Child Stool

I built a bed for a couple a while back, and was supposed to build night stands as well, but part way through the building process they changed their mind on the night stands. So they paid me in full, but I told them that I owed them another piece of furniture to make up the difference, and they eventually asked me to build a stool like this for their little boy. This is actually my second go-around, and I modified the design somewhat to incorporate dovetails (I used mortise and tenon the first time). Because my dovetail jig has limited width capacity (and because it’s difficult to find 1/2 inch walnut 12 inches wide) I cut two 6” pieces for the sides and dovetailed them before joining them and routing out the bottom cutout and handle cutouts. Once they were dovetailed I joined them, sanded them, and assembled the basic frame (minus the two steps and back panel). The steps are just glued on- no rabbit or miller dowels, just glue and clamps. Why? Because glue is strong, and it saved me a lot of time. The panel is joined with a rabbit. I applied 3 coats of walnut oil, applied with a foam brush, and three more coats of water-based polyurethane. It’s a really simple piece, and I built a few more so that I could have one for my boys and either sell the others or give them as gifts. My wife loves it, and who am I to argue with her?

-- Pete, Long Beach, CA http://www.furniturebypete.blogspot.com