DIY furniture - folding chair made of plywood. Do-it-yourself stool: manufacturing methods and instructions for creating simple and stylish models (90 photo ideas) Original do-it-yourself wooden stool drawings

A stool is a familiar, comfortable and compact piece of furniture that is most often used in the kitchen or country house. Chairs purchased in a store and made from wood composites do not always meet all consumer requirements in terms of aesthetics and practicality for such conditions, and they are also quite expensive. This is why the question arises of how to make a stool with your own hands from wood so that it is reliable and lasts for many years.

Anyone who started making furniture with such a simple product as a stool, having become skilled at it, may later want to make more complex and large-scale structures, for example, a table, a cabinet, or something, which will save a decent amount of money for the family budget.

Popular types of stools

Even such a simple piece of furniture can be made in different variations and used for different needs. To decide which model you would like to obtain as a result of the work, you should consider several similar products.

Children's stool

This stool option will not be out of place in any home, as it is convenient not only for children, but also for adults. It is light in weight and compact in size, so it can easily be moved to any convenient place in the yard or house where it is needed at the moment, and even a small child can move it.

It is best to make such a model from a solid board, which should be well processed first. If you want the stool to be very light, then dry linden is used to make it, which has a beautiful textured pattern and very little density.

If the thickness of the board taken for a small stool is at least 25÷30 mm, then only three main parts will need to be made - these are two legs and a seat, which can be fastened with dowels, even without the use of additional reinforcing elements.

All parts of the product must not have sharp corners or burrs. The workpieces must be rounded and well sanded so that there is no risk of injury or splintering.

This piece of furniture can be used not only for sitting, but also as an ottoman, placing it under your feet - this is especially often used by older people. Therefore, by making such a stool, you can please both kids and grandmothers, showing them your care.

Stool - box

It's common to run out of space for small items in the kitchen or workshop, and this stool model is perfect for clearing out some of the currently unused items on your counter. The boards that form the walls of the box strengthen the entire structure well and at the same time create a box where things that should always be easily accessible can be placed.

For example, women can use such a box to store needlework, as it is spacious enough and there is room in it for balls of yarn and knitting needles, as well as everything necessary for hand embroidery or sewing.

The male half will calmly hide in a box under the seat some items of his home “arsenal” that are most often needed in the household - a hammer and nails, pliers and other not too large tools.

To make such a product you will need a well-processed timber 50×50 mm, a board 200÷250 mm wide and 20÷25 mm thick, plywood for the bottom of the box and fasteners.

Folding stool

A folding stool is suitable for small apartments with small kitchens or for small country houses. It can be kept constantly unfolded, and, if necessary, put away in any closet or niche between the furniture and the wall, since when folded its thickness will be approximately 60÷80 mm, depending on the material chosen for manufacturing and design features.

The seat for this stool model can be made round or square, but each option has its own design for attaching the legs. The legs for such a stool are made of boards or thick, 20÷25 mm high-quality plywood. The base of the product consists of two frames, one of which must fit freely into the other. The frames are fastened together on one side and the other with special screws with bushings or a pin axis, which allows the structure to fold.

Step stool

Another option for a stool that can serve not only for sitting, but also act as a stepladder. This model is always useful both in a private house and in an apartment. For example, it is difficult to do without a stepladder during general cleaning, and without it it is not easy to get the right thing from the top shelf of a high cabinet.

When folded, this design will be no different from a regular stool, since the steps will be under the seat. Turning a stool into a convenient staircase is not difficult - you just need to pull the top of the temporarily inverted steps and carefully place them on the floor. The result is a reliable and stable stepladder, which can also be used as a comfortable footrest when sitting on a stool.

To make this model, you will need massive boards for the seat and steps, as well as thick plywood for the legs and a stringer for the steps.

Stool for the garden

If you plan to use a stool in a summer cottage according to the type, only in a portable version, then you need to prepare a wooden beam for it, since plywood will not work in this case. It will begin to delaminate under the influence of moisture, and the product will soon be hopelessly damaged.

Larch or oak is best suited for manufacturing. If you choose other wood, then it will need to be thoroughly impregnated with moisture-repellent compounds and then painted. Moreover, the process of pre-processing of lumber is carried out even before the structure is assembled.

Furniture used outdoors differs from that found indoors in that between the parts from which the seat and back are assembled (if a bench is made), gaps must be left so that rainwater does not linger on their surface, and parts were ventilated faster.

