In the summer of 1998, I was part of a great crew of construction workers who tore out two ski area chairlifts and built three new ones. One of the chairlifts replaced was the famous "Gun Barrel" chair at Heavenly Ski Area.
My sister and I had been riding this chair since before we were two years old. In the spring of 2003 I was able to get my hands on one of the old chairlift chairs form Gun Barrel and turn it into a porch bench for my little sister’s birthday.
This project didn’t involve too much. I cut some 2 inch box tubing at the proper angles and welded these into two "U" shaped pieces. The two of these were welded onto the old chair lift chair. I didn’t like the length that the legs stood out so they were notched and bent in. Once the legs were in a position I liked I leveled the chair and cut a few inches off the bottom of the feet so that the chair would remain level. To keep the sharp edges of the open box tubing from scratching the Porch I welded on some quarter inch pads onto the bottom of the feet.
This was going to be a present for my sister, so I made it for her only by adding a cut out of her name on top of the chair.
I washed the whole thing down and gave it a fresh coat of Black gloss paint.
The best part about this project making something for my sister that she will keep forever. If you keep your eyes open you can find great deals on stuff; the total cost on this project was under $20.
Completed 6.12.03
