Hose Chair by Wholman: http://www.instructables.com/id/Rubber-Hose-Chair/
He does such cool projects.

CobyUnger says:
Dude, you are so cool.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lace-Up-Chair/

Aug 7, 2014. 11:24 AM REPLY