| Project by Maveric777 | posted 05-13-2011 12:39 AM | 7566 views | 3 times favorited | 22 comments |  |
 |
I was asked by my good friends and neighbors if I would mind building their young son (and my little buddy) a step stool. They said “Nothing Fancy” just something to help him overcome his height disadvantage for things like reaching the sink and bathroom breaks. Well, I couldn’t turn down such a cool opportunity to build something special for my little friend.
I had the project on my mind while walking through the mill and found a beautiful piece of black walnut. I thought “Heck Yea!... lets make it nice!” Then I got to thinking that if I was going to make this stool from such dignified stock… It needs dignified joints as well. Then I got to thinking… If Im making dovetail joints… Why not hand cut hounds tooth dovetails? Then I got to thinking that this was not going to be an ordinary step stool…. I was in fact building my little friend an heirloom. So of course I had to inlay his name and a tractor (the boy flat out loves tractors) with nice curly maple.
I got in the middle of this project and started getting a few phone calls from folks asking if I could make more. As you can see… I did….lol. Now on the Parker and Jamisen stools I used my Leigh dovetail jig (yea I know… cheating right?...lol) for the joints instead of hand cutting them. I really enjoy cutting the joints by hand but I wanted to be efficient with my time on the other two.
All in all I am pretty tickled with these little jewels. I learned me some new techniques, played with some gorgeous lumber, and was able to create pieces that I hope one day will become very important to a few folks. Yea, I’m a sap… I really enjoy building meaningful stuff like this.
Thanks for checking them out…
-- Dan ~ Texarkana, Tx.
22 comments so far
degoose
home | projects | blog
7287 posts in 4852 days
#1 posted 05-13-2011 12:43 AM
These are fabulous… best steps I have seen for a long time… job well done…
-- Be safe.
cwdance1
home | projects | blog
1164 posts in 4757 days
#2 posted 05-13-2011 12:43 AM
Those are beautiful, what a wonderful job.
SPalm
home | projects | blog
5338 posts in 5379 days
#3 posted 05-13-2011 12:57 AM
Sweet.
You did a really good job on these.
And nothing like a step stool. People love ‘em.
Steve
-- -- I'm no rocket surgeon
barkupatree
home | projects | blog
22 posts in 4187 days
#4 posted 05-13-2011 12:58 AM
Nice job Dan, beautifully made family heirlooms. Just think of the memories those kids will have when they use them for their kids.
-- Life is Good Enough -- http://www.barkupatreewoodworks.com/
patron
home | projects | blog
13722 posts in 4838 days
#5 posted 05-13-2011 01:05 AM
from rags to riches
what great work
and sentiment
well done
-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle
HighRockWoodworking
home | projects | blog
182 posts in 4477 days
#6 posted 05-13-2011 01:11 AM
Good job buddy they are looking good!
-- Chris Adkins, http://highrockwoodworking.com/
majeagle1
home | projects | blog
1429 posts in 4994 days
#7 posted 05-13-2011 01:19 AM
And you say “nothing fancy”...... yeh, right!
These are fantastic Dan, what a beautiful choice of woods ( my favorites ) and perfect inlays…
This is something your “little friend” will show off to his friends and will keep for many years.
-- Gene, Majestic Eagle Woodworks, http://majesticeagleww.etsy.com/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/majesticeagle/
billb
home | projects | blog
113 posts in 4442 days
#8 posted 05-13-2011 01:23 AM
great job on these. Thanks for sharing them with us.
-- Bill, Austin, Texas, http://woodworking-business.com
Roger
home | projects | blog
21055 posts in 4301 days
#9 posted 05-13-2011 01:31 AM
those are some big n beautiful dovetails Dan. The inlays are awesome as well
very nice projects
-- Roger from KY. Work/Play/Travel Safe. Keep your dust collector fed. [email protected]
Cozmo35
home | projects | blog
2200 posts in 4533 days
#10 posted 05-13-2011 03:30 AM
You nailed it as always!
-- If you don't work, you don't eat!.....Garland, TX
jbschutz
home | projects | blog
624 posts in 4189 days
#11 posted 05-13-2011 03:43 AM
Dan,
Really classy! The craftsmanship is evident and so is your affection for these kids. They will treasure these when they are all grown up. I really like the dovetails and the personalized inlays.
-- jbschutz www.johnschutz.com
Dusty56
home | projects | blog
11868 posts in 5185 days
#12 posted 05-13-2011 03:47 AM
Three perfect examples of your skill and caring : )
-- I'm absolutely positive that I couldn't be more uncertain!
Gary
home | projects | blog
9433 posts in 4930 days
#13 posted 05-13-2011 03:59 AM
Great job Dan. Really nice work!!
-- Gary, DeKalb Texas only 4 miles from the mill
mahadevwood
home | projects | blog
415 posts in 4517 days
#14 posted 05-13-2011 05:30 AM
Realy they are looking good, nice inlay work, amazing job,
Thanks for sharing with us.
Joe Lyddon
home | projects | blog
10963 posts in 5550 days
#15 posted 05-13-2011 06:36 AM
Dan, I think you have found it!
You have made a regular ‘project’ BETTER… You’ve almost made it an heirloom!
Very NICE!
COOL… Keep it up!
-- Have Fun! Joe Lyddon - Alta Loma, CA USA - Home: http://www.WoodworkStuff.net ... My Small Gallery: https://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/index.php?media/albums/users/joe-lyddon.1389/
View all comments »
showing 1 through 15 of 22 comments
Have your say...