Enjoying the imperfect

    When I first started in woodworking I made a lot of boxes. Wooden boxes have always fascinated me because of their variety. A box can be plain joined with butt joints and nail or it can be an extremely intricate puzzle box with many intricate, interlocking pieces. When I started I didn’t have a lot of skill and I joked that only a mother could love what I built. But I did love them, loved the wood, loved the tools, and even though they often looked a bit odd I was pleased with what I learned from each of them. Fast forward to my latest project: The Frankenstool.

The Frankenstool!

    We need stools to go at the island in the new kitchen and there are some gorgeous off cuts from the deck and the countertop so my plan is to use those off cuts to make stools that match the counter. I’m not crazy enough to just start cutting into the good wood so I searched around for a bunch of scrap that I could use for the experimental stool.
    I like the look of a three-legged stool and one of my favourite hand tool YouTubers has a video and plans. Like most other projects this one could be done with power tools but I wanted to try it without. The longer I work the more fascinated I become with the work that is possible when a skilled woodworker uses hand tools. I bought the plans and started in.
    I have a piece of fir that was part of the bar top in the basement when R first got the house. It was an incredibly ugly thing complete with black and gold mactac on the front of the bar. The fir top was just painted. I cut a chunk of that fir to use for the seat. My stock of 2X4 lumber is running low and I thought of buying some but I’m trying hard to find things in my stash that I can use before I buy any more. I managed to round up enough 2X4 for the legs and the stretchers. Some was fir, some was spruce and all of it was knotty. It would do for practice.
    I admit to using the bandsaw to rip down the 2X4 for the legs and stretchers. I’m not yet proficient at using a rip saw on long cuts and I didn’t want to take the time on this project. The other consideration was that we were going camping for a week. I wondered if I would be able to construct the stool using hand tools, clamps and the picnic table as a workbench. I got some of the work done before loading up two boxes of tools and heading out to camp.
    There are some tricky bits to this simple stool. In order to get the legs into the seat you have to drill three angled holes, ideally all at the same angle. For that I used a brace and bit. I have a good brace and a number of bits that belonged to my grandfather. The plans called for 1” round tenons and I didn’t have a bit that big that would hold well in the brace. I did find an adjustable bit in my collection and ended up using that. As for all the angles being the same, well not so much. It’s amazing what skilled craftsmen can do by eye but it takes practice and I need more. Because it was only a prototype I carried on anyway figuring if the thing actually held up to being sat on, it would be a small victory.
    

making the round tenon

What delighted me the most about the build was making the round tenons to go into the holes. The plans said to find the centre of the square stock and mark it, then to take the brace and bit and score a circle around that centre mark. Next, mark the depth of the tenon and pare off the edges little by little until you have a round tenon that fits in the hole. Since the drill bit is the same one used to drill the holes in the seat, the fit can be quite accurate.
    I worked away figuring out how to use clamps to hold work to the picnic table. Some days I worked until my hands were too cold and I had to go into the van to warm up. Some days I didn't feel like working on it so I didn't.
    

By the end of the week and was able to finish the stool. I won’t claim it’s a thing of beauty. I am surprised that, given where knots have come out and other weaknesses in the wood, I’ve been able to sit on it for the last few weeks and it hasn’t broken. It is quite comfortable especially with your feet on the floor although the stretcher across the front is in a very good place for a foot rest too. You do have to be aware that there are three legs and not four, and given the crookedness of the build, it pays to be cognizant of where the three legs are at all times. I nearly took a header one day when I was preoccupied and misdirected my weight as I sat down quickly. Consequently, I’ve decided this is not the design for the kitchen stools. I want something with four legs that anyone can sit on comfortably and safely without having to first go through a briefing. I think the Frankenstool may eventually become firewood, but I may make another one of this design to replace one of the stools I have in the shop. Both are quite rickety and I'm expecting one of them to break any day.
    

    

While the Frankenstool is far from perfect, it delights me. I can see many more possibilities for building with hand tools and maybe on the next one I’ll do a better job of the angles. Meanwhile, I can use what I’ve learned by making the Frankenstool when I make the four-legged version for the kitchen. Stay tuned.