Stool drawing

Having decided on the model of the future product, a sketch drawing is drawn up, according to which all structural elements will be manufactured. When drawing up a drawing, all the necessary dimensions are immediately calculated and marked on the drawing. It is not at all necessary to make a diagram, observing all the canons and rules of drawing science - even just drawing it by hand will be enough. The main thing is that you can visually evaluate what will happen in the end, see all the parameters of the necessary materials and the principle of their connection.

In the presented diagram you can see the names of some of the parts that are included in the design of the stool - these are drawers, legs and “crackers”. Let’s talk about them in a little more detail, so that in further descriptions it will be clear what we are talking about. All these parts are necessary to hold the structure together and give it the required strength.

• Tsargi are bars or boards located under the seat of the stool and fasten the legs together with tenon joints, creating a strong support for the seat.
• The leg is an element designed to increase the stability and rigidity of the structure. It is located in the central or lower part of the legs (according to their height) and also fastens them together with tongue-and-groove joints.
• “Rusks” are bars, boards or metal corners installed diagonally on the inner corners of the structure under the seat and secured to the drawers and legs.

When drawing up a drawing, it is important to calculate not only the parameters of all visible parts of the structure, but also the size of the internal connecting elements, such as tenons cut at the edges of the drawers, and the grooves in which they will be installed, selected in the legs of the stool.

Tools for work

Without carpentry tools, it is simply impossible to make any piece of furniture from wood. Professional furniture makers have workshops fully equipped with special expensive machines. But just to try yourself as a carpenter, of course, you shouldn’t immediately purchase professional equipment, however, you will still have to prepare some tools.

The list of the most popular tools for working with wood is as follows:

• It’s great if the farm has a set of cutters that will help you process the edges of boards, timber and plywood, drill holes of different sizes, or carefully select grooves and grooves on any of the parts.

• To get rid of tedious operations, you will need a sanding machine with interchangeable wheels of varying degrees of grain to give the wood surface a smooth finish. This work can be done manually, but it will take much longer.

• Electric jigsaw. This tool, of course, can be replaced with a hand hacksaw, but after sawing the boards with it, the edges of the parts will not turn out neat, and you will have to work hard on them using a router. Again, cutting the material by hand will take much longer.

• will be necessary not only for screwing in fasteners, but also for drilling holes in parts. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a set of screwdriver bits and drills of different diameters. Instead of a screwdriver, you can use any drill and a set of hand screwdrivers.

• Clamps of various sizes. If you want to make a really high-quality and durable thing, then you must have clamps on hand, since when gluing boards into a solid panel or individual parts together, they must be strongly compressed and left in this position for a fairly long time, and besides these no other instrument can do this.
• You always need a hammer and chisels of different sizes. Sometimes you have to resort to using a plane - it can also be manual or electric.
• Measuring and marking equipment is being prepared - tape measure, construction square, wooden ruler 500÷1000 mm, simple pencil, surface planer, etc.

In addition to these tools, to carry out the work conveniently, you will need a fairly large and durable table - a workbench.

Making stools

folding stool

Traditional simple stool

The designs of even the simplest products may differ from each other in some elements, which, as a rule, are intended to give the stool additional strength.

Materials for production

A simple model of a stool looks like this and consists of parts indicated in the drawing by numbers:

1 - Legs.

2 - Stool legs.

3 - Tsargi.

4 - Seat.

5 - Connection elements - supports for installing the seat.

6 - Connecting grooves.

7 - Connecting grooves.

To make traditional stools with a height of 500 mm, a seat of 450x450 mm and straight legs, the following parts will be required:

• Four well-processed, smooth beams for the legs, cross-section 50x50 mm, height 485 mm. They can be straight or have narrowed cuts on the inside.
• For the seat you need to prepare two or four boards 12÷20 mm thick, 450×225 mm or 450×112.5 mm in size, or a plywood panel 450×450 mm, 12÷20 mm thick.
• To give the stool strength, in different types of structures 4 legs and 4 drawers can be used, made of timber with a section of 30×30 and a length of 441 mm, or only drawers - 4 boards, with a cross-section of 30×60 and a length of 441 mm.
• Additionally, connecting elements can be used in the form of small pieces of bars fixed on the inside, in the middle of the drawers, but you can do without them if bars of sufficient thickness are taken for the base under the seat.
• 30×30 mm timber for making “crackers” if they are intended to be installed.
• Wooden dowels (chops) for securing the seat to the finished base - 4 pieces, 30 mm long and 8÷10 mm in diameter.
• Self-tapping screws.
• Wood glue.

