Franklin Chair from Plywood?

[John Hays]

My wife wants a library chair/ladder (aka Franklin Chair) for her home office and doesn't want to spend $400+ on one. She says it doesn't have to be pretty, just functional, so I thought the cheapest and easiest way to build her one would be to use 3/4" ply.

Would ply work for such a design and would it be strong enough to support an average person's weight?

[Dan Blackshear]

Take a scrap piece of 3/4 ply approx 5" wide by 15" long and span it across a couple blocks and stand on it. Then you can decide if it's strong enough. I'd wager probably not unless you reinforce it.

If it was me I'd probably use 2-by lumber from the box store. If you pick your boards carefully and have the means to make them flat and square, I imagine you could make a chair-ladder that would be both attractive and sturdy for not too much $$.

[David C. Roseman]

If you are comfortable making dado or rabbet cuts at an angle to fit the slope of the ladder, you can reinforce the front and back edges of the plywood steps by edge-banding with 3/4 or 4/4 hardwood. Would also dress up the construction. Where the steps mate to the frame, I would provide mechanical support beyond simple dado joints. E.g., with brads, dowels, biscuits, Kreg pocket screws, or even glue blocks on the bottom.

I know your wife said nothing fancy, but this can be nice looking piece without a lot of effort!

David

[mike holden]

In my experience, when the wife says "it doesn't have to be pretty" it means she wants it quickly. Nothing to do with the looks at all.
DAMHIKT
Mike

[Jim Becker]

If you used higher-quality multi-ply material, such as baltic birch or similar, you can turn the plywood "edge" look into a feature, rather than a deficiency. The plywood will be just as strong, if not stronger than solid stock due to the way that the layers have grain going in opposite directions.

[John Hays]

Thanks for the replies everyone, but now she decided it has to be made with oak or maple. So I told her that she has to take the one hour trip with me to the nearest lumber yard and watch me pick out a few decent boards for it.

[David C. Roseman]

Thanks for the replies everyone, but now she decided it has to be made with oak or maple. So I told her that she has to take the one hour trip with me to the nearest lumber yard and watch me pick out a few decent boards for it.

Bear in mind this will likely mean stopping for a nice lunch or dinner.

David