Sunday, January 26, 2014

Stool Build - Complete

After the first day, I spent a couple hours cleaning up everything, and applying a final coat of Dick wax to the legs and a coat of beeswax to the seat.


Trimming the legs in the seat.

A final scrape before finish.

Working on the stretchers.  I forgot to mention that the through-dowels were used instead of my intended mortise and tenon stretchers to save a bit of time.  I'm glad I did.
The through dowels were a design modification I decided to incorporate part way through the build.  I could see that processing rough stock to appropriate dimensions, cutting and fitting tenons and pounding mortices (considering the noise-making stipulations in our building), was a lot to expect for this one-day build.

I realized I had some store-bought 16mm beech dowels that would work perfectly with a 5/8" hole drilled with my brace.  No shoulders, no nothing else.  Just glue and a wedge, easy peasy.  We'll see over time if this joint is strong enough.  Had I all the time in the world, I would prefer drawbored tenons for this step, but I totally leapfrogged all of the time required for that joint in using the dowels instead.
Final trim on the stretchers.  After trying other tools, I decided the best tool for the job is a chisel.

This is a three-in-one shop appliance.  Besides sitting on it, it makes a fine extension to my sawbench...
And my tool chest.
Behold:  Stoolerable!
Thanks to Flair Woodworks for organizing this build.  It was a total blast!

View the rest of my Stoolerable build here.

18 comments:

  1. That is such an elegant stool you have made there. I doubt SWMBO will let you keep it in the workshop.
    Brgds
    Jonas

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    1. Luckily, she says it is uncomfortable. Good thing I custom made it for MY bum!

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  2. Brian, awesome job man!! I love it. Congrats sir I especially like how you made the legs octagonal with you moxon vise. One of those is high on my list of shop tools.

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    1. Thanks, Charlie! It was a blast to make. Score one for no plans.

      The Moxon worked perfectly as a joiner's saddle. I look forward to experimenting more with this tool. I have intended for years to make one with wooden screws, but haven't done it yet. The Benchrafted hardware is superb, and is well worth the money.

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  3. I've heard that about Benchcrafted hardware from several others as well. I definitely need to take the plunge. Sorry you had to work this weekend. Back to my drawer build.

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  4. Nice! How cool to have something to show for all that hard work!

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  5. That's a perfect stool for your project! I like the "saw horse" idea! Cool.

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    1. Thanks Mom! There was really no way I could justify having a new shop stool in my shop. In fact, a year ago or so, I threw away the one I had, which was made of plastic and aluminum tubing from IKEA. This one is approximately the same dimensions, but takes up a lot less space. And, since I can use it for at least two other tasks, I think it is something I'll enjoy having around moreso than the old one.

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  6. Very good job, I love using things on hand to aid layout for the saw bench height, and LASERS that just makes the whole thing more awesome...

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    1. It's funny about the laser. I wouldn't really recommend it for building furniture. Although it is awesome for DIY home renovation projects and hanging pictures, for this it was a bit course. The line was probably at least 3/16" thick, and after doing my best to trace that red line freehand, the result was a pretty wobbly layout line. Amazingly enough, after estimating the center of the line and committing to the cut, the stool only wobbled a little bit. Three or four swipes on the shooting board for the longest leg and it sits perfectly with no wobble!

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  7. Well done Brian! Nice touches and features all around - I liked the multi-functional aspects of the stool to function as a workbench or toolbox extension when necessary.

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    1. Thanks, Ned! Those two things were some biggies for me. I've been contemplating making a second sawbench for a long time, knowing I need one but wondering where to put it. This hopefully will solve the problem.

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  8. Very nice Brian, I like that you made it a multi-purpose stool. If you use dowels again for stretchers and are concerned about the joint integrity, try tapering them slightly from the outside of the leg. When you drive the wedges this will allow the dowel to flare out making for a very strong joint.

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    1. Thanks, Ray!

      Nice tip. That sounds WAY easier than tapering the mortise. I never would have thought of that.

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