Woodworker: Greg Smith

Long interested in Chinese furniture, Smith had noticed that when wood is turned to resemble bamboo, it typically is done in a very symmetrical way. He thought it would be interesting to make the legs of this stool look more like real bamboo, with crooked and irregularly spaced nodes, and tapered thinner toward the top. He turned and carved the faux bamboo elements from merbau. The seat panel is narra, turned on a lathe, then grooved on a tablesaw for a “planked” appearance. The design has five legs for better visual balance. The stool is finished with shellac and wax.

Photo: John Lucas