Stool History

My first real job was as a computer technician.  I was in high school at the time and the computer shop in question was run out the owner's home.  This was before I had a license, and my Dad would drop me off and pick me up.  I worked there for a number of years, eventually buying both the business and the house when the owner was ready to retire.  After a year or two I decided business ownership was not for me and closed up the business and went back to working for someone else.  I got rid of just about everything from the business, but kept this stool.

Almost 25 years since I first started working at the computer shop, I've still got the same stool I used on my first day there.  I spent countless hours sitting on this stool, fixing and building computers.  Somehow this little computer shop managed to get the perfect stool.  It has three key features :

1. It's the perfect height
2. It's lightweight and indestructible 
3. The horizontal spacers are optimally positioned to act as a comfortable foot rest

So needless to say, I'm quite attached to this old stool,  I still use it every time I venture out to the woodworking shop.  Now my kids are getting to the age where they sometimes join me in the workshop and they have been 'stealing' my stool while we are out there together.  So one day I was out in the shop, sitting on the stool doing some sanding when my daughter came out to join me.  Naturally she needed the stool as well, so she could sit and draw at the workbench.  After a brief struggle she suggested I just make another stool.  

It seemed like a reasonable request, so I picked up the old stool, spent a bit of time measuring and got to work.  First, we glued up a seat blank out of some red oak :

Next, we cut some legs :

Here's where I started to scratch my head.  First, how was I going to attach the legs to the seat, second, how about those compound angles?  I decided to use my mortiser for leg attachment, but then the compound angles had my scratching my head for quite a long time.  Shortly thereafter I bailed on the idea of copying the stool and decided to go with a new design.  

We dug way back to June 2000.  Wood Magazine #124 had a stool that looked a little more like 1990 than 2000, but looked like it would do the job.  We'll drop the brass ring and luckily enough I have a lazy susan that's been kicking around my workshop for about ten years that finally be able to put to good use for the seat!  

Is this thing on?

After not having posted anything to this blog in 4 years, I'll need to figure out how to post again.  Let's try a picture :

That seems to work, next story - the tale of two stools!

Lauren's Bunk Bed - Complete

Okay, it took a little less than a year, but Lauren's Bunk Bed is officially completed.  This photo was taken about 3 weeks ago, so I'll call it 11 months to completion.

After this photo was taken I also added in another piece of wood between the tall supports at the head of the bed.  This was screwed to the back of the supports, then screwed to joists in the wall.  At the foot of the bed, I drove some screws through the side of the bookcase into studs in the wall.  With these two attachment points, the bed is solid and won't be moving even when the kids are jumping and playing on top.

I'm very happy with how the bed turned out, the maple looks great finished with Watco Natural finish. The stairs turned out very nice and as you can see the bunk bed is already stuffed full of books and toys.  

On the other hand Lauren has only slept in the upper bed once or twice, apparently she prefers to bottom bunk.  I guess she is ready for future sleepovers!

Lauren's Bunk Bed - Mattress Boards 2

I found some time the other night to get a bit more work done on the mattress boards.  I ripped them all to width on the tablesaw, then laid them out to see if I had enough for the bed.  All the boards came out to about 85" and I was looking for 80" so I've got a whole extra board!  

Over to the router table and I used a bullnose bit to put a little detail onto one edge of each board, on the bottom side.  Next I sanded all the boards with a random orbital sander, 80 grit and here is the result :

One more sanding session to 150, then I'll bring them upstairs to apply the finish.  I'll probably put a nail or screw into the ends of each board and then support them between a couple of 2x4s in order to finish both sides at the same time.  

I'm hoping to move her bunkbed into the house this weekend and I think I can do it.  The last thing I have to do is to put together a safety rail, but I'm waiting on that until I get the mattress in place so I can make sure the rail is high enough.  

Originally I was supposed to have the bunk bed done for Christmas, so I'm about 8 months behind.  Lauren's okay with it though, and she's very excited about her new bunk bed.

Lauren's Bunk Bed - Mattress Boards

After a pretty long delay, I am back working in the workshop on a regular basis.  The cold weather always puts a damper on my workshop time and I never really recovered my enthusiasm after the weather warmed up again.

The few times I did get into the workshop were spent productively on Lauren's Bunk Bed.  I am happy to say it is almost complete and it should be finished and installed in her room this weekend.  All the major parts are upstairs in the workshop in the 'finishing' room.  The bunk bed 'top' will be finished the same as her bottom bed, Watco Natural Danish Oil.  This is my favourite finishing method, wipe on with a rag, follow up with a second coat 30 minutes later, then wipe off the excess.  Let it dry and it's done.  Add a coat of poly if you want extra protection (not needed on this bed).

Downstairs in the workshop I need to cut the mattress boards and the safety rail.  First the mattress boards.  Since the mattress boards are mostly hidden under the mattress, they'll be poplar.  I dug through my wood pile to find all the poplar.   My quick measurement shows that I should have enough - barely.

On the right are 3 more boards of curly maple that I made her bottom bed from.  I forgot I had those and they'll come in handy for the safety rails.  The boards on the left are all the poplar I had left and should just be enough to cover the frame.

My favourite way to plane lots of wood is to open up the garage door and let the shavings fly.  Once planing is complete, I shovel the shavings into a garbage bin and put it to the curb for the compost truck to pick up.  I find that the 1hp dust collector I have frequently clogs with the planer shavings so this way is much less hassle - I'm sure the neighbours love it as well.

Here is the pile of mattress boards after planing.  I chopped them to size before planing to make them easier to handle.  I'll clean up the edges on the tablesaw, use the router table to put a bevel on the bottom edge and then a bit of sanding before moving them upstairs for a coat of finish.