How to make a kneeling chair

The kneeling chair saves your back if you have a job that requires a lot of sitting or you just have a bad lower back. The kneeling chair is meant to reduce lower back strain by dividing the burden of the weight between the knees and the buttocks. A proper kneeling chair creates the open body angle by lowering the angle of the lower body, keeping the spine in alignment and the sitter properly positioned to task. In a proper kneeling chair, some of the weight bears on the shins, not the knees, but the primary function of the shin rests (knee rests) are to keep one from falling forward out of the chair and most of the weight remains on the buttocks. Everybody who have tried this kind of chair will tell you that it provides a significant relief for your back.

Because kneeling chair is not a typical piece of furniture we will show you how to use it in the video below.

After this introduction we can all agree that the kneeling chair can really help your back but when you see the price of this chair then your head starts to spin. The simpliest kneeling chair cost around 100$ and they go up to two thousand but in this article we will show you how to make your own kneeling chair. We will explain you how to make the simple model but you can always play and add some tweaks to it.

We recommend using oak, walnut, cherry or maple wood for this project but don’t use pine because it is not strong enough. We will start with the main frame (on the picture below) and for that part you will need one 5×5 cm plank 49 cm long, two 3×5 cm planks 60 cm long and one 3×5 cm plank 16 cm long.

Glue the three pieces together with Wood Glue like in the picture below and leave in to dry at least 12 hours. Always use Clamps when joining pieces of wood because they ensures that the glue will properly apply. After that polish the wood with Sandpaper or Orbit Sander. You can try to carve and chisel the main frame from one piece of wood but that is the job for experienced woodworker. The finishing touch on the end part of the main frame is also just for visual effect.

When you finished with gluing and polishing it is time to attach the upper plank like in the picture below. Use the Drill/Driver to drill four holes and attach the plank with four 3 inch wood screws and the main frame is completed.

The next step is to make a “T” shape part which will be the back leg of your chair. For this part you will need one 5×5 cm plank 49 cm long and one 3×5 cm plank 75 cm long. Also you will need to drill four holes on this piece like in the picture below.

When attaching this pieces you can use wood screws but it is best to make square mortise and tenon joint. If you don’t have expensive woodworking tools you can make the holes with the Drill in the shape of the hole and then you can make the hole (mortise) with Chisel and Hammer like in the picture below. The tenon part is best cut with Jig Saw but you can use the Plain Saw as well. After joint is completed put some glue on the tenon, put the tenon into the mortise and leave it to dry for at least 12 hours.

To complete the construction we must make the sprout that strengthen entire construction. For that you will need one 5×5 cm plank 37 cm long. One part has to be round and the other must be cut at 45 degrees angle. Also you must make two holes in it like in the picture below.

We are now done with the construction and it can be assembled. Now we have to make the two seats. You will need two planks, one 50×26 cm and 2 cm thick and the other 41×31 cm also 2 cm thick. You have to shape them something like in the picture below. You can play with the shape but you must make the round slots on both because otherwise they won’t fit on the construction.

On the base of the seats you must attach the bearers like in the picture below so that the seating can be properly attached to the construction. Attach the bearers with 3 2 Inch Wood Screws. Also, cut two pieces of sponge 5 cm thick in shape of the seats. You can use sponge from an old sofa or chair, you don’t have to buy new sponge.

All we have to do now is to upholster the seats. You can use old fabric from an old sofa or chair, you don’t have to buy new fabric. Just cut square piece of fabric 20 longer and wider than the seat.

Attach the fabric with Upholstery Nails. Put one nail at least every two centimetres. You can use the hammer for the nails or you can use the Upholstery Stapler.

Just cut the excess fabric with the scalpel and the seats are done. Now attach the seats to the construction and your new kneeling chair is finished.