When I told my husband we were going to make patio chairs instead of buy them - he thought I was crazy!
I started looking for chairs during the tail end of the pandemic’s stay-at-home order, but after looking for something that was a nice quality yet reasonably priced, we soon realized the options just weren’t there. In my 20’s, I had made a dining room table when I could really afford anything nice! Man I loved that table! So I decided to google DIY patio chairs and found your site! OH. MY. GOODNESS. I want to make all the things. In addition to these beauties, we’ve also made counter height garden boxes, and are getting ready to start on the Farmhouse Potting Bench. Your videos are great - and make everything look incredibly easy. I stained and polyurethanes before assembly, but in hindsight might have opted to wait until the end! All accessories, including cushions are from at home. Make these chairs! You will love them!!
I presaged wood with a pre-stain, then did one coat of stain (wipes down so it wasn’t so dark), and two coats of Varnish. I sanded prior to staining, and in between varnishes. We made two chairs at the same time - so stained roughly 50 boards - which was the most time consuming part as the varnish takes the longest. It is helpful to have this on a tall surface for assembly