Walnut Saddle Stool

This is the first non-perpendicular joinery project I attempted. It’s simple with only 9 major components, but incredibly robust. I like the idea the legs, splayed on both X and Y axis, create a very stable base — but I guess that’s the whole point of a stool: it’s generally smaller and lighter than a chair but carries the same load.

The James Krenov inspired joinery is really why I liked this project. The rung tenons are all 1/2” x 1” but hand formed to create an oval through tenon, then wedged with contrasting maple. Design credit goes to Gary Rogowski and the project originally published in FWW March 1988.

I used walnut as I recently purchased some from an estate sale. The material wasn’t super high quality, so I had to fill some voids with resin. Overall, I like the character though.

There were two major challenges.

1. getting all the setups for the angles. Lots of squares, protractors and trial and error to get it all right.

2. shaping the seat. Starting with 2×6” material, I located and fit offset dowels first, then separated the pieces and cut most of the material out on the bandsaw, then joined it back together for sanding.

I did build a prototype out of pine where I quickly broke one of the tenons trying to fit the seat.

What I learned from that was that just because the legs are splayed 8 degrees on each axis is that you can’t just tip the table saw blade and move the miter gauge to 8 degrees and cut. No, the compound angle requires a bit of finesse. I used trial and error adjustment (on the table saw blade angle) to get the cut right. The tops and bottoms of the legs need to be parallel, ultimately a parallelogram, but on a splayed angle. I was nicely rewarded on the final project that both the seat and the legs sat flush in the end, very very minor adjustment to one leg to have all four sit flat on the floor.

Finish is Monocote pure, man that stuff is gold. I mixed up maybe a tablespoon’s worth to cover the whole project and provide a very nice durable finish.

thanks for looking.

-- Klinkman, hand tool enthusiast