Prodution Jig for Deck Chair Slats

mongolith said:

I am in the process of making 6-8 deck chairs out of cedar for home use. I am duplicating an existing chair and part of the make up for the back and seats are the creation of 13 or so slats per chair. These are about 13 inches long and 3/4 in square and curved (Not an even arc) for comfort. I have successfully made a template of the slat and created samples that are exactly what I want. Now that I am beginning to make the real thing, I am deciding that template routing 100 or so parts by attaching the template to each blank with double sided tape. Anyone built a jig that uses clamping to create something like this? I am thinking something like, insert the square (rectangle) blank.... clamp the part to the template, route the pattern, flip the part, maybe into a new jig, route the other part....

Any ideas?

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Bob N said:

This sounds like a job for Template Tom. He is a member of this forum and a great teacher. When it comes to templates, he is the man.

Look him up in the members list and give him an email, he will be glad to help.

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template tom said:

Thanks Bob
Just logged in Yes making the slats are quite easy I will need some information re the length and the amount of curve you require.
You will require template guides and a straight cutter. Constructing a simple Jig holder to hold the matereial and a template to guide the cutter with the aid of the template guide. I will make up a detailed drawing and post it then others can see the results. Not all will agree with the method but it will be different to what most router users use

Tom

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mongolith said:

Thanks for the quick reply. I am uploading three pictures. The first shows the original chair back. The second shows from left to right: A reproduced slat, the template used to mock this up, a 12 inch rule. The overall part length is approx 13 inches. Takes about a 1 1/2 inch piece of 3/4 stock to create. The third picture shows the reproduced slat on its side.

Let me know what you think!

Thanks,

Drake


UPDATE: Having trouble uploading, will email the pictures to you offline (And to anyone else that is interested)

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