Assembling the stool

Illustration
	The first step, in order not to waste time, is to glue the boards for the seat if it will consist of several elements. To do this, well-fitted and polished end sides of the boards are coated with glue, connected to each other and tightened with clamps. This design should dry thoroughly, and while it is setting, you can start assembling the frame base of the stool.
	Next, the bars for the legs are prepared. They must have perfectly even cuts and be the same in height, which can vary, depending on the wishes of the master, and range from 450 to 500 mm.
	The next step is to mark the legs and determine the location of the connecting grooves for installing the tenons of the legs and drawers in them (or just the drawer, if the legs are not included in the design). The holes are selected using a router or chisel.
	Next, the edges of the drawers and legs are processed. Tenons are cut out on them with a width, height and depth that is 1÷1.5 mm smaller than the holes in the grooves in the legs intended for them. The tenons should fit fairly freely, but still fit tightly into the grooves.
	After this, the legs are assembled in pairs, fastened together by means of legs and drawers - their tenon parts are glued into the grooves of the legs. Each of the resulting frames is tightened with clamps. Then, after they have dried, the legs, tied in pairs, are also connected by drawers and legs into a single structure for the base of the stool and again compressed in clamps until they are completely glued. After the glue has dried, all connections are additionally secured with self-tapping screws.
	If it is intended to strengthen the stool with “crumbs”, then they are screwed to the sides and the leg of the stool. This element, installed flush with the top edge of the drawers, will create additional support for the seat.
	The next step is to mark and secure the stool seat. To do this, glue is applied to the back of the panel according to the markings, and then it is laid on the finished base of the stool, leveled and pressed. Next, in the corners, through the seat panel, one hole is drilled, the diameter of which should be 1-2 mm larger than that of the prepared dowels, and the depth should be 5 mm less than their height. Glue is poured into the hole, and then the dowels are driven in. Exposed glue is immediately wiped off. The top of the dowel is cut off using a router, and this area is sanded smooth. Additionally, the seat must be tightened with the frame using clamps until the glue dries completely.

The adhesive can be designed for different drying times, and this is usually indicated on the packaging by the manufacturer. It is possible to operate the products only after the specified period has completely expired.

Folding stool

The folding version of the stool is convenient because, thanks to its compactness, it can not only be stored in a small living space, but can also easily fit into the trunk of a car for transportation to the country.

children's stool

Materials for production

To make such a stool model, you will need slightly different materials than those used for the traditional product. Thus, some craftsmen prefer to purchase ready-made furniture panels made from natural wood. They are excellent for cutting design parts, since, having cut them out of this material, all that remains is to process their edges.

For the presented version of the stool, the master required a panel measuring 1120×400×24 mm, and in addition to it, additionally, the following materials:

• A stud with threads cut on both sides and end nuts, 250x8 mm in size, for through installation, or a stud with blunt ends for installation in blind grooves.
• Furniture butterfly hinges size (when opened) 350x400 mm - 4 pieces.
• Dowels or choppers 50×8 mm.
• Wood glue.
• Stain and clear varnish or tinted varnish.
• Self-tapping screws 15÷20 mm long.

The dimensions of all structural parts are clearly visible in the presented drawing.

The folding stool consists of the following parts:

• The seat is round, with a diameter of 350 mm.
• The frame is 166 mm wide, consisting of two bars measuring 500 × 48 × 24 mm, and a cross member 122 mm long.
• Frame 122 mm wide from two bars 500x48x24 mm with cuts at the upper ends at an angle of 30 degrees, and crossbars 70 mm long.

Making a stool

Processing of parts and their assembly is carried out in the following order:

