SSBO #26: Mike Leung

Dimensions: 20.5″L 17″W 14″ tall each; 28″ tall stacked

Material: quartersawn white oak

The biggest challenge was cutting so many mortise and tenon joints precisely in such a short amount of time. It was great to see how much I can produce in a couple of days.

We live in a 1910 Craftsman Bungalow and Stickley/Arts and Crafts style furniture fits well style wise.  The stools are made in the style of Gustav Stickley and goes with the Morris 369 drop arm chairs I am building. I considered using the new Domino XL I purchased but decided this project has to be integral M&T to stay true to the style. Many of the stools I see have strange proportions and I worked that out in sketchup beforehand. The stool needs to be strong but not look heavy. I will still ease the edges and put chamfers on some areas before staining. The cushions are just stand ins for now until I get them upholstered. It is interesting looking when stacked.  My cat could sit on the lower cushion while I sit on the upper cushion.

The wood I used is mostly quartersawn white oak with a few rift sawn pieces mixed in. I originally planned on putting a shelf on the bottom of each stool but I messed up by cutting mortises where I should not have.  My wife convinced me we don’t need shelves so I just made stretchers to match the rear side. I will have them upholstered in leather and stain/dye it in a dark mission brown. I learned quite a lot from this project and would love to do another build off soon.

Tools used: jointer, planer, bandsaw, tablesaw, hollow chisel mortiser, vixen file, card scraper

Tenons shoulders were cut on tablesaw. cheeks were cut on bandsaw.

Suggestions for future build-offs:

• tool storage case or chest
• blanket chest
• lamp
• pet house or play structure
• shooting board
• waterstone sharpening pond

Thanks Chris for making this happen. I had a blast.

NEXT