Ipe Adirondack Chairs

Ipe Adirondack Chairs are a great use of Ipe lumber, and well worth the extra effort. The wood is beautiful. It generates an exotic looking piece of outdoor ipe furniture that requires limited maintenance. It'll be a joy to use.

These Ipe Adirondack Chairs can be made from plans available over the Internet or found in woodworking books at your local library. Density of the ipe lumber will make the design even stronger. We do recommend the use of stainless steel screws for assembly. Detachable foot rests are a real benefit, as the wood is very heavy and this will make them more moveable.

Here's some advice from Charles Plesum in making ipe outdoor furniture...

Picture of Ipe Adirondack Chairs & other Ipe outdoor furniture provided by Plesum Custom Furniture

For finish, Charles suggests that he normally uses Cabots Australian Timber Oil (brushes it on as thin as possible, then wipes off the excess) . He finds this is the oil he has had the best luck with and typically lasts one year under Texan Sun. He found that other oils he experimented with, did not penetrate and washed off after one week.

That being said, another customer used the same product and suggested it washed off after 6 months... so experiment, and understand that every environment and application can be different.

Anchorseal, or other wax emulsion is recommended for end sealing. It "blocks" the oil, but also eliminates the need for the oil (at least for the first year). It is fairly easy to put on neatly (thick enough so it doesn't run), and dries clear, so looks fine."

Charle's experience suggests that "If the finish isn't restored promptly and the item starts to gray, the timber oil brings back much of the color without power washing." Here's another picture that he shared, as he works hard to do his annual recoating.

 

Each piece of Ipe wood patio furniture has its own personality as the individual colours of the ipe lumber you buy is reflected in the final finished work. I hope you have fun with your woodworking projects and send along your photos to include in our woodworking how-to database.