Shock Absorber Stools

This instructable shows how to make a pair of stools using shock absorbers and coil springs from a car. These are fun and quirky stools that would fit in well in any home, man cave or workshop. I always love messing about with different materials and parts from old or broken machinery, appliances etc to see what I can make from them.

⚠️ Warning, these coil springs were not under compression!!! If you are attempting these and are not sure what you are doing make sure the springs are clamped as they maybe under compression and could cause serious injury when opening them. Also before welding it to the base drill a small hole in the shock to release the gas inside. Although it should be inert gas it is wise to do so to stop the gas pressure building up from the heat of the welding.⚠️

Have a look at the video above to see how I built the pair of stools from start to finish.

Materials: (2 stools)

Two shock absorbers and coil springs.

2 x 1 steel:

2 @ 20 inches
4 @ 9.5 inches

Flat steel:

2 @ 6 x 8 x 1/4 inch

MDF

Paint

Screws & glue

8 Plastic caps.

The shocks were taken from an old VW polo car. Some of you may recognize the car as this is the car where I got the seat belt buckles for my seat belt buckle key holder project.Seat belt buckle key holder. The shocks and coils spring were taken from the rear of the car.

I started by taking the unit apart. Warning these springs were not under compression!If you are attempting this make sure the spring is clamped before opening. I removed the nuts which released the coil spring and then removed the foam bits which were inside. These would not be needed again so they were discarded. I then set aside all the nuts and small parts which will be needed later. Using an angle grinder I cut off the knuckle that was on the bottom of the absorber.

For the base I used some 2 x 1 inch steel. I cut two pieces at 20 inches and 4 pieces at 9.5 inches. (Amount is for two stools)

After cutting to length I eased all the edges with a grinding disc and then set out the pieces on a flat surface. I tack welded them in place after checking they were square. I then finished all the welds on each of the pieces.

To keep the base slightly off the ground I decided to cut some circular feet. I marked a 2 inch circle onto some 1/4 inch flat steel. Using a grinder I roughly cut the shape of the circle before finishing the circle with a grinding disc. I the set them in place and welded then to the 2 x 1 steel base.

I used a flap disc to clean off the dirt, rust and flaking paint that was on the absorber. The flap disc made short work of removing all this material.

Warning make sure the shocks are not under pressure before welding as serious injury can occur!

I placed the clean shock absorber onto the base and then tack welded in place. When I was happy with the position I fully welded it to the base. I did this slowly and a little bit at a time as I did not want to burn through the metal of the shock absorber. I then cleaned up the joint with the grinder and applied a few coats of paint.

I wanted a seat thickness of about 1 1/2 inches so to get this width I glued together some off cuts of 1/2 inch mdf I had. I applied plenty of wood glue to each piece before clamping it and leaving it to cure.

While the glue was curing I cut two pieces of 1/4 inch x 5 inch steel. These plates are how the seat and absorbers are joined together. I marked the centre of the plate and drilled a 1/2 inch hole. About one inch in from each corner I drilled a 1/4 inch hole and the countersunk them. These 4 hole are for screws to attach the seat.

After the glue had cured, using a compass I drew a circle on the mdf and cut it out using a jig saw. The edges were a bit rough so I sanded them with my belt sander which was clamped to my work bench. To ease the edges of the mdf I rounded over the edges with a 1/4 inch round over bit in my router.

Rather than just screw the plate to the seat I decided to remove some material so it would sit in flush. To do this I marked the position of the plate on the mdf seat and then with a straight cutting bit in my router I removed material to the depth of the plate. Before I removed the material I drilled a 1 inch hole in the centre of the seat. This is for the locking nuts when the stool is assembled.

I gave the seat three coats of a black gloss paint. For the coil spring I applied a coat of primer and a few coats of an orange spray paint. Having a contrasting colour really shows off the spring. At this stage I also applied a few coats of black paint to the metal cap which was removed at the start when I was disassembling the shock absorbers.

I slipped the coil over the absorber and fitted the cap and then bolted the plate on with nuts and washers. I used two nuts to lock the plate in place. There was some excess threaded bar sticking up at the top so I cut it off with an angle grinder.

To close the holes on the ends of the 2 x 1 steel base I inserted some plastic caps which I purchased. These are just hammered into place and give it a more finished look.

To attach on the seat I placed the plate into the recess which I routed out earlier and then secured it in place with some screws.

To protect the floor from any damage I stuck on some felt pads on each of the four feet. The pads I used were self adhesive so they were very easy to fit.

The finished stools! Let me know what you think of them and if you would do them differently or change anything. This is the second project I have made from the parts of this old VW polo, who knows what else this car may yield! Thank you for viewing.

If you would like to see more projects from me you can subscribe to my YouTube channel here: Eamon Walsh DIY.