Build to Made - DIY from a Dad

Here’s a Father’s Day idea using just one $15 2x10 board.

The wild part is that the entire Viking Chair design locks together using simple physics: no screws or hardware.

For the seat:
-Mark 12” from the bottom
-Measure in 1¾” from each edge
-Cut down toward the 12” line

For the back:
-Mark a slot around 12”–13 ¾”
-Drill starter holes
-Use a jigsaw to remove the center section

Then test fit, sand the edges, and taper the seat corners so they don’t dig into your legs.

Honestly way more comfortable than I expected. Would you actually use this?

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Before anyone asks 😅

This style of chair has been around for years under different names, including Viking chair, camp chair, bog chair, stargazer chair, one-board chair, and African birthing chair. Some early references include woodworking plans from Jeff's DIY Projects, Instructables builds, and even a January 1919 Popular Science article showing a "Comfortable Chair from a 12-Inch Board."

I'm not the inventor, just sharing a version with my attempt to build it.

This started as one of those ‘I’ll deal with it later’ homeowner problems…I originally dumped rocks and stepping stones back here years ago becuase the area got muddy. Terrible idea…and it actually made trash day worse. Tore it all out, compacted a proper base, poured concrete (with a little slope), and now the cans roll out clean every time. Weirdly satisfying. Fence still needs work though 😅