I started this Walnut Bar Stool as a set of three prototype three legged chairs and stools. Each with a slightly different look. I had a general idea of the shape and design of the stool and had very few templates when I began. Most of the layout happened with marking off the depth of certain parts of the legs or stretchers and then using a French curve to help connect the measured depths to certain points. But for the seat and the leg connections I marked out the areas that needed to be removed and used the crosscut sled to remove the waste then for the seat I routed out a dado that would accept the legs. For the legs, after cutting the dadoes I rounded over the part of the legs that would be inset, with the router. I used a 1/4″ rabbeting bit for the seat and a 1/2″ round over bit for the legs. I tested fitted the connections at this point and made adjustments as needed. Before the legs were attached to the seat or even rough shaped I marked out and drilled holes for screws. The joints are very strong on their own but adding screws into the seat in a ‘V’ shape ensures that the legs will never come off the seat again, that is without destroying the stool. After all holes were drilled the legs were shaped using a razor rasp, saw file, and files before rounding over the legs with the router. Even after using the router I shaped the legs even more. I did the final shaping after gluing the entire stool together so each part could be shaped into each other. The entire stool is finished with three coats of a custom oil blend followed up by two coats of an oil wax that is rubbed in. The seat sits 26″ above the floor with the back rest at 35″. The front edge of the seat and the edges of the back rest are all rounded over to the point were they do not dig into you at all. The stool is comfortable to the point you can sit on it for hours with no fatigue. I also wanted to try the three legged design as it is different, unique, and really fits with this design.

Launch Gallery