Shaker Stool – Project Info

Posted 8 July 2015

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Description

This shaker stool is a very adaptable design that you make to fit your requirements. It uses some unique sliding dovetails that are both strong and in this design enhance the aesthetic of the stool. The scale and length of the stool can be adjusted. It is a very solid stool that can have any number of uses.

The tools you will need are:

  • No 4 Plane
  • 1″ Chisel
  • Chisel hammer
  • Tenon saw
  • Panel saw
  • Knife
  • Tape measure
  • Combination square
  • Marking gauge
  • Sliding bevel
  • Hand router
  • Spokeshave
  • *No.80 Cabinet scraper
  • *Straight card scraper
  • *Rasp/file

* = Optional

The joints used in this project:

  • Tapered sliding dovetail
  • Sliding housing dado

25 Comments

  2. I think the drawing is a very good idea, used in conjunction with video instruction, would be an instant visual reminder.

    I believe it is a first, if you have time Paul, would be a very good idea to use on all future builds.

    The seat appears to be more than one board joined together, did you buy it this way or make your own.

    Thanks John

    1. Hi @cornflowers,

      We have had the drawings, expertly drawn by Greg Merritt, for over a year. If you go back to the ‘Project Info’ page for each of the recent past projects you will find the drawing link near the the top of the text.

      We are going to continue including drawings in the future.

      Best,

      Joseph

  6. I have supplementary questions regarding upscaling. I am also planning a bench over 5ft long and around 18″ high to complement the trestle table nearing completion.
    A: Is increasing the width of the top to 14″ suifficent to maintain stability of the bench and
    B: At this length should the height of the rail also be increased or made of thicker material in order to improve the stiffness, however this would also raise the centre of gravity and alter stability.
    I will be using Oak.

    I would be grateful for your comments
    Geoff Taylor

  9. Thanks Izzy. I am paying the subscription. It is not clear from the drawings if the pieces on the cut list are intended to be single boards, or narrower laminated boards. As it is, the widest board I can readily obtain in Brisbane Australia, is 250mm, so I will be laminating. So the more important question is how many boards would be ideal to achieve the required width?

    Kind regards
    Stephen Tyrrell

  10. This is an excellent project and one worth returning to every so often. A nice historical reference for this bench is “The Pine Furniture of Early New England” by Russell Kettell, published 1929, plate 63.
    Subtle but important differences are that Paul’s version uses slope sided bridals as opposed to standard bridals, and a tapered dovetail as opposed to a non-tapered version.

  12. Beautiful project! Could anyone please explain why a tapered sliding dovetail doesn’t inhibit wood expansion when joining components whose grains intersect in direction, as here? And whether the presence or absence of a stop on the dovetail matters? I would be grateful for a response, as I haven’t been able to find an answer and don’t have experience with the joint.

  13. This is a very attractive stool. I happen to have a couple of pieces of spalted maple that would look great as this piece. However, is there an alternate to the dovetail construction? Would glue on a housed dado hold? I have not cut a successful dovetail of any kind since I sold my router dovetail jig. I see no reason to think I could cut one, and I don’t want to waste this beautiful wood.

    1. It doesn’t really matter if you haven’t cut a dovetail yet.
      That is what the project is for.
      You could always practice on some cheaper wood first and have a second stool as a bonus.
      I do see reasons why you would succesfully do it: the instructions are very clear and the sliding dovetail isn’t that hard to make if you follow those.
      Good luck!

  14. Hello Paul, I’ve bought an old table top from a charity shop. There’s plenty of wood, but it’s 7/8″ thick. Would you keep the depth of the sliding dado at 5/16″? Similarly would you narrow the taper below 3/4″?

  15. Hello Paul. How would you saw dovetail dado in a board wider than a saw and preferably stopped dado? I know old technique from my country, where we use special saw “svlakovka”, because “svlak” is the name for this specific joint. It looks similar to what you may know as kerfing plane, but with higher blade. I just wonder how would you do that in a board for table, let’s say 35 inches wide?

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