Thread: Three-leg bar stool

Hi Derek,
I'd think the single at the back would be more stable. You don't tend to lean back on a bar stool (and there's no back rest to increase leverage there either), but you will perch forward while seated and when getting on or off. I think a stool with 2 front legs would be more stable.

For a three leg shop stool, I think it would be different. In that case the tripod idea would be to give best stability on uneven ground and you would orientate the legs for best stability without thinking about which direction the seat is oriented. In that case there would be no front and back and unlike a shaped Windsor seat it would have a simple round seat.

Cheers,

G'day Derek I take it that if you are having a front and a back that the seat will be shaped ? I saw a 3 legged chair made by David Haigh and the it had 2 legs at the front and it was very comfortable and stable.Not sure if that helps.

cheers....Roy

On a bar stool, most people like to lift their feet and place them on a cross rung. A cross rung at the front would necessitate having the two legs at the front to accomodate the foot rung. I have never sat in a stool with a single front leg and placed my feet on the rungs radiating back to two legs so i’m not sure how comfortable it would be?

Design Elements

I've been pondering a bar stool design and its leg orientation for the past few months now. For some years I have been keen to build Windsor chairs, and I recently began thinking that a way to start would be to build three Windsor stools - the stools are the last part needed to complete the kitchen I began at the start of last year.


Pete Galbert's perch stool would make sense if I was building a stool for the workshop.





This version is made by an Australian chairmaker, Glen Rundell ...





This looks very ergonomic as it aids in maintaining a straight back. However, I want three bar stools for the kitchen, where one is inclined to slouch a little, and I do not think that the perch stool will work there. I like the look of three- as opposed to four legs, but this complicates the design in as much as how best to position the legs.


Pete also has built stools with four legs, and of course they are beautiful ...





Of four-legged bar stools, mention must be made of Curtis Buchanan, who is a hero of mine and a doyen of chairmakers. As far as I know, he has not made any three-legged bar stools ...





The granddaddy of the modern three-legged stool (in my opinion) is Wharton Esherick, who made the most beautiful stools. He brought together great skills as an artist (his training) and passion for woodworking into sculptural furnituremaker, and really was instrumental in help launch the era of studio furniture. I love the free-flowing lines and seat that appeared to have no specific side - however, on closer examination, they force two legs to the front.





These stools have a irreverence that appeals to me, and I love the free form design. No one is the same as another.





My favourite image ...





Eshertick's is a design that also appeals as often the stools in our kitchen are pulled away from the breakfast bar and someone will sit on their rear (the kitchen opens into the livingroom).


Everyone was influenced by Esherick.


Here is an example by another Australian, Bern Chandley ...





Nakashima's Mira bar stool ..










I have spent the past 6 weeks (including a 2 week break overseas) gearing up by building tools (I'll post these separately). It's time to finalise the design and get on with it!


Regards from Perth

Derek

For a bloke, it doesn't matter as he can straddle the middle leg if at the front and hook a heel over the stretcher veeing back on each side. Now a sweet young thing in a mini skirt doesn't have the same amount of dexterity available to her. Well not in nice company anyway. A front stretcher will allow her a far more comfortable perch and her dignity intact.

Derek, how about this one by Tage Frid. Its designed so that you can sit on it with the two legs as the front or you can sit on it "backwards" and use the top of the "back" as an armrest.

Thanks Doug. I have been an admirer of Tage's furniture forever. That is a great chair - I really like it - but a bit too busy for the setting at home .. that is a reason that I do not want a backrest.

My taste in furniture (fortunately shared by my wife) is for contemporary designs because I like their simplicity and elegant lines (when a design is pulled off well) ... subtle curves and silhouette, rather than mouldings and strong beads on turned legs. This is why I am drawn to Eshelrick's design.

RN, your point is taken about the stretcher. I was already planning to use the stretcher design of Esherick, which offers cross bracing on all legs. As they are at different heights, this provides a footrest for a wide range of heights.

I hear myself speaking more and more about Eshelrick, and one might question why I just do not build something similar? Indeed I might, and probably will, but I began the journey by exploring Windsor design, and now need to let go.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Derek

In short none of the designs you show I dislike. Considering aesthetics only I would go for Esherick's. However if I included comfort in the mix then it would most likely be The Perch, I have sat in one and they are very comfortable and I would say, the most comfortable stool I have sat in. I am aware that there was a lot of work that went into the ergonomic design of this stool, and I think that paid off.

Why do you think this stool would not work in a Kitchen ?

Regards

Thanks for this Basil. I am at present building a practice stool, using a "semi-windsor" seat. That is, it is carved similar to Pete's perch, but without the pommel.

The reason I do not see the Perch working in a kitchen is that (1) each Perch is made for a specific individual's height, which makes for too narrow a range (adults and children cannot use the same stool) and (2) there needs to be a footrest. The Perch places single leg at the front. I am reversing this so that a footrest can be added.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Seems to me that it'd be a bit safer to put the single at the front. The first time someone leans back on a one legged stool it could be catastrophic...

