DIY Shop Stool

Welcome back!

For this project, I simply wanted a stool so that I could sit down when doing tasks at the workbench. Let’s get started.

Supplies

2-inch X 2-inch deck balusters (deck railing wood)

Wood for top

Ruler

Saws, various

Screws

Drill

Drill guide (optional)

Drill bits, various

Dowels

Hammer

Wax/Finish

Video of My Process

Cut Those Legs

I used some leftover deck railing, or deck balusters, as the legs. They were cut with a 10 degree miter on either end. Just be sure they match (Like a parallelogram Not a trapezoid)! They’re 2 feet long.

Make a Circle for Your Bum Bum

I used my circle cutting jig for the seat using some leftover pine. The radius is 5.5 inches making the diameter 11 inches. The radius measurement was necessary to use my circle jig and ensuring center.

Line Up the Legs

I labeled which leg would be fastened where (which in hindsight isn’t necessary). I then just followed the angle of the leg to my drill and drilled two pilot holes for each leg on the bottom of my wooden circle. Afterwards, I used the pilot hole to drill a 3/8 inch hole from the top to hide the screw later.

Make a Cross Brace

The cross braces are 10 1/2 inches and cut at 10 degrees. The center of each brace needed to be found and I used a nail to make my mark. I got this idea from DIY Creators and you mark the centers of two joining pieces by pushing the nail head into them. They were then cut using the table saw and glued together.

Secure the Legs

The braces were drilled, screwed, and concealed with a 3/8 in dowel. I hammered them into the hole and used the flush cut saw and a light sanding to smooth it out. If your dowel is stubborn and won’t go in, just hammer one edge to make a slight taper.

I then hid the seat holes the same way.

Wax and Rest

I gave it a coat of wax and let that sit overnight. I was ready to take it easy after all that!

Since this will be used on my concrete floor I didn’t bother putting pads on the underside of the legs, but you absolutely could if you wanted to make these for the kitchen or bar.

Another thought is to (safely!!) cut or sand a taper on the seat itself to add a little accent. Or you could paint it, stain it, burn it, distress it, whatever you’re feeling.

Thanks for checking out this Instructable and hopefully you’ll catch me for my next one.