Wedged Mortice Step Stool

**LineLefty** · 20th February 2006, 02:58 PM

Made from crappy construction pine and some leftover jarrah fourbetoohs.
I got a nice firmer chisel from the markets and wanted to try some hand cut mortices.

No power tools involved, none. All stock prep, tenons, mortices, smoothing everything done by hand. Even cut the wedges by hand! You can even see the 'witness marks' from my marking gauge on the handplaned bevel!

This was a quick and dirty piece for a bit of fun on my RDO. Some lessons.

-Cutting mortices in pine, is hard. Sure the mortice chisel was great but then I didn't have nice paring chisel of the exact same width to finish off the taper on the ends of the mortice. (to accomodate the wedges)

Dont use soft pine for wedges and hard jarrah for the tenons. I swear, the kerfs for the wedges were straight yet when I hammered the pine wedges in they seems to go all crooked.

It's being used for the family daycare kids to step up to wash their hands in the laundry. Thats 4kids, 10 times a day 5 days a week. but believe me those joints may be ugly, but theys plenty strong.

I left it unfinished. Twas Great fun.

**Andraax** · 20th February 2006, 03:42 PM

Looks good mate

**zenwood** · 20th February 2006, 04:16 PM

Looks good, but I wonder how long that pine will last with 200 pairs of feet per week using it.

Also a wee bit concerned about the will it tip over very easily?

Nice darksidedness. After the first few bevels I marked with a gauge, I took to using a pencil (with a finger as a fence), and stopping when the line disappeared: no annoying 'witness' marks.

**LineLefty** · 20th February 2006, 04:26 PM

It's a wee bit tippy if they step on the edge. I might have to cut the top flush with the legs. The width is fine as far as I can tell.

**RufflyRustic** · 20th February 2006, 04:33 PM

Looks great! but then I'm a real sucker for Jarrah and a light contrasting timber.

What a way to spend an RDO!s

Cheers
RufflyRustic

**Trace** · 20th February 2006, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by LineLefty

It's a wee bit tippy if they step on the edge. I might have to cut the top flush with the legs. The width is fine as far as I can tell.

How's your public liability as a designer, manufacturer and supplier?

**LineLefty** · 20th February 2006, 04:55 PM

Actually, it's pretty good. The famly daycare scheme insures us for upto 4million big ones. So ner!

**Trace** · 20th February 2006, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by LineLefty

Actually, it's pretty good. The famly daycare scheme insures us for upto 4million big ones. So ner!

Not being a smart @#$% LineLefty, but they probably don't make you aware under Austrlain law a child has until 21 to sue, extrapolate that and who's responsible for the other 6-8 million. Its unfortunate that one's kind hearted good intentions go out the window when a child gets hurt and it ends up in court. A sign of how litigious we have become.

**Andraax** · 21st February 2006, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by LineLefty

Actually, it's pretty good. The famly daycare scheme insures us for upto 4million big ones. So ner!

Hmm how can I get my kids in there, break a leg and we can split the $4mill?

lol

Seriously though it is sad these day we have become so litigeous - I can't make duck boards for my son's preschool as I am not a qualified builder. So a $100 projects is becoming a $250 project.

**Andraax** · 21st February 2006, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by Andraax

Hmm how can I get my kids in there, break a leg and we can split the $4mill?

lol

Seriously though it is sad these day we have become so litigeous - I can't make duck boards for my son's preschool as I am not a qualified builder. So a $100 projects is becoming a $250 project.

AND once he (qualified builder) built them they were pretty average and he used steel nails for a wet area!

**Jill** · 22nd February 2006, 12:28 PM

Great darksiding, Linelefty!

Cheers,

Jill

**Andy Mac** · 22nd February 2006, 12:35 PM

Looks like a great project, well done on the darkside practices.

On that woeful topic of insurance, I noticed in the policy from VWA that they won't insure makers of sit-on or ride-on toys. Obviously too high a risk from previous claims. We have to be very careful with students here standing on anything that isn't a designated step/stand, and manufactured or designed as such

.

Cheers,

**Max Ripper** · 22nd February 2006, 01:09 PM

Great table man , ic no rails careful now. unless your under 50kg.

**DPB** · 22nd February 2006, 01:38 PM

Nice project, double L. Well done!

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