Free DIY Furniture Plans to Build a Francine Dining Chair, the materials listed are to construct ONE chair. Last week we covered the matching bench which pairs perfectly with this chair and the table (coming soon)… yahoo… Xx… Rayan
As with all of our plans, you are building at your own risk and you should have a firm understanding of building in general before you attempt many of our plans (some are easy as pie and perfect for beginners). With that, go forth, have fun, take lots of pictures and share them in a showcase on the site or on social media with the hashtag #builtTDCtuff and we will share our faves! Be sure to tag @thedesignconfidential on Instagram / FB and @thedesconf on Twitter / Pinterest. If you are a blogger and you post about your build, don’t forget to include a link to your post on your showcase here. Don’t forget… for all of our newer plans, clicking on the images will let them expand to enormous sizes with much greater clarity. The older plans may need updating so please let us know if you need one fixed!
Under $25
- Tape Measure
- Saw – Jig Saw, Circular, Table, or Miter Saw
- Drill
- Multi-Square and Carpenter’s Square
- Sander
- Kreg Jig – if you build frequently, invest in this one.
- Nail Gun
- 1 – 1×2 at 4’
- 2 – 1×3 at 8’
- 1 – 2×2 at 4’
- 1 – 2×4 at 8’
- 1 – 2’ x 2’ sheet of ¾” plywood
- 2 – 2×4 at 42” – Back Legs
- 7 – 1×3 at 16” – Back Slats & Stretcher, Front Stretcher
- 2 – 2×2 at 17-1/4” – Front Legs
- 2 – 1×3 at 17-1/2” – Side Stretchers
- 2 – 1×2 at 18-1/2” – Lower Stretchers
- 1 – ¾” plywood at 19” x 20-1/2” – Seat
Before beginning to build, always check in on my site to make sure you have the most up to date set of plans, I occasionally update and change the plans to make the building process easier or to allow for less expensive purchasing of materials! Read through the entire set of instructions and all comments before beginning this project. If you print out or save plans, be sure to check in on my site to be sure you have the most up to date set of plans, as I occasionally update things for ease of building or buying. If you are new to building, read through the GETTING STARTED section and other articles found under the BUILD tab in the menu on my site, it has valuable information about how to get started, tools and techniques. If you are unfamiliar with the finishing process, visit my Finishing school for some tips and tricks for painting like a pro and for special finishing practices. Use glue to secure your joints and Consider Painting or Staining individual sections prior to assembling. This makes the paint application virtually flawless. Coat with a spray on Poly or Wipe on Poly to protect your finish and your piece and it will last for ages. Adhere to all safety standards and guidelines, and be sure you follow safety protocol throughout your build. If you are unsure about whether you are building safely, run a quick online search for the tool or technique you are using, or contact me via email or post to the forum before you move ahead. My contact info can be found in the menu of my site.
Cut the 2×4 pieces for the back legs. Draw the back legs on the board as shown with the center 6-1/2” portion remaining straight. Cut one leg out using a jigsaw or a bandsaw. Trace this leg onto the other board and cut it out as well. Clamp the legs together and “gang sand” them so they will be virtually identical!
Cut the pieces for the back slats as well as the front and back stretchers. Set the Kreg jig for ¾” material and drill pocket holes in each end. Following the curve of the upper back legs and with 2” spacing between them, secure the slats using glue and 1-1/4” pocket hole screws.
Position the back stretcher on the legs as shown, then secure using glue and 1-1/4” pocket hole screws.
Cut the pieces for the front legs. Draw the angle as shown, then cut using a jigsaw or bandsaw. Secure the front stretcher to the legs (with the outside face flush with the outside face of the legs – the angle will face in) using glue and 1-1/4” pocket hole screws.
Cut the pieces for the stretchers and drill pocket holes in each end. Attach to the legs as shown using glue and 1-1/4” pocket hole screws.
Cut the pieces for the lower stretchers. Cut the angle as shown, then drill pocket holes in each end. Note that there will be a right and a left piece. Attach to the legs as shown using glue and 1-1/4” pocket hole screws.
Cut the piece for the seat and cut the notches as shown. Apply edge banding, if desired. Position on the chair frame, then secure using glue and 1-1/4” brad nails.
Fill any Screw, Nail or Pocket Holes, Sand and Finish as Desired. For Finishing Tips and Tricks visit my Finishing School
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Love your site and can’t wait to leverage your plans to build my dining chairs.
Question; what type of would you recommend for this project? I plan on staining it, you mention 2×4 and around where I live I can’t easily source oak 2×4
Yahoo! So you have a few options here… 1. you can purchase specialty wood species in dimensional lumber sizes online. it is obviously more expensive, but will accommodate just about any type of wood your heart desires. 2. you can opt to use douglas fir or white boards and you should have a far easier time staining than if you were using pine. 3. you can piece together dimensional lumber sizes using various boards in the species you prefer. for example – 2 – 1×4’s equal a 2×4. you would simply glue and clamp together until they are one unit!
I build quite a few pine chairs and a few things I do and don’t do..
Use yellow pine if at all possible. It’s far stronger than regular white pine and heavier with much more interesting grain patterns.
Don’t use pocket screws for chair construction. They’re going to strip out and your chair will likely fall apart. Instead invest in a good dowel jig or what I use, a Stanley #59 dowel jig. You can get them on ebay for around $10 and use 3/8″ dowel, preferably long dowel rods you can cut to size and they come in several varieties of wood. I typically use oak dowel and cut to 1 1/2″ pieces which means 3/4″ for either side of the joint.
If you can afford it get your hands on a bandsaw to cut the back legs with a 5° offset angle for the rear legs and back rest.
Clamps! Lots of Harbor Freight bar clamps or the aluminum ones, minimum of 18″ in length.
A few other tools to make life easier and your chairs to look better, a good quality Stanley #4 smoothing plane , a decent spoke shave, a GOOD QUALITY combination square and tape measure, A good hand drill and good sharp brad point bits and a GREAT buy for sandpaper is from Klingspor. They sell whole rolls of different grits in one 10 or 20 pound box which will likely last you the rest of your natural born life and it’s very high quality sandpaper. One other handy tool is a good quality large sanding drum if you can afford one or you can make your own.
I can build a very high quality chair in a little under 2 days..
Good luck with your new chairs!
Just in case you’re wondering, I typically build my chairs from 1 single 10 foot 2×8 yellow pine board and look for the straitest, most knot free boards you can possibly get your hands on. Yellow pine is usually located at stores like big blue and big orange towards the rear of the lumber department. They’re those big, heavy boards similar to the treated boards, but DON’T use treated lumber for indoor furniture…too much poison in it.. same goes for pallet lumber..too risky for toxins.