kojotutorial: reading chair made from two wooden palettes (part 2)

Allright, friends! It's time for the second installment of Build A Chair Using Palettes. In part 1, we built the platform of the chair/reading nook. Today, we'll be attaching the sides of the chair and painting it!

For this second part of the chair building, you'll need:
-a wooden palette (if you already collected two for part 1, this part will use your second palette)
-two pieces of scrap 2x4 at least the length of each of your 'chair' sides
-a sander (I used an orbital sander, but any will do... you could even hand sand if you were really into manual labor)
-circular saw
-crow bar or reciprocating saw (to pry planks of wood off of the palette)
-nails

1. Sand down all of the planks of wood on the top and bottom of the palette. For me, that was eighteen planks of wood. If you have more or less slats, adjust accordingly.

2. Using a circular saw, cut each piece of wood on one side (either top or bottom) as close to the edges as possible, detaching it from the side framing.

3. Detach each plank of wood from the palette.  You can either use a crow bar to do this or, if you have a reciprocating saw, loosen the plank by pressing on either end. Since the plank is only attached to the frame of the palette at the middle, rocking it back and forth (carefully!) will loosen those middle nails that are still holding the plank in place. Then place the blade of the reciprocating saw between the plank and the middle board of the palette (where it's still attached) and cut the nails that are holding the two together.

4. Repeat this entire process on the other side of the palette. You should now have at least eighteen planks of sanded wood that are the same size. If they vary in size, cut them to match.

5. Using nails, attach the planks of wood to the back of your 'chair' platform, with even spacing between the slats. Overlap the planks at the corner. Make sure the smooth, sanded side of each plank is facing toward the inside of the chair.

6. For stability, reinforce the top of the slats with your scrap of 2x4 running the entire length of the side. Attach to the planks with nails.

7. You're ready to paint!

Remember, this is part 2 of a 3 part series to make a reading nook using palettes. We're making this...

...stay tuned for the tutorial for making the cushion!
*Find part 1 of this series here.

ps- The finale for So You Think You're Crafty starts today! Head on over and vote!