When building a ladder-back rustic chair you must first look at it as a functional piece of funiture. After this, you can think about its artistic appeal, which develops from your arrangement of natural materials which have varying degrees of texture, colour, and natural beauty.
First and foremost, you must think about the chairs ability to handle the load it will carry, and the strength of material you will have to use.
The ladder-back design gets its strength from using one continuous piece of wood which forms the back legs and the back rest of the chair. This material must be prepared properly to ensure it maintains its strength.
I have suggested certain materials for you to use for the following process in my article on 'How to Prepare Wood'. Keep in mind that when you are using softwood, the diameter of your material must be larger than if you are using hard wood, to insure its strength.
The ladder-back is my preferred design in chairs because of it's strength and the flexiblity in choices of seats and back rests that can be used. Its strength comes from two parallel pieces which are connected by cross-pieces.
The parallel pieces form the back legs and support the back rest, while the connecting cross-pieces hold the back of the seat and support and help form the back rest itself. When constructed this chair resembles a ladder. Hence the name, ladder-back chair.
The first piece to be assembled is the ladder. You must first decide on the overall height of your chair. I find that 38 inches is a good overall height.
You must then decide on the type of seat and back that will be used on your chair. If you are going to use a solid piece of wood for the seat, then you must decide on what type.
If you are using softwood, I would suggest using at least a 1 1/4 inch thick piece of wood. If you are using hard wood, I would suggest its thickness to be 3/4 inch. If you are using wood to form the back rest, I would suggest its thickness to be 3/4 inch in softwood or 1/2 inch in hardwood.
The backrest can also be made using rungs, the vertical crosspieces, made of rustic materials. It can also be meshed, much like a snowshoe, using string or mesh. There are many different types of materials, or combinations of materials, which can be used to form the seat and backrest of the chair.
Once you have selected the material for the chair, cut two pieces to form the uprights of the ladder, at the proper length. Draw a straight line on each upright using a straight edge from one end to the other, at the center.
Place the pieces parallel to each other, on a flat surface, with one end up against a stop. This can be achieved by placing the pieces on the floor with one end against the wall.
Using a two foot square area, place the first piece at a 90 degree angle to the stop and go by the lines drawn on the piece earlier.
The second piece must be placed parallel to the first at whatever width you wish the back of your chair to be. I would suggest 14 inches and always use the straight lines drawn earlier to make your measurements.
You must now decide where to place the diagonal pieces in your ladder to complete this section of your chair. A piece must be placed at the bottom about four inches from the stop. Place a mark on the straight line, on both uprights, at this distance from the stop.
Then place a mark on the inside of each upright, in line with the first mark, and in the center of the inside of the upright. Next, measure the distance from each mark on the straight line of the upright. Cut a piece of material at this length to use as the bottom cross piece and be sure to mark it so that its place may be identified during assembly.
The next diagonal will support the seat. I would suggest placing the seat at 19 inches, although it is best to determine whatever height is comfortable for you to use. To figure out where to place this piece you must descide what type of seat you will be using.
When using a wooden seat you must take into consideration the thickness of the seat, as well as the diameter of the hole drilled into the upright to hold the diagonal supporting the seat.
For example, if the seat will be 1 1/4inches thick, then this must be taken off the height you established for the seat earlier. If the hole in the upright will be 1 inch, then half that (1/2inch) must also be taken from the overall height.
If you are using 19 inches for your overall seat height, then using this example, the height of the second diagonal will be 17 1/4 inches. If you are going to lash the seat, like a snowshoe is built, or using a cloth like material, then you must consider the size of the hole to be drilled into the upright for the diagonal.
In the example given earlier, only the one inch hole in the upright must be considered. Therefore, the height of this mark will be 18 1/2 inches from the stop. Once the height has been established, measure up this distance from the stop and place a mark on the straight line drawn on the uprights.
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