Thread: Stool design. Advice please

scale drawing will be fine.

but a 1:1 drawing is better as you can lay parts onto the drawing to check for size and angle.


TIP
do the end elevation using a blue pencil and the front elevation using a red one.
That way it's harder to confuse the front and sides of the project.

Thanks Ian, ive got some butchers paper, i i will do a 1:1.

You are going to have to educate me on what you mean by end and front elevation though.

Cheera

Originally Posted by ShoshinJoe

what you mean by end and front elevation though

perspective-2pt-plan.png

There are 3 standard elevations. By elevation what is meant is the way you look at the item. Plan or Top elevation has you looking from above the item. Front elevation usually means how the item looks when you are standing in front of it, usually the longest face. Side or end elevation is the view at 90 degrees to the front elevation. Usually the short edge. Your front and end elevations may be the same, but not necessarily so.

Cheers

Thanks for the explanations, that cleared up a lot. So my diagram in the original post is the end elevation.

I've drawn up a 1:1 plan and cut the first leg. I'm currently using scrap merbau decking timber I picked up from a mate. The rounded edge made it quite difficult to get the angles exact. I should have planed the edges square.

20170918_141955.jpg

Thanks again for the info and advice.

You can also make up samples using cardboard from the recycler.

Fridge and TV boxes are double core, so super thick - easy to cut with a retractable knife too.

If you are feeling crafty, you can make up a 3D version entirely of cardboard It isn't done much any more, but I love cardboard.

Once you are happy with it, you could make a more permanent template with MDF, which is also super cheap. If you make it super thick, you could use a top-bearing router bit to ensure all the pieces are identical.

Legs glued and clamped.

20170928_122619.jpg
I cocked up the dowel holes in the above set of legs but the join was pretty good.

20170928_122553.jpg
The dowel holes went much better in this set of legs but one of the holes was a bit tight and cracked the top of one of the legs. Lesson learned, take a bit more time to check measurements before hammering dowels in.

I've already learned so much from this little project and its not even close to finished. The seat is cut and ready for dowels and glueing, but i dont have enough clamps yet.
cheers for the input and interest

Don't be concerned with mistakes. They occupy the mind far too much and detract from the overall job. People obsess with the errors, but they can always be fixed and (mostly) people don't notice them.... only you do!

For the cracks, just use some superglue in them (Thin CA from the hobby shop). When dry, sand it flat (do all sanding later/last/when needed)

With the bottom of the feet, don't cut them yet - do them last (the length wont be perfect due to misalignment or even the build being not perfectly square). Leave them long so once its all together you put it on a bench and mark all of them with a flat bit of wood (it can be very thin.. 3mm MDF or a magazine is fine). The wood is laid flat on the surface against the leg and just draw a line on each leg. Trim & sand to line. Presto, they are all now even, parallel to the ground and the same length.

Doing well. Keep up the pictures

Thanks mate. I'm not beating my self up over the mistakes I'm am however going to learn from them, both in how to fix them and how not to make them again.

Thanks for the tips on the legs too!

First brace cut and fitted. This took so much longer than anticipated. I used a plane to flatten the ridges on the back of the merbau - took ages. Then practiced my chisel technique to fit the brace piece. A lot learned and a ridiculous amount of shavings collected.

20170929_163915.jpg

Don't worry it's not glued yet, going to cut and fit the other side first haha

Cheers

Conventionally, the lower part of a leg set would be wider that the under seat portion. This looks wider at the top. Is the brace in the right way?

Must be the angle of the the pic. The image has rotated 90° to the left as well. why? I don't know. The feet are wider than the section attaching to the seat

..........and when you get into the rhythm you can try making one of these, which, in my view, are the 'creme de la creme' of stools made by Wharton Esherick. He is now deceased and if you would like to buy one of his creations, prepare to pay a small fortune.