Reach for the sky...one step at a time.

Beautiful. I really like the circle cutaway on the bottom.

-- "Bordnerizing" perfectly good lumber for over a decade.

very nice…i love the shine on the dark wood…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...177 days to sanity...

a gorgeous stool.. Nicely done.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Great looking piece.
I’m a walnut with sapwood lover myself. I’ve done some projects using that material too.
Shellac is the perfect finish too!!

-- ..... art for lifes sake

Looks good

-- Marge, Colorado

Nice design, Zipsss! I built something similar, and it has proved to be the most often used project I’ve ever done. I’m sure that you will find the same.

-- CanuckDon "I just love small wooden boxes!" http://www.canterburybaptist.org/

I really like the dove tails. This would go great next to a nice 4 post bed.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Really nice stool. The wood and finish are beautiful.

-- Tom, Surfside Beach, SC - Romans 8:28

Love it! – Looks Great, nice finish, I like the “ah-natural”

-- The Gnarly Wood Shoppe

Great looking stool.

I’m thinking of all the times in the shop when I just can’t quite reach!

Maybe I’ll build one of them!

Lee

-- by Lee A. Jesberger http://www.prowoodworkingtips.com http://www.ezee-feed.com

Great stool Zipsss, I like the contrast of the woods and the one massive dovetail is impressive. Bring it to Lee’s picnic and one of your twisted leg items.

I’s sure we’d all like to see them.

I need to talk to Lee about food arrangements and I’ll let you know.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

fantastic work! I have always loved the way walnut has a tendency to make any project beautiful, even simple and utilitarian items.

-- Sometimes when I am building something and it is out of square, I just bend my square.

Great looking stool, I like the way the joints stand out.

-- Andy Stark

Pretty and really useful as well.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

I love step stools of any kind! One of my first magazine articles was for a reproduction Hosier Step Saver.

Nice work, and walnut is always a good choice for furniture.

Ralph

-- www.consultingwoodworker.com

Everything that I like about the stool has already been mentioned above – so I’ll just say that I really like it.

-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/

I am with Cajunpen. It looks great.

-- "so much to learn and so little time"..

Very pretty!

I made one very similar for my wife out of maple to match our kitchen. She complains that she has almost fallen off twice because she forgets that it has two steps. My reply was that some men poison their wives, but I just make killer stools.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Superb. I love the use of the natural heart and sapwood. She’s a beauty.

CharlieM1958. Do you think i can get the plans for your anti-wife stool?

-- Sometimes when I am building something and it is out of square, I just bend my square.

Very nice. Simple but the contrast in heart and sap really pretty.

I really like this. I have to make something for my son to brush his teeth. That is a really nice design!

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I love the contrast in color and deep colors. I made this Shaker style stepstool as well. However, I used poplar and 6 coats of water based polyurethane. (I have finish issues but I am working on it) I have read about the technique of starting with tung oil and finishing with polyurethane. But why shelllac in the middle coat?

I am using shellac for the first time and I am evaluating it. I am trying rub on gel polurethane as well. I’m kind of all over the map with my finish techniques.

-- WaywardHoosier - Behind schedule and over budget, but who's counting?

The oil base helps to accentuate the grain and figure of the wood, a very important feature for me. I give enough coats of oil to saturate the wood until there are not more dry spots. Follow instructions on the container. A very important step is to let it dry for at least 4 days, I prefer 7 days. I do this on both sides of the wood. Next I seal the wood with clear shellac. I by the can type from HDepot. Usually one or two coats do the trick. If you don’t give enough time to the oil to dry, you will se the consequences after this step. No need to sand in between the shellac coats. Next comes the poly. I had very good results with the water base poly without diluting it. With a t-shirt rug I “feather” the poly nice and easy. Then, when dry I finish the finish with car body sandpaper 400-600-1000. Takes time, but is a good exercise on learning patience and savoring the end results.

-- Zipsss

well the finish sure looks like glass…. Love it…

Drew

-- Drew, Pleasant Grove, Utah