Katie asked me if I could make two little stools, based on the one she already had. She also pointed me to a plan for them online. As always, well almost always, I created a 3D model of the stool from the plan, along with a few corrections and “improvements.” From the SketchUp model, I also produced dimensioned drawings and a full sized template for the stool sides. Conveniently, the template fit on a single sheet of paper.
After building the first two with square, mortised stretchers between the sides, I updated my SketchUp design to use round dowels for stretchers. This simplified construction, which came in handy when I learned that Megan might like one, too! So I made another one for Megan, and one for Makayla at the same time.
From the big smiles on the little ones’ faces as they sat on these kid-sized stools, I bet more of them will be coming out of the Marietta Wood Works workshop!
Some maple boards from the inventory in the barn
Roughing out a full size pattern for the sides from the printed template
Cutting blanks for enough sides to make the first two stools
Roughing out the sides on the bandsaw
A couple of strips of XFasten woodworking double-sided tape (thanks again, Emily and Lucas!) stuck the pattern to each blank for refining with a flush trim bit on the router table
Mortising square holes for the square stretchers of the initial design
Two pair of sides mortised and ready for the next steps
All edges were eased with an 1/8″ roundover bit on the router table
Dry fit of the sides and stretchers
Two pair of sides and stretchers assembled
Test fitting the setup for the seat slats
Cutting half laps on the seat slats using a tenoning jig on the tablesaw
Seat slats spaced evenly and holes transferred to the sides
Two stool subassemblies ready for backs
Roughing the full radius on the back arms that will be refined on the oscillating belt sander
One of the fussiest parts of this build was fitting the back subassembly to the seat subassembly without gaps
A piece of plywood temporarily clamped to the back arms assisted with positioning the back properly for drilling
The first two Katie’s Little Stools, done and ready for the little ones
Heating up the Marietta Wood Works branding iron
The MWW brand on the bottom of one of the seat slats
Updated design with round dowel stretchers
One pair of sides and stretchers assembled
Counterboring with a Forstner bit for the round stretchers was a lot quicker than setting up the dedicated mortiser
Two seat subassemblies ready for backs
The second pair of Katie’s Little Stools to come out of the Marietta Wood Works workshop
