Nursing Stool

A quote from my wife about this nursing stool: “This stool was definitely worth you disappearing into the wood shop for three hours.”

After seeing my wife throw pillows on the ground to raise her feet, I decided to make her a stool. And not just any stool, a nursing stool that has multiple angles to provide her the most comfort while feeding our one month old. Drawing up plans from a stool that came from somewhere in my subconscious (probably saw it on a web site), I then made a template for the sides out of half inch MDF. I used a circle cutting jig to make sure the half circles were exact for smooth operation. The foot piece has 3/8 inch hard wood dowels inserted into it. I routered a heart design into the foot piece with a plunge router.

The pictures show one of the stools that I have made out of oak faced ply. I have made a few others out of solid cherry and solid oak. All the pieces are ¾ inches thick (which makes it very strong, I’ve weight tested it to 250 pounds), and is seven inches tall by about 14 inches wide. For the finish I used two coats of Minwax antique oil. I also placed cork circles on the bottom of the feet for better traction on the floor (I cut the circles from a roll of adhesive cork drawer liner/contact paper)

Also, thanks to Matt D (a fellow lumberjock) for being my first customer. To show my appreciation I put a lifetime warrantee on the stool he bought for his wife.

—Jeff Goettel
North Syracuse, NY

-- Jeff G, North Syracuse, NY