Step Stool for My Grand Daughter

After Sunday dinner my daughter asked if I needed a woodworking project, and of course I said yes. She said that she needs a step stool for our 20 month old grand daughter to be able to wash her hands. So we went into the bathroom and measured how high it needed to be. We determined that it should be 12 inches high with two 8 inch wide steps. When we came back to the living room, my wife said “you know we need one here too.” So I headed to my basement shop to get busy building two step stools.

I love the challenge of making usable pieces out of salvaged wood. We have a 100+ year old house that we have spent the last 15 years renovating, so I had some old growth Douglas fir I rescued in the process. This scrap shows how rough and dark the wood was before sanding.

The steps are joined to the sides using pocket holes.

I have used my Kreg pocket hole jig for years, but this is the first time I have used it to edge join boards and I am very happy with the results. The joint seems to disappear!

I decided to make the sides with a 10 degree slant for stability and visual interest. I also rounded the front of the steps to give it an old school look. Here are the two finished stools ready for varnish.

My wife put on the first coat of varnish – wow I love the color tone of the old Douglas Fir!

-- Paul, St Louis, MO, www.paulheirendt.com