Foldable Stool - Reverse Engineering the <PERSON> Stool
Introduction: Foldable Stool - Reverse Engineering the <PERSON> Stool
I made a simple folding stool, based on the design of late designer <PERSON>. This stool can be made from a single board of any wood of your choice, from one of the finished wide hardwood boards available at any big box hardware store. I reversed engineered the design of the <PERSON> stool to be recreated, and created this prototype to fully realize the design.
Supplies
This can be made from a single board of the hardwood of your choice. For the small stool I made, I only needed a 36" x 9-1/2" board. Due to low stock, I had to buy a 1"x12"x4' oak board. This creates more waste, but a larger stool would quickly fill up the board. I wanted to use a poplar board, but the ones at my local store was extremely warped. You will also need to pick up a 3/8" dowel in the same material. If you want to using ONLY one board, you can easily manufacture your own dowel with the leftover wood.
Supplies:
* 1x12x4' hardwood board, preferably maple or poplar
* 3/8" dowel
* Wood glue
* Sandpaper
Tools: These are the tools I used, and mainly have hand tools.
1. Table saw (Circular saw will work with guides)
2. Circular saw
3. Drill (A drill press would be immensely helpful!)
4. 3/8" drill bit
5. Hand router (If you have a router table, life will be fantastic, if not, some time and many jigs will guide you along the way)
6. 3/8" spiral fluted bit, or a 1/4" spiral fluted and 3/8" straight fluted bit.
Step 1: Design
I based this stool off the late 20th century designer <PERSON>. His folding stools can run between $200 and $500 (USD) from online mid century dealers. This simple and elegant design can be broken down into its parts and reversed engineered to recreate the design to be DIY'ed.
The stool is comprised of 4 parts
1. The top
2. Center leg
3. 431
Outer 'U' shaped leg made of 3 parts
4. The hinges
The design revolves around a single dimension that drives all others. The channel along the side of the center leg will effect how far the center leg travels when being closed, along with how far apart the legs open from each other. Adjusting this dimension will allow anyone to recrate this design at any size!
Step 2: Cutting Pieces From the Board
I cut the board to size using a table saw, aided with a quick rip cut fence. This can easily be done with a circular saw and guides as well.
1. I first ripped the board to lengths, 9", 4" and 18-1/2".
2. I then cut the top to be a 9" square and ripped a 4-3/4" piece out of the 4" piece.
3. The longest board will form the center and the 2 side pieces. I first ruff cut to 8" wide, then cut a 1-3/4" board from the left and right side of the board, before cutting the center down to 4-3/4". I did this so the grains would better match each other when assembled.
Step 3: Routing Out the Channels
The guide for the center leg needs to be routed into the side of the board. Cutting this channel can be made MUCH easier by using a router table. Without a router table, a simple jig will make this job just as easy!
Trim router jig:
1. The jig I made is just a few boards of scrap plywood to ride along the side of the board. Attach 2 boards to form a L, one side to ride along the face of the board, one for the router to sit on.
2. I used a 3/4" board as a separator to clamp the 2 " guides to, then attached a board along the top to keep them separated 3/4".
3. I then placed a pointed router bit into my trim router as a center guide. I used the bit to center the router within the guide, then screwed the base of the router into the jig.
Routing the side of the board:
1. I marked the length for the top of the channel at 6-3/8", then 4" down. I used a punch to mark the center of the board along this mark.
2. I used the V bit again to check centers and to setup stops at the top and bottom using clamps.
3. 599