Final tenon cheek cuts are made to the layout lines.
Legs are kept generously long after milling for them to be proud of the seat surface. This also allows the final bottom cuts to be delayed until final test fitting. Tenons are marked on all sides indicating the compound angles.
Initial tenon cheek cuts are made at the band saw, then completed by hand to the layout lines. Shoulder cuts are made shy of the lines, then completed with a chisel. The tenons were then trimmed to rough length. After the test fit to the seat with sculpting completed, they will be marked for further trimming to 1/8 inch proud. After wedging the tenons will be taken flush.
Seat mortises are marked on the surface as well as the near edges to guide chisel work. Initial material removal is made at drill press. A test fit will guide any necessary chisel finessing.
Mortise for stretcher tenons and drawbore hole shown.
With asymmetrical shaping and compound angles, complete and screamingly clear layout is critical. Once the mortises and holes for draw bore pegs are created it will be easier to keep track of orientations. Although positioning (FL, FR, BL, BR) will be important. Keeping track of all this is a challenge for me because much of the work is done with the stool upside down. Which makes Left and Right and all else easy to mess up.
After selecting orientation and positioning of legs, the mortises and location of draw bore holes are marked. Holes (3/8 inch dia.) are drilled using the drill press. They are perpendicular to the outside faces.
The router with spiral upcut bit is used to create some of the mortise. Because the mortises are angled, care is taken to mark how much and where material is to be cleared with the router. A 3/8 inch mortise chisel is used to complete the angled mortise walls. The layout lines on adjacent face are used to guide chisel orientation.
The seat blank is standing on the workbench. In foreground are blanks for legs.
Several years ago I bought a plank of Chestnut from a Maryland lumber dealer. Several of these beauties were buried deep in their warehouse for many, many years. My friend, Jonathan, found them and shared a photo on FB. How could I resist? My intention was to make something using the full plank. Several years went by with zero detectable action, Finally, I decided this material needed to be put to use rather than languishing deep in our garage awaiting the perfect application.
Stools and small tables are among my favorite woodworking forms as they present opportunities to work on joinery and design without taking too much room in our small home.
This plank yielded enough material for the seat, legs and stretchers. Cool. I cut out rough blanks with the jig saw followed by trimming at the band saw. Seat blank glued up from two pieces and legs cut to initial dimensions.
A driveway designer and woodworker sharing thoughts, experiences and impressions of the journey.
