The sides of the outdoor slat chair (Workshop project, HANDY Magazine, August/September 2011) are routed using a pattern bit guided against a 1/4-in.-thick plywood template. We’ve provided a full size template in a PDF file (link below). If you have access to a copy center with a large-format printer, you can download the PDF, send or take it to the copy center and have it printed. The printing instructions appear on the PDF file. It cost me $7 to print the pattern full-size — well worth the minor expense.

To mount the printout on a 1/4-in.-thick x 36-in.-square piece of hardwood plywood, first apply a light coat of spray adhesive to the paper pattern and to the face of the plywood. Let both pieces dry. Cut a 36-in.-square piece of cardboard or poster board. Lay the cardboard on the plywood and the printout on the cardboard. (The dried adhesive won’t stick to the cardboard.) Slowly pull the cardboard out and press the pattern onto the plywood. The two surfaces with the dried adhesive will stick to each other.

Once you’ve transferred the pattern to the plywood, drill a starter hole for the handhold. Using a jigsaw, carefully cut out that opening and the shape of the sides; then sand the sawn edges smooth. Take your time — your chair sides will only be as good as your template.

Click here for the pdf of the chair side pattern.