I'm not sure if a Stool is actually a "Tool" but for this exercise I am making it so. For a few years now I have been using an old Bar Stool in my workshop beside my laptop computer. I use the stool enough for zoom meeting and just Internet browsing for information that it has become a mainstay in my workshop.
One of the features of this old stool is that it has some lower rungs that I sometimes try to stand on to reach things high up in my shop, like changing light bulbs or other audio wires or adjustments but never put full weight on the rungs as I don't trust them. What I need is a stool that can double as a small stepping stool as well ...
And so began the build .. from scratch, no plans (as usual) just a rough idea in my head what it should look like. I scribbled out some rough dimensions on my clip board and started cutting wood. Then I decided to make a non-working but full-size mockup of what this contraption should look like, just to see if the dimensions I was using would actually work ...
Not pretty, but it served the purpose .. held together with pocket hole screws (and yes a few of them cracked the wood) and thanks to hot melt glue, I was able to complete this part of the process.
I found a chunk of Beech that was part of another build, that I thought would be nice and strong and enough wood to make my project. The outside dimensions of the stool were to be 14 x 14 inches. The legs would be 3/4" x 2" x 29" and the only other dimension I needed to know was the height of each of built in steps, which was 8" on the top of the step of each one ... pretty easy measurements.
When I began cutting into the Beech, I found that it was spalted, with white spalting. I looked quite nice with the white spalting, not outstanding but unique enough I wanted to save that contrast feature. Spalting is caused by wood rot, so I did have some fear that the wood might be soft, but indeed it was still very hard as I discovered when cutting it with the table saw and was impossible to to easily break, so I determined that even with a bit of spalting this wood was more the strong enough for the project.
And naturally I used dowels because I wanted a very strong structure, and something that would easily hold my weight for those times I would need to use the step stool function for changing light bulbs or other adjustments up near the ceiling. I have a low ceiling in my shop but not low enough I can reach standing ont he floor, I still need a step or two depending on what I am doing.
I decided near the end to add some antiskid pands to the steps just to make sure my shoes have a good solid base and the package came with 2 strips, which I could cut in half and double up on each step.
In terms of finishing, as I mentioned in the video, I ended up using Osmo on the steps because they won't change, but I did some testing on the legs and cross members that were spalted Beech and I found that no matter what I used the finish darkened the spalted area quite a bit more than the wood areas which of course reduces the contrast between them .. something I wanted to perseve. In the end I decide to NOT finish the uprights and cross members for now and let the wood age and darken naturally with exposure of the tanin in the wood, which makes the wood darken as it oxidizes. My hope is that in a year or so when the wood darkens a bit more I could apply a finish then, and I kept a few spare pieces for testing in a year ... maybe another video then.
So far I have only used the stool for sitting and browsing for information online, it is super comfortable and will perfect for zoom meetings. I have not used the stepping function yet, except for testing but it's solid and even the higher step is more than enough for me to reach the higher levels that I rarely need to get at. The main function is sitting with periodic stepping ... a great asset to my shop, fun to build and functional.
Copyright Colin Knecht
woodworkweb
- - Taylor Tools Affiliate Store - https://lddy.no/18zkg
