Woodworker: Andy Rae

Rae chose to use a particularly beautiful and heavily-burled board of hard maple for the seat of his rustic-style stool, turning it on the lathe and dishing the center deeply for comfort. He cut maple saplings and branches from the woods outside his home, looking for interesting shapes for the legs and stretchers. Of particular interest are saplings wrapped in parasitic vines, which when peeled and separated reveal beautiful twisted patterns that become convenient foot rails. Through-tenons with oak wedges join the stretchers to the legs, while wedged, tapered through-tenons join the seat to the legs. This is a traditional and long-lasting joint found in plank-style Windsor chairs.

Photo: Andy Rae

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