Shaker Step Stool

Yeah, I Know; boring title for a philosophical, high-brow, artsy-fartsy type of woodworking blog post.

Good thing this isn’t one of those.

It turns out that if you want people to read the non-sensical, non-sequitur type of tripe that I regularly dole out here you have to have some type of title that people may actually search for.  And, believe it or not, I searched high and low for the type of design I wanted to use to build one of these quaint, understated little pieces of furniture.

I knew I had seen a dovetailed version of this stool somewhere, but I’ll be darned if I can find it.  So, as most amateurs like me say: “hey, I can design that”.

I’ve been itching to find something to practice hand-cut dovetails on, and the opportunity came up to build this, but I had no idea how to pull it off.  Which leads me to an important rediscovery: Google Sketchup.

I fooled around with this interesting drafting program several years ago, and it came in handy for finding the proper proportions for this stool.

 

If you’re new to Sketchup, just download the free version and take the tutorials.  Much simpler than AutoCAD, but with less functionality with the free version.

Anyway, the dovetails went well enough.  On the next one, I think I’ll make the aprons with through mortise-and-tenons.  That would look better and also preclude the use of pocket screws (so uncivilized).

I’m finally getting back to working in the shop.  I’ve been away for awhile, tending to the more mundane, but necessary, tasks associated with everyday, middle-class life.

Also, I finally cut some wood last year.  I made the mistake of not cutting anything the year before, and boy, did I pay for it.  I ran low on lumber and was really kicking myself for it.  What?  They sell it you say?  Bite your tongue.

I now, as you’ll soon see, have too much lumber.  O.K., no such thing.  But I am having trouble navigating my small and rather packed woodshop.  It’s alright; that’s a good problem to have.

Check out the pics of the stool and let me know what you think.  Wordpress changed some things since I last posted and I’m not quite sure I have the hang of it.