I’ve always like making these Viking, Celtic or stargazer chairs, it’s a simple pallet furniture project that doesn’t take long, doesn’t need serious skill and gives an excellent result when it’s done.
I’ve been thinking a while though about the fact that you need boards that are 12 inches wide or so ideally and the fact that good boards this wide aren’t cheap.
By laying and gluing the pallets strips cross ways on top of each other and applying glue, nails and pressure I’ve ended up with these substantial slabs of timber which are ideal for this purpose. The nail gun is a great help, but a regular hammer will be alright. The fact that the strips are approximately 4 inches wide is perfect.
I’ll start with the ‘T’ piece, the seat is about 11 inches wide or whatever the final width of your boards, depth is around 12 inches. You’ll cut the tongue so it’s 7 inches wide where it slots sits agains the chair and 6 where it rests on the ground, the cut near the seat needs to be angled, if you just do a 90-degree slot, it won’t be as comfortable.
The back piece is simple enough; I’m a fan of Gothic arches, so I do a Gothic arch, a curved or straight top also works well. Cut the slot about 11 inches up from the base, 7 inches wdith and at a 75-degree angle, experiment with drawings and holding the wood on top of each other, so you get a mental image of how it looks together.
You’ve almost done it and you’ve got a working chair, what you do to it know is down to you. I’m a big fan of Lichtenberg Figure etchings and glow in the dark so that’s what I do to them, go mad and put your spin on them!
