Body-contoured Pallet Chaise Lounger

I built this Body-Contoured Pallet Chaise Lounger by adapting a design I found online that looked really cool. The design intrigued me, and making wheels from wood really was an exciting challenge for me. I’m happy with my work, and this was a fun project to work through. I had to adjust and constantly adapt to the materials I had on hand as I recently lost my job and am on a very tight budget. I made the slats, wheels, supports, and a curved brace from pallet deck boards I got recently.

Curved base:

The long side rails of the frame were leftover material from a house renovation job site up the road. I made the curved braces for the slats first, as I thought it would be my biggest hurdle. I attached two boards to create a 2×8″ board width to allow for the extra curve below the knee area of the bench. Then, I made my template using a cardboard box that I flattened and drew a grid on to get it right. I transferred to the wood and cut with a jigsaw. Then, I butt-joined the sides with the end pieces and secured the frame together with screws.  I butt-joined two scrap pieces of deck boards and formed the legs, tapering them down for a bit of elegance. Finally, I attached them from the inside to the frame with screws.

The wheels:

First, I had to decide the size of the wheels I wanted. This was accomplished by using a piece of cardboard, a pencil, and a string. I held the string in the middle of the board, and the other end was tied to my pencil. I adjusted it until I decided the size I liked, and then quickly drew out a neat circle. Next, I cut 18 pieces of deck boards just a little larger than the disc. I then cut with a jigsaw. I made a jig and held them in place with a nail circle and glued them together. Next, I added some short pieces to reinforce where the headrest support boards were to be mounted to the frame and support the wheels.

The headboard and Finishing:

I pre-drilled the headboard support slats and made a mistake. I neglected to realize that the slats for the head end needed to be drilled/screwed at different measurements to those at the bottom. So, I had to re-drill for the head end. That was another learning process. I had to cut four pieces to create the headboard portion – two to hold the slat boards and two more as the support beams. Then, I used more deck boards to cover the top surface of the chaise, securing with screws. I sanded and sanded and sanded some more. Then, I sanded some more! Finally, I then applied a coat of clear varnish, sanded, and applied another. My wife really likes it, and that’s what counts, isn’t it?