Friday, October 10, 2008

The Whatever Colour You Like Rustic Tree Cookie Stool

Where does inspiration come from? Anywhere! Even a slab of oak (a tree cookie) can act as that kick-in-the-pants some of us know as "inspiration". This particular kick-in-the-pants was to become the "Whatever Colour You Like Rustic Tree Cookie Stool".


A stool generally is comprised of a seat and something to hold the seat up off the floor. I already had the seat - thanks to about 50 years of toil by an oak tree. I simply needed to knock off the bark.

I used scrap honeysuckle to make legs to support the seat. I cut three legs.

Stripped the legs of bark using a handy-dandy utility knife.

Three stages of honeysuckle bark stripping

I then drilled holes into the seat to receive the legs (I used a spade bit)

Next, I checked each leg for fit.

Some needed trimming in order to fit.

Some were right-0n.

Who would'a thunk it" - they fit just fine!

Not too shabby...

...especially with some stain/varnish combination finish.

All this to hold up a pot that contains nothing? Yes, but it sure looks cute :)


Find your inspiration....................................

(note: "Whatever Colour You Like" is a song from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon Album. This stool is one of those projects that could be whatever colour - or size, or form - you like)

4 comments:

  1. Very cool stool! Sort of "Adirondack-like". Many years ago, my dad made me a small side table by using a large free-form shape tree cookie set atop the end of a log. The two were attached by drill a pair of holes down through both, then pounding in dowels. I still have this little table.

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  2. Once again, another fantastic piece. It looks a little better here than through the webcam:)

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  3. Can you tell me how the legs of the stool stay in place? Are they simply wedged in the holes or did you need to place some kind of adhesive inside the holes so the legs don't fall out when you lift the stool up? Thanks! I'm thinking of making these with some 3rd graders!

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  4. Great question. I just glue them with standard wood glue. I use a spade bit to drill the holes that receive the legs then I use a hatchet to get the legs close on the fit and finish off with a belt sander. The best way,though, would be to buy some of these:
    http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=63795&cat=1,180,42288&ap=1

    this would be much quicker, safer and provide precision fit that would make the best use of the glue.

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