Folding Stool | Popular Woodworking Magazine

This easy mission constituted of two items of dimensional pine may help remedy seating shortages at your subsequent gathering – and it folds neatly away for the subsequent get-together.

All you want is a 4′ 1×8, an 8′ 1×4, some 3⁄8″ x 1-1⁄4″ bolts and three⁄8″ nuts and washers, and a primary set of instruments – all from the house heart.

Legs First

Begin by marking a centerline alongside the size of the 1×4, then rip it in half for the legs, seat cleats, deal with and brace.

This reduce is a fast and simple process for a desk noticed, nevertheless, the jigsaw can do the job, too. Set the jigsaw blade for no orbit (for the cleanest reduce), then take your time and go sluggish to chop a straight line as you make the reduce. (You may clamp a straightedge parallel to the cutline, offset the width of

the jigsaw’s shoe, then preserve the shoe tight to the straightedge as you make the reduce. But don’t be afraid to present it a go freehand.) Once the piece is ripped in half, use a block aircraft to clean and clear up the noticed marks. Each half will likely be roughly 1-3⁄4″ vast.

Using a miter noticed, reduce the 4 leg items to size. (Go forward and reduce the 4 cleats, deal with and brace to size, too, and set them apart for now.)

The subsequent step is the position for the bolts for the stool to have the ability to pivot open and closed. Find the middle (each size and width) of every leg and cleat and mark an “X.” Also mark 3⁄4″ in from one finish of every piece and place one other centered “X.” Make these marks on each side of the legs and cleats. Decide now which finish is up.

Cut corners. The legs and cleats want a half-circle curve on the high, and a quarter-circle curve on the backside.

These items want half-circle curves reduce on the highest ends, and quarter-circle curves on the opposite to permit clean folding operation. Set a compass to three⁄4″ and with the purpose on the highest “X,” mark a half-circle radius. For the underside of the legs and seat cleats, reset the compass to the width of the leg and mark a quarter-circle radius.

Use a jigsaw to chop the curves – however as a result of they’re possible too tight to remain completely on the road, reduce a sequence of straight traces simply pleased with your arcs. Then, form the curves utilizing a rasp or random-orbit sander.

The legs and cleats want bolt holes, and all these on what will likely be exterior faces after meeting should be countersunk, so the bolt heads and nuts received’t intervene with the folding operation. Use a coloured pen to mark the countersink places.

Clearly marked. The holes that get countersinks (all exterior-facing bolt holes) are marked with a special coloured ink.

Use a 7⁄8″ Forstner bit to drill 1⁄2″-deep countersink holes. (A spade or paddle bit can be utilized, however a Forstner bit leaves a cleaner reduce.) Verify that the outlet is deep sufficient by inserting a washer and the top of a bolt or a nut in it; the fasteners ought to sit beneath the face of the board. Now drill centered 3⁄8″ clearance holes to permit the bolts to undergo.

Folding Stool Cut List

No.ItemDimensions (inches)Material

t w l

❏ 4 Legs 3⁄4 13⁄4 20 Pine

❏ 4 Seat cleats 3⁄4 13⁄4 111⁄2 Pine

❏ 2 Seat items 3⁄4 71⁄4 16 Pine

❏ 2 Handle & brace 3⁄4 13⁄4 71⁄2 Pine

❏ 1 Long stretcher 3⁄4 31⁄2 12 Pine

❏ 1 Short stretcher 3⁄4 31⁄2 101⁄2 Pine

Profile

Elevation

Exploded View

Leg Assembly

Assemble the legs and cleats collectively into pairs, with 3⁄8″ fender washers behind every nut and bolt,and between the legs. Lock the nuts in place with Loctite or different thread-locking product, so that they don’t work themselves unfastened as you fold and unfold the stool.

Lock it. Just a few drops of a thread-locking product will preserve the bolts in place as you fold and unfold the seat.

The accomplished assemblies ought to mirror each other.

The leg assemblies are related by the deal with and brace. Both items are the identical general measurement, however use a jigsaw to chop a curve within the deal with for comfy greedy. Attach the deal with and brace to the cleats with pocket screws.

Sitting Pretty

Screw it. Use pocket screws to connect the brace and deal with to the cleats.

Set the leg assemblies apart and switch to the seat. First, reduce the 2 seat items to size from the 1×Eight on the miter noticed.

Now it’s time to put out the curved edges (should you depart the sides straight, the seat will chunk into the again of the sitter’s legs). Because this curve is simply too massive for many compasses, make a easy trammel (also referred to as a beam compass) from a skinny strip of wooden and a pencil. Drill a gap in a single finish of the strip for the pencil to undergo, then measure 26-5⁄8″ to the opposite finish, and hammer a nail by way of the strip at that time.

Trammel. A skinny strip of wooden, a nail and a pencil is all it takes to make a easy trammel for marking massive curves.

Using the nail as a pivot level, mark the arc on the 2 seat items. Note within the picture above that I’ve an offcut supporting the trammel on the nail finish, to maintain it co-planar with the workpiece.

Mark the curve on each items, then reduce them out with the jigsaw. Smooth the sides with a block aircraft and/or sandpaper.

Put it All Together

With the leg meeting the wrong way up, place it atop the halves of the seat. The facilities of the leg cleats ought to line up with the place the sides of the 2 seat items come collectively. (To make it simpler, you’ll be able to mark the centerline on the sting of the cleats as I’ve proven right here – however you’ll wish to sand off these marks earlier than you apply a end.)

Perfect spacing. A scrap of wooden helps to find the cleat place to the seat as you screw them collectively.

Drill two 3⁄8″ countersink holes and two 3⁄16″ clearance holes on the toe finish of every seat cleat.

It’s important that there is no such thing as a binding or pinching to ensure that your stool to fold easily. So use scrap items of wooden (in the identical thickness because the legs) as spacers, inserting them between the cleat and legs as you find the cleats on the underside of the seat items. Now use 2″-long #Eight wooden screws to connect the cleats to the seat.

The last items are the stretchers – with out them, the stool may collapse beneath load.

Rip the remaining piece of your 1×8 (you need to have a 16″-long piece left) in half, then clean the sides with a block aircraft. You’ll find yourself with two items which are every roughly 35⁄8″ vast. After cleansing up the cuts with a block aircraft, you’ll be near the 3-1⁄2″ width famous within the cutlist (the exact width shouldn’t be vital).

Now reduce them to size, and use your trammel to put out curves that match these on the seat. Cut the curves with a jigsaw, and sand the sides clean.

Nailed it. The last step in meeting is to nail the stretchers in place (after drilling pilot holes for the nails, in fact).

With the seat folded and mendacity flat on the bench, align the stretchers to the legs, mark your nail places, then drill 1⁄16″ pilot holes. Nail the stretchers in place utilizing 1-1⁄4″ nails.

Stain & Finish

The clean folding motion of the legs has a decent tolerance; paint or a thick coat of polyurethane would possibly intervene with that. So, I like to recommend utilizing a stain (should you don’t just like the appears of uncooked pine) and wipe-on poly. And don’t depart your stool out within the harsh climate – it does, in any case, fold up for simple transport and storage.

In the opening picture, you might need seen the matching desk. That’s merely a scaled-up model of the stool. You’ll discover a SketchUp mannequin for it – together with the mannequin for the stool right here.