Hi Luke

Your instinct is my instinct, but fortunately we are both wrong. The issue of tipping and centre of gravity are nicely discussed and demonstrated by Roy and Chris in the following edition of The Woodwright's Shop ...

Staked Furniture | The Woodwright's Shop | PBS

Look around the 8:00 minute mark onward.

The other point is that no one leans back on a counter tool without a backrest

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

Design Elements

I've been pondering a bar stool design and its leg orientation for the past few months now. For some years I have been keen to build Windsor chairs, and I recently began thinking that a way to start would be to build three Windsor stools - the stools are the last part needed to complete the kitchen I began at the start of last year.


Pete Galbert's perch stool would make sense if I was building a stool for the workshop.





This version is made by an Australian chairmaker, Glen Rundell ...





This looks very ergonomic as it aids in maintaining a straight back. However, I want three bar stools for the kitchen, where one is inclined to slouch a little, and I do not think that the perch stool will work there. I like the look of three- as opposed to four legs, but this complicates the design in as much as how best to position the legs.


Pete also has built stools with four legs, and of course they are beautiful ...





Of four-legged bar stools, mention must be made of Curtis Buchanan, who is a hero of mine and a doyen of chairmakers. As far as I know, he has not made any three-legged bar stools ...





The granddaddy of the modern three-legged stool (in my opinion) is Wharton Esherick, who made the most beautiful stools. He brought together great skills as an artist (his training) and passion for woodworking into sculptural furnituremaker, and really was instrumental in help launch the era of studio furniture. I love the free-flowing lines and seat that appeared to have no specific side - however, on closer examination, they force two legs to the front.





These stools have a irreverence that appeals to me, and I love the free form design. No one is the same as another.





My favourite image ...





Eshertick's is a design that also appeals as often the stools in our kitchen are pulled away from the breakfast bar and someone will sit on their rear (the kitchen opens into the livingroom).


Everyone was influenced by Esherick.


Here is an example by another Australian, Bern Chandley ...





Nakashima's Mira bar stool ..










I have spent the past 6 weeks (including a 2 week break overseas) gearing up by building tools (I'll post these separately). It's time to finalise the design and get on with it!


Regards from Perth

Derek

Wharton Esherick's stools are the 'Creme de la creme' of all stools. I think an original would cost thousands to purchase. Any wood he touched turned into a masterpiece.

In the spirit of offering information to others who are also looking to take their first steps carving seats, I have a run down of the tools I have used so far. Not all of these tools are necessary, but as I am learning to carve a seat, I am interested in the tools that make this happen.


It is also hoped that others, especially those with experience, will comment on the tools - which they find useful and which not.


I shall return to discuss my experience of marking drilling and tapering the legs at a later time. That deserves a topic to itself.


In the background I am making a prototype three-leg counter stool in Radiata Pine (construction timber - dry and a little brittle ... but the smell when cut is strong!). The seat is 12" deep and 15" wide. The blank is 1 3/4" thick.





Roughing out with the Ray Iles scorp: this is the only scorp I have used, so I cannot make comparisons with others. Apparently - I read somewhere - that Pete Galbert came across a vintage scorp which he loved, and sent it off to Ray Iles as a model. This is the result. To a newbie like myself, this was well-balanced and easy to sharpen - it came beautifully hollow ground and pretty sharp to start. It was easy to keep sharp with a strop. I liked the handles and the blades continuous curve (I've seen some, like Two Cherries, which are a curved square). It surprised me how it was possible to use this to make precise cuts, both thick and fine.


The Veritas Pull Shave is an alternative to the scorp, however I did not find it as aggressive. Instead it was more like a jack plane than a scrub - capable of removing waste but not cut as deeply as the scorp. I like using if after the scorp to refine the surface. It offered more control than the scorp. I am comfortable using drawknives, but someone who is not may prefer it to the scorp.





I managed to find two cobbler (shoemaker) shaves of differing radii. These came with blades that were nearly worn out. They were reground and sharpened up. The handles were cut off as they were limiting the angles they could be used at. These shaves really surprised me. Dark horses. They managed to get into tight angles ...





The LN round bottomed spokeshave was used later at the front of the seat. This is a reliable, old friend.


These are two travishers I built. One has a radius of 5 1/2", and the other a radius of 11". The latter is to remove the hollows left by the 5 1/2", or where a flatter surface is needed. To be blunt, the 11" is overkill. I have seen Pete Galbert used just the one (5 1/2") travisher (made by Claire Minihan), and do so immediately after the scorp. As mentioned earlier, I am feeling my way ... and anyway I made them. It was just a little more time.


Jarrah and Rock Oak ...








It was very satisfying to find these two planes working well.





Lastly, the surface was finished with a scraper. This is one I made from the rear end of an O1 1/8" thick plane blade. It is prepared very simply, hollow grinding to create a fine wire at the edges.





That is sufficient to scrape and leave a surprisingly fine surface .... even in Pine.


The seat is still a work in process.


Comments?


Regards from Perth


Derek

Nice tools Derek! However, I could not help thinking that Arbortech is a WA born manufacturer of a range of power carving tools that would hollow those seats out in a jiffy. But that may be sinful for a traditionalist wood craftsmen like yourself!!