Adjustable Bar Stool (Mom's Christmas Present)

**treebutcher** · 25th December 2006, 05:36 PM

Well, it is that season, and of course, I chose to make more gifts than I could possibly have time for. Below are a few pics of the bar stools I'm still in the process of finishing for my mother's house. I should mention that I have never built anything other than a simple stool when it comes to seating. Suggestions welcome!

The idea came about when she had a dinner party, and was lacking 2 additional chairs for her dinning room table. Her table, a little taller than the typical dinning room table, is at a counter height. The chairs are 25 inches (pardon the SAE). Her bar stools are at 32 inches, which are to tall. A normal dinning chair is at 18 inches. I'm sure you are seeing the problem here =)

She really has no room to store additional chairs, so I chose to make two bar stools (as the one that she has at her bar is not very nice) that would adjust to a counter height in the need of added dinning chairs.

Let me know what you think.

The gears were originally going to be the way you raised and lowered the top, but it was not practical once the design presented itself beyond paper. It was much easier to simply grab the top and lift.

The second gear hinges on the Black Walnut supports and locks into the rack with your food once you have the seat at your desired height.

In addition to the pictures you see here, I have several pieces that are not installed that do this locking and unlocking automatically. I'll post those pics by the end of the week (should things progress as planned =).

Below are some of the pics while designing the prototype.

Testing the rack & pinion idea... This was actually quite fun, seeing I don't have a machine shop at hand =)

As a proof of concept, I attached the above pinion to the oak column rack and fastened a make shift seat and crank wheel.

I worked, but the wheel was way to big in my opinion, so I changed it to a handle for a different view point.

After playing with this, I realized that my crank that threads through to the opposite side of the stools on the moving columns was not going to be enough to support the weight of the stool when in use. I came up with the idea of throwing another pinion gear into the wrack, against the mounted one, and bam! It worked like a charm.

First attempt at a seat... I guess it worked, but I really did not like the way it looked. That was not the deciding factor in changing the design (several times, which I did not photograph all of them). It was just down right not comfortable.

**AlexS** · 25th December 2006, 05:53 PM

I really like the overall design - it looks good and the idea of a back on a stool is one that you don't see often enough. The height locking mechanism is very clever. I reckon you did the right thing to ditch the wheel in favour of the lever. I'm sure your mother will like them.

**Doughboy** · 25th December 2006, 07:13 PM

Hey there butcher I love the machanism and give kudos to you for the design well done!

You mentioned walnut but what else have you used? Top marks though.....

Pete

**treebutcher** · 26th December 2006, 04:05 AM

Originally Posted by Doughboy

You mentioned walnut but what else have you used? Top marks though.....
Pete

Doughboy, good point! The rest is made of Red Oak. I know it doesn't look like it in the pictures, but that is fresh sanded. Once it ages a bit, the redness comes back quickly.

**masoth** · 26th December 2006, 08:13 AM

Most impressive, but I have one safety criticism :eek: - there really should be FIVE feet for good balance. Commercial stools meeting Australian Standards have all been fitted with five feet for many years to satisfy occupational health and safety. Four feet tip too easily.

soth

**echnidna** · 26th December 2006, 09:07 AM

Yup , very impressive

And a very nicely styled and built stool.

The mechanism might make a good router table lift too.

**BobR** · 26th December 2006, 10:39 AM

Merry Christmas. That chair has got to be a great talking point when entertaining. I can see it laying on its side, rather than the intended upright position, while guests gloat over the good work. Mind you, after a few ales it might be laying down for a different reason - passenger intact

**Harry72** · 26th December 2006, 11:17 PM

Nice ingenuity mate, sure your not from Oz!

**Wongo** · 27th December 2006, 03:45 PM

I think it is pretty cool.

**pawnhead** · 29th December 2006, 09:12 AM

What a beaut bar stool.

I can't get over the skills of some of the people posting on these forums. It puts my wood butchery to shame.

**treebutcher** · 3rd January 2007, 03:08 AM

Originally Posted by masoth

Most impressive, but I have one safety criticism :eek: - there really should be FIVE feet for good balance. Commercial stools meeting Australian Standards have all been fitted with five feet for many years to satisfy occupational health and safety. Four feet tip too easily.

soth

Masoth,

Thanx for the constructive criticism. I would agree that five would be better than four. I suppose eight would be better than five =). At any rate, should I pursue the task of building more stools, I will consider a more stable base. Is there a minimum width to Australian safety regulations? This base is at 20 inches. The minimum height of the seat is 25 inches, and the max is at 31 inches. (again, pardon the SAE... I'm an American =).

Cheers,

Matt

**treebutcher** · 3rd January 2007, 03:10 AM

Originally Posted by echnidna

Yup , very impressive

And a very nicely styled and built stool.

The mechanism might make a good router table lift too.

echnidna,

Thanx! I'm glad you like it. The mechanics of the design would indeed prove them selves useful in many arenas I believe. It all started with the impulse purchase of a wooden tap & die set =)

Happy New Year,

Matt

**treebutcher** · 3rd January 2007, 03:12 AM

Originally Posted by BobR

Merry Christmas. That chair has got to be a great talking point when entertaining. I can see it laying on its side, rather than the intended upright position, while guests gloat over the good work. Mind you, after a few ales it might be laying down for a different reason - passenger intact

BobR,

Yes indeed. It has been the talk recently. I'm pleased at the response I'm getting so far. To bad I don't have enough time to make about 100 of these things =).

A belated Merry Christmas & a Happy New Years to you too,

Matt

**treebutcher** · 3rd January 2007, 03:16 AM

Thank you all who have posted feedback to my work. I've been away from the computer for a bit, so I'm playing catch up now.

I'm glad you like my work, and I hope that I can contribute to another's success in some way, shape, or form. This is a wonderful forum indeed!

Happy New Year!

Matt

**masoth** · 3rd January 2007, 07:49 AM

Originally Posted by treebutcher

Masoth,

Is there a minimum width to Australian safety regulations? Sorry, I don't know. Checking a few commercial chairs show that the legs (base) are positioned off-centre toward the back of the chair, and the spread is about equal to the seat area. I visited my favourite bar to check stools and they all have bases of slightly greater diameter than the seat.
This base is at 20 inches. The minimum height of the seat is 25 inches, and the max is at 31 inches. (again, pardon the SAE... I'm an American =). No problems, Mate. I understand perfectly well.

Cheers,
Matt

soth

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