I am working on assembling an elite group of judges for the Shop Stool Build-Off. There are many categories and lots of prizes so everybody has a fair chance of winning something.
For a chance of winning a prize, make sure you submit your stool by the end of Tuesday, January 28. Here is my entry, as per the submission guidelines:
My stool is 24-1/2″ high. The seat is 13″ diameter and the legs are splayed, so the footprint is 16″.
I used Western maple for the legs and butternut for the seat.
The build was documented here: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/flairwoodworks.
I had originally intended to angle the legs so they crossed in the middle (Plan B), but I didn’t cut them at the right angle, so the footprint ended up being too small. I ended up cutting off the angled tops and using straight legs instead – my Plan A.5, as I called it.
I used dado and rabbet joinery to connect the legs to the seat, which I shaped into a concave shape with a carving gouge. I left the texture of the carving gouge on the surface for decoration. It does not detract from the comfort. The stool is very solid and comfortable. Although I was initially disappointed that my crossed-leg design didn’t work out this time, I am very happy with the result.
Sculptural Woodwork by Chris Wong 
the texture is awesome, nice touch.
Ditto siggersd on the texture. Butternut ages nicely, colorwise, too.
I like it, and I think you should win.
I Like the texture as well. As I was roughing in some of my shaping with a gouge I was amazed at how well it can work as a final surface. I couldn’t copycat though I’m sure I’ll pull it out on another project another time, in part because it leaves an unmistakeable hand cut surface