Stool re-furb.

[Rorschach]

My current shop stool is uncomfortable (seat too small and round) and I have been meaning to get around to making/modifying it. At the car boot this weekend though I spotted this, looking a little sad with the dust and paint on it. A quick feel and it is sturdy construction but got a little wobble. The owner told me it was 60 years old and his project piece at school/college. It seemed to be the perfect size and all he was asking was £4, bargain I thought.

Got it home and on closer inspection while there are no cracks or breaks in the wood, several of the glue joints are loose or getting there. So my project over the next few days will be to take it all apart, clean up the joints of old glue and then put it back together again. It appears to be entirely glued with traditional joinery so shouldn't be too hard to repair.

Not decided what to do about the top, it has previously had a fabric covering, I will probably cushion it rather than carve it, for speed more than anything.

 

[custard]

The owner told me it was 60 years old and his project piece at school/college.

Astonishing I know, but there may just have been a few porkies told during this transaction. There's no way a schoolboy, working with hand tools, rounded the corners of that top!

 

[Rorschach]

I was guessing trade school type thing rather than secondary school. The missus (I wasn't listening) said something about him being 17.

Of course it could all have been utter rubbish and he bought it. Didn't matter to me, it was £4, I couldn't buy the wood to make it for that!

 

[Rorschach]

I labelled all the joints and glued them back up, not fixed the seat yet as I am going to cover it with foam and fabric.
Seems to have gone back together ok, it doesn't sit level, but then it didn't before so I doubt I caused that. Not a big issue, I want to shorten the height anyway so once it's dry I will mark it up and trim the legs anyway.

 

[Rorschach]

Almost done. After the re-glue the base is now rock solid. The top had some thick high density upholstery foam added and then I covered it with some Rexine faux leather I had. It doesn't stretch much so it's hard to make it neat but this is a workshop stool and I wanted something hard wearing, easy to clean and FREE :lol:
It's very comfortable to sit on now but not squishy. I have decided not to glue the top back on for now, it's a snug fit on the leg tenons and needs hammering on, the fact I can remove it will make it easier to re-cover the top if/when it needs it. If the tops gets loose or anything I might add a couple of angle brackets to hold it.

Final job now is to determine the height I want it for sitting at my sandblaster and then trim/level the legs.