Illustration	Brief description of the operation performed
	It must be said that the seat can have a round or square shape with rounded corners, at the choice of the master. In this case, a round seat with a diameter of 350 mm was chosen. For the convenience of folding the stool, a curved hole should be made in the upper part of the seat, approximately 120 mm long and 20÷25 mm wide, so that it is convenient to grasp it with your hand. It can be cut using a router or drilling two holes with a diameter of 20÷25 mm at a distance of 120 mm from each other, and then connecting them by sawing out the wood between them using a jigsaw, making two cuts. In order for the hole to be neat and smooth, its edges must be processed immediately.
	Processing the edge of the seat and the inner edges of the “handle” hole is most often done using a semicircular cutter. But if this tool is not available, then they are put in order by first using a file with a large notch (rasp), and then sandpaper of different grain sizes, gradually bringing the wood to smoothness.
	The next step is to process the prepared bars of the legs. In two of them, which will form the outer frame, you need to cut a groove 180 mm long and 8 mm wide, and 42 mm deep, along which the pin will go. Sometimes the grooves are made through - it is for this case that a stud with threads at the ends is selected, onto which a special cap nut is screwed. In the other two bars, according to the diagram, through holes with a diameter of 8 mm are drilled through which the pin will pass - these elements are intended for the manufacture of a narrow frame.
	The grooves are cut using a router, or holes with a diameter of 8 mm are drilled along the intended line, which are then combined into a common groove using a jigsaw. The work is carried out on a special machine, or the beam is rigidly fixed in a vice, and then holes are drilled in it using a drill or screwdriver.
	The bars that will form the inner, narrower frame of the stool must be carefully sawed off at the top at an angle of 30 degrees - this process can be done on a machine or using a miter box. The corner must be cut perfectly accurately, so this work cannot be done “by eye”. On the lower part of the legs, it is recommended to slightly round the corners and edges.
	The crossbars installed between the legs are mounted on dowels, which are glued into the drilled holes. This process can be done in different ways. Most often, the jumper is first installed with glue in the place intended for it, the legs are compressed in clamps, and left to dry completely. Then, through the outer side of the legs, through holes are drilled, which go deep into the end sides of the jumpers by at least 20÷25 mm. After this, dowels are carefully driven into the holes using glue. Each side of the jumpers will require two fasteners.
	On the back of the seat, according to the drawing, the places where the butterfly loops will be attached are marked. Then, the loops are laid on the marked place and outlined. Further. From this place, a landing “nest” is selected with a depth equal to the thickness of the loop, that is, when secured, the loop should be flush with the main wooden surface.
	Next, the loops are secured on the upper end sides of the legs. They are screwed on with self-tapping screws, the caps of which must be in the same plane as the surface of the hinges. The next step is to attach the second side of the hinges to the sockets prepared for them on the back surface of the seat.
	To make the structure look neat, it is recommended to cover the pin with a tube carved from wood. You can replace the wooden version of the element masking the pin with a plastic tube, since turning this part out of wood is not so easy. The length of the tube should be 68 mm, the internal diameter 9 mm, the thickness of the tube walls can be from 2 to 10 mm.
	Next, the pin is inserted into the narrower frame through a prepared decorative tube, and its ends are inserted into the grooves of the outer, wider frame, along which they will move when folding and unfolding the stool.
	It must be said that a folding stool may have a slightly different design. It uses not one, but two studs, and instead of an internal frame, a solid board is fixed, and it serves as an equally reliable stool leg. The second, outer frame has a jumper at its very bottom, at such a level that when the structure is folded, the leg board fits neatly into it, creating one panel. The fastening of such legs to the seat is carried out in exactly the same way as in the first version of the folding stool.
	For comparison, you can see what one and the other model of the finished product looks like, and choose the one you like best for production. It is probably not difficult to understand that the second design option is simpler to implement.

Stool with wicker seat

A stool with a wicker surface can be made in a low or full, high version - it will be comfortable in any case. Its seat can be made of various materials - durable fabric, belts (including old car seat belts), cord and even plastic-braided cable. It is quite possible to come up with your own version.

Materials for production

The frame for such products is mounted, in principle, according to the same scheme, however, if a high stool is made for an adult, then the design should be more reliable, that is, it is advisable to strengthen it with durable drawers and legs. We must not forget that in a traditional stool the seat is also a reinforcing part of the structure, and its wicker version itself requires a particularly strong frame.

So, for the frame of a rectangular stool measuring 500×400 mm, you will need:

• Wooden blocks 50x50 mm for legs - their height can be selected individually.
• Bars for drawers and legs, section 50×25 mm.
• Metal or wooden corner elements - “crackers”.
• Self-tapping screws.
• Leather or synthetic belts, or durable rope in one or two colors.

Let us immediately note that the model shown in the example has a fairly large seat, which reduces the overall strength of the stool. Therefore, it may be more reasonable to make this structural element a little smaller, for example, 350x300 mm.

Find out by reading the options from “classic” to “transformer” in a special article on our portal.

Making a stool

The manufacture of such a stool is carried out in the following order:

