Project Information
This folding stepstool is an old project I did in '02. Our kitchen cupboards go clear to the ceiling, and we have 8'6" ceilings, making it difficult for my wife to reach the upper storage. This is something she needs to do more than most, she is an artist with food and does personal meals and catering.
But the stool has been a great experiment in finish endurance for me. I usually spray pre-cat lacquers as a professional, you can't beat the dry time. I can shoot 4 coats in an hour on a project, 3 coats even in the winter.
On this I did not want a film finish because it folds, and pre-cat lacquers will not hold up to foot traffic, food spills, and water areas. (It is excellent for all the furniture I have done.) I have read many times that Danish oil is not very durable or protective, but I was curious to try it myself. I warmed the can in a shallow bucket of hot water, and generously fed oil to the wood. I had to continually wipe all the oil bleeding out of the pores until it stopped. The stool gets a new coat of oil once a year since, and it has held up very well.
It gets used everyday, gets food all over it, gets wiped off, stepped on, chipped, and the finish has worked out wonderfully. A little oil and 600 grit wet-dry sandpaper will take off the grime, and a few shop towels to apply a fresh coat of oil and wipe off the excess. Just like new!
The stool plans came from a Taunton book, "Classic Kitchen Projects", by Niall Barrett.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, the black walnut was a salvaged handrail, and I did not have enough of it so I used scrap ash to make up the difference.
But the stool has been a great experiment in finish endurance for me. I usually spray pre-cat lacquers as a professional, you can't beat the dry time. I can shoot 4 coats in an hour on a project, 3 coats even in the winter.
On this I did not want a film finish because it folds, and pre-cat lacquers will not hold up to foot traffic, food spills, and water areas. (It is excellent for all the furniture I have done.) I have read many times that Danish oil is not very durable or protective, but I was curious to try it myself. I warmed the can in a shallow bucket of hot water, and generously fed oil to the wood. I had to continually wipe all the oil bleeding out of the pores until it stopped. The stool gets a new coat of oil once a year since, and it has held up very well.
It gets used everyday, gets food all over it, gets wiped off, stepped on, chipped, and the finish has worked out wonderfully. A little oil and 600 grit wet-dry sandpaper will take off the grime, and a few shop towels to apply a fresh coat of oil and wipe off the excess. Just like new!
The stool plans came from a Taunton book, "Classic Kitchen Projects", by Niall Barrett.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, the black walnut was a salvaged handrail, and I did not have enough of it so I used scrap ash to make up the difference.