Illustration	Brief description of the operation performed
	The structural elements of the stool are cut from the bars prepared for work. The legs can range from 300mm to 500mm in height and the model shown is 400mm high. In order for the legs to be stable, their end parts must be perfectly flat. Therefore, they should be marked using a construction square, and preferably sawed using a circular saw, which will give a perfect cut.
	The next step is to prepare the bars for the legs and drawers. In this case, 4 beams with a length of 450 mm and 4 beams with a length of 300 mm are cut. These elements should also have smooth edges for a snug fit to the legs.
	To make holes for fastening structural elements at a certain angle, a special tool (jig) is used that can guide the drill bit in the desired direction. This device is fixed on a block, and two holes are drilled through its guide holes on each side of the wooden part. After all the elements of the stool are ready, they should be thoroughly cleaned - this process is best carried out before assembling the structure, as it will be easier to see all the problem areas on the wood.
	This photo shows what such holes look like inside the beam.
	Additional fastening of the drawers and legs with the legs can be done using tongue-and-groove fasteners, and then, for maximum reliability, also with metal corners - “crackers”. These parts need to be selected according to the width of the wooden blocks.
	If the first fastening option is chosen, using self-tapping screws, then the assembly and fixation of all parts of the stool look as shown in the presented photo.
	At the end of the assembly, the stool frame should be strong and stable. When leaning on it, it should not swing.
	If it is planned to be painted or tinted, then this process is carried out before the seat is made.
	To equip the seat for the model shown in this example, 17 leather belts, 35 mm wide, were required. As already mentioned, seat belts used in cars can be used instead. The straps are screwed with two self-tapping screws measuring 10 mm at a distance of 9 mm from each other, onto the wide side of the beam extending inside the stool frame. The length of the belts must be measured in advance using a tape measure, “traversing” the entire path of the belt with its flexible tape. First you need to secure the belts, which will be located along the length of the rectangle. Having secured the belts on the inside, they go around the beam, pull it through the seat frame to the opposite king beam, go around it and also fasten it on the inside using the same screws.
	After the longitudinal belts are secured, the belts that will intertwine the already tensioned elements should be secured in the same way. They are screwed onto one of the long sides of the frame. Then, each of the belts is passed transversely through the longitudinal belts, in the form of weaving. After this, they are also wrapped on the inside of the opposite drawer, stretched and screwed. Having completed this operation, you can proceed to “testing” the product.
	Another option for designing a flexible stool seat is to stretch a strong rope or cord over the frame. In this case, paper rope was used. In addition to this, you need to prepare furniture nails with wide heads and a hammer, as well as clamping pliers and an awl.
	You can purchase rope of different shades for weaving and display one of the selected patterns on the surface of the seat, getting a stylish piece of furniture that will complement the interior design.
	The end of a rope of the same color is nailed to the back side of the drawer using two furniture nails.
	Next, the rope is carefully wrapped around two long opposite sides of the frame. If the frame is square, then the process of laying the rope can begin from any side of the structure.
	By braiding the opposite sides with a rope, its loops are pressed against each other as tightly as possible and pulled. Having covered approximately 100÷120 mm of the length of the seat with braiding, the rope is temporarily fixed with pliers so that it does not loosen. Work continues in this way until the entire surface of the seat is covered with a wound rope.
	Having finished covering the seat along two sides with one color, you can move on to weaving it across with twine of a different color. To do this, in this case, take a white rope and fasten it also on the back side of the drawer, running parallel to the already wound rope.
	Using a white cord, any pattern can be “highlighted” from a red background. This process is relatively simple and will be accessible even to a beginner.
	In this case, the white cords are pulled between the red rope so that the result is a herringbone pattern, that is, stripes are turned diagonally from the center of the seat.
	Having intertwined 6-8 rows and pulled them tight, the white rope is grabbed on the back side of the drawer with a furniture nail. If this is not done, the seat will quickly stretch and sag when using the stool. This procedure must be carried out every 6–8 rows, driving nails either on one side or on the opposite side.
	The result should be a durable seat, four threads thick, with an interesting design. If you want to choose a different pattern, woven from three or even four colors of rope, then on the Internet you can always find exactly what will suit a specific interior.

It should be noted that in the second option, where the seat is covered with rope, the frame is not very strong and is unlikely to support people with heavy weight, but such a stool is perfect for a children's room or as a footrest. If you want to make a full-fledged product for the seat, you need to choose a more massive beam for the frame and strengthen it especially reliably.

Find out by studying several available options in a special article on our portal.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that making a stool yourself, without having experience working with wood and special tools, is not as simple as it seems at first glance. However, if you have the desire and enough patience, then it’s quite possible to try yourself as a carpenter. The main thing is that you need to get ready for serious work and not do it “carelessly.”

Video: master class on making a simple wooden stool

A stool is one of the simplest types of furniture products. No matter what changes our life undergoes, it remains unchanged. Only the materials from which it is made change. In Soviet times, making a stool with your own hands was one of the first tasks in labor lessons. Not only boys knew carpentry. Sometimes representatives of the fair sex had to comprehend the basics of adult life and learn how to make a stool with their own hands. Modern furniture bears little resemblance to its counterparts from 50 years ago. Wooden stools of that time were rough, but durable. They fit perfectly into the interior of the kitchen, as well as other rooms. Nowadays there is a rich assortment of different types of furniture in stores, but there are also amateurs who want to learn how to make a stool with their own hands. And in our time of abundance of building materials, this will not be difficult at all.

The main parts of a stool are the seat and legs. The legs are tied at the top with drawers, and at the bottom with leggings. Having become familiar with the terms, you can start drawing. First, you need to decide on the sizes. When making a stool, it is better to start from old, but reliable models that can be found in every home. Having measured the height and other parameters, you can begin to develop a diagram. If you don’t have a sample, then for an adult stool the size of the seat side will be 300-450mm, for a child’s stool - 250-280mm. Homemade stools should be even more comfortable than store-bought ones. If only because you can choose the height according to yourself. Usually the size for adults is 420-480mm, for children - 260-280mm. You must have drawings of stools with you, whether it is a diagram from the Internet or drawn up by you. After all, eliminating defects on paper is much easier than redoing the whole job.

Materials and tools

Making a stool will require high-quality materials that have stood the test of time. In the first place, of course, is wood. Wooden stools rank first in terms of convenience and second after forged ones in terms of durability. The wood should be dried in room conditions at 20-30 degrees; you should not use kiln-dried wood, as the possibility of cracking cannot be ruled out. After air drying, the material needs to be dried at home at room temperature for about a month. It is best to take hardwood: maple, birch, beech, wenge, hemlock, mahogany. Or make legs from them, which carry the main load, and the seat from pine, spruce, MDF, chipboard or plywood.

Chipboard is one of the cheapest, but unreliable materials. It has advantages, such as moisture resistance. But when making a stool, strength is much more important, and chipboard has insufficient strength, and it is also too fragile for furniture, although there are a couple of options in which the pressure on chipboard can be reduced. But the constant release of formaldehyde resins, which make this material unsafe, unfortunately, cannot be completely eliminated.

MDF is an environmentally friendly material and quite durable. However, when making kitchen furniture with your own hands, it is better to use it in combination with hardwood, especially in the supports, that is, in fact, it is used only for the seat, or lid, as it is called in some sources.

A good substitute for wood is plywood, but then you will have to do a little magic with the design. Kitchen stools made from plywood are made from 3 parts, or from 4, so-called box-shaped. This design is now very common, especially in the furniture industry. Although it is perfect for making a stool with your own hands.

Tools are selected depending on the materials. To make wooden stools, we will need:

• roulette
• self-tapping screws
• screwdriver
• square
• jigsaw
• chisel
• emery
• wood glue

How to make a classic stool yourself

In order to make a wooden stool with your own hands, we will need material (boards, bars) and tools. If you don’t have a jigsaw and there’s no way to buy one, then we do this: we buy an inexpensive frame hacksaw for metal and direct its teeth toward you when working. So, the scheme is ready, the materials have been purchased and, if necessary, dried, the tools have been prepared - you can start. Before starting work, you can make so-called “patterns” out of paper, that is, life-size parts of the future stool cut out of paper. You don’t have to do this, whatever is more convenient for you.

Click to enlarge

We start with the legs, they will have a square section of 50x50mm. Let's cut off 4 identical parts from the block, let's say 450mm long. Then assemble a seat from a single piece or from two halves, ours is 380x380, the thickness of the board is 20 mm. Next, we cut out 4 drawers to connect the legs of the stool and 4 legs. We will also need four bars for an additional connection between the drawers and the seat. The structure is assembled according to the principle: tenon and groove, tenons are cut along the edges of the drawers, and grooves are cut on the legs of the future stool. The length of the tenon and the depth of the groove are approximately 20-25mm. We do the same with the legs, which will subsequently be attached to the legs. You can mark the details ahead of time for clarity.

We sand it before the parts are assembled; this is both convenient and safe. We assemble all the parts at the beginning without glue, adjusting and, if necessary, filing them. Then we coat the parts one by one with glue and assemble them. We fasten the bars between the drawers with self-tapping screws to the bottom of the seat “tightly”. To do this, we will take care of the length of the fasteners in advance. I would like to say a few words about the glue that we will use to coat the grooves.

It is better to take special glue, carpentry glue. This glue has proven itself for many years. If you don’t have it, then you can take PVA, but not the stationery type for paper, but the one that is suitable for wood.

Other types

There are stools that are much easier to make than classic ones. A very common option now is a stool, consisting of four parts: a seat, two wide legs and a reinforcing crossbar (or jumper). This option should not be difficult, especially in assembly. Wood, thick plywood, and laminated chipboard are suitable for it. This structure is secured with furniture screws and glue for additional fixation. This option is very simple, but there is one subtlety: the reinforcing crossbar should be in the shape of a trapezoid with a 5mm bevel. This is necessary to make the structure more stable.

You can try your hand at making a lightweight stool. In this version, there are no side drawers and the legs are attached directly to the grooves of the seat. For this purpose, the seat cover is made of thick material. The grooves are made directly into the seat or bars are attached to it. In this case, the legs are made thicker than usual. Of course, such a stool will take much less time than a regular one.

Another type of stool is a seat and two legs arranged crosswise at an angle of 90 degrees. In this version there are no additional parts, where the structure itself consists of 4 parts. In this case, we can again use wood, plywood, and pressed boards. If we settle on a wooden model, then we do the final touch after final assembly. We carefully sand the stool again, and then treat it as desired with stain, varnish or paint.

Decorating your stool

Your stool can be decorated depending on the interior items where it will be located. You can apply a design on the surface of the seat with spray paint using a stencil. Then coat the surface with varnish. Or make a bold design move and decorate a retro stool using decoupage. It’s labor-intensive, but effective, and you can involve the whole family in this interesting activity. To do this, we will need PVA stationery glue, beautiful napkins and varnish, preferably acrylic. The result will tell not only about your accuracy, but also reveal your taste. In the end, you can decorate just the seat by laying thin foam for softness. Then decorate it with beautiful fabric and decorate it with accessories to your taste. As they say, everything is in your hands!

A stool is one of the types of furniture and is intended mainly for use in the kitchen.

An ordinary, classic stool consists of:

• Cover - 1 pc.
• Legs - 4 pcs.
• Tsarga - 4 pcs.
• Legs - 4 pcs.

If someone wants to make a stool with their own hands, then no special difficulties are foreseen.

Of course, if you have never made wood, then on the first try you may not be able to make a high-quality and reliable stool. But this does not mean that you should not try your hand at carpentry.

Wood stool

If you decide to make a stool from wood, then for this purpose you will need:

• planed board, without knots, wormholes and splits, 25 mm thick.
• cranial block;

• electric saw or hacksaw with a small tooth stroke;
• countersunk screws 30 pieces per stool measuring 6x60 mm;
• screwdriver;

• metal square: it does not allow errors, unlike a wooden one;
• metal meter or tape measure;
• emery cloth;

• any small block, which we will wrap with sandpaper to sand the surfaces of the parts.

Preparing the lid

The lid must be square in shape and its dimensions can vary within:

• 32x32;
• 36x36;
• 40x40.

These are the most optimal sizes taken as the basis for the production of stools. However, since the stool is made independently, the body dimensions of family members can also be taken into account.

When buying lumber, keep in mind that it must be dry.

Dry lumber is planed without burrs, can be processed well with sandpaper, will not dry out in the future, screws will not fall out and the product will not turn into a wobbly stool.

Since this is our first time making a stool, we choose the size 40x40, this will make it easier to understand and learn how to work independently.

It is advisable to choose a board 20 centimeters wide, then there will be no need to plan off extra centimeters.

We saw off two pieces of 40 centimeters along the length of the board.

We take 40–60 K sandpaper, wrap it around a block and begin to clean the edges and ends of the workpieces. If there are clearly expressed irregularities on the plane, then we clean it with the same sandpaper.

At the second stage of cleaning, we use 80–120 K sandpaper. We also go over the plane, edges and ends.

At the final stage, we use 160–320 K grade paper.

It is possible that you may need another type of sandpaper: a lot depends on the type of wood and the sawing tool used.

Preparing the Tsargi

From a board 20 cm wide, cut off a piece 27-28 centimeters long.

We cut it on a circular saw into 4 parts of 5 centimeters each.

We take 40-60 K sandpaper and carefully clean the ends so that in the future there are no gaps between the drawer and the leg.

First, we clean the surfaces with sandpaper grade 80–120 K, then 160–320 K.

Preparing the leggings

We saw off a piece of the board the same length as the side. We cut 4 pieces of 3-4 centimeters each on a circular saw.

We take 40-60 K sandpaper and carefully clean the ends to avoid a gap between the rod and the leg. We clean the surfaces with sandpaper grade 80–120 K.

To completely complete the manufacture of the workpiece, we use 160–320 K sandpaper.

Cooking the legs

From a cranial block with a cross-section of 3x3 centimeters, we saw off 4 pieces 42 centimeters long.

Using sandpaper grade 40–60 K, we clean one end, which will be under the stool cover.

We sand the surfaces of the legs first with 80–120 K sandpaper, and then with 160–320 K sandpaper. The legs are ready.

Assembling the stool

We take two legs, lay them out on a workbench or table, with the cleaned end up. Between them on top, flush with the end of the leg, we lay a drawer. At the bottom of the legs, between them, at a distance of 10 centimeters from the bottom end, we lay a leg.

We fasten it with self-tapping screws on both sides, a drawer with legs and a leg with legs.

We do the same with the second pair of legs.

We secure the remaining two drawers and legs with self-tapping screws, on both sides of the legs on one of the assembled structures, at the same level as the already installed elements.

We place the second assembled structure on top and secure it with self-tapping screws.

We place the assembled structure on its legs, distribute the blanks from the lid on top, and secure them with self-tapping screws.

The stool is ready.

Photo ideas on how to make a stool with your own hands

An ordinary wooden stool is guaranteed to be in every home. Despite the fact that the simple design is noticeably inferior in terms of comfort to modern armchairs, such pieces of furniture do not lose their relevance.

The stool looks equally at home in the kitchen, garage and country house; it is ideal for small apartments and always comes to the rescue if there are a lot of guests who need to be placed at the table.

Making a wooden stool with your own hands is not difficult. There is no backrest or armrests here, so it is better for craftsmen who plan to make their own furniture to start with such designs.

Where to begin

It is immediately necessary to clarify that there are several options for homemade stools. The product can be folded or combine the function of a stepladder; there are high chairs and practical benches, complemented by drawers. If we talk about a classic stool, it consists of the following elements:

• a rectangular or square seat with a side of 300 mm; a round seat with a radius of about 350 mm is often made;
• legs - 4 pieces, made of rectangular timber 400-500 mm high;
• drawers - the upper trim of the legs in the amount of 4 pieces, giving the structure the necessary rigidity;
• The legs are additional stiffening ribs that are installed in the middle of the support posts.

A simple design involves straight wooden legs. They are the easiest to cut and secure. This is exactly what the configuration of an ordinary wooden stool looks like, capable of taking its rightful place in the kitchen. The sizes vary and depend on the height of who will most often use such furniture and for what purpose, but most often the height is about 40 cm.

Before production, you must carefully study the drawing. You can take a ready-made version from the Internet or draw it yourself by hand. A simple diagram will help you not to miss anything.

Selecting materials

Having prepared drawings and diagrams of a plywood stool, which is supposed to be made with your own hands, you can begin preparing the raw materials. Of course, plywood is used as a seat only in cases where high loads are not expected. In other cases, it is better to give preference to denser wood, such as edged boards.

There are no strict requirements here, but experienced home craftsmen do not recommend choosing alder, aspen, willow and poplar for homemade products. These are soft wood species that quickly lose their original properties upon prolonged contact with a humid environment.

Good stool seats are made from coniferous trees: pine, spruce. Oak, birch or maple bars are more suitable for making legs. If there is no suitable wood, the landing part can be made from chipboard, but here you need to take into account that the fibrous structure makes the material fragile, therefore, you will have to be careful when processing.

Required Tools

Stools are made using various technologies from wood, plywood, and chipboard. In any case, for production you will need:

• roulette;
• square;
• fasteners: screws or nails;
• wood hacksaw;
• drill with a set of drills;
• screwdriver or screwdriver.

To make wood processing easier, it is recommended to use a circular saw or milling machine rather than a hand saw. It is convenient to cut plywood with a jigsaw. In order for a wooden stool to turn out beautiful, all parts must be sanded, and after assembly they must be painted or covered with stain or varnish. Treatment with a nylon sanding attachment and staining will give the wooden product an antique look.

Assembly steps

First you need to make blanks for the seat. It makes sense to take a board 200 mm wide and cut two pieces 400 mm long. If you put them together, you get a perfect square. The boards are usually glued together with PVA wood glue and clamped in a special clamp for boards (vamp).

Then four blanks for the legs are cut from a square block with a cross-section of 3 x 3 cm. The height of the stool is determined individually, depending on the preferences of family members, but if the length of the leg is less than 40 cm, it will not be very uncomfortable for an adult to sit on such a product.

Drawers and legs can be made from the remnants of the board, spreading it lengthwise to create parts 100 mm wide. A total of 8 such elements will be required, the length is determined by the distance between the inner sides of the legs and is about 350 mm. After sawing, all prepared parts are treated with sandpaper to remove burrs and irregularities.

To assemble a stool from prepared parts, the legs are marked at the locations where the frames and stiffeners are installed. In accordance with the markings, holes are drilled for self-tapping screws, after which the parts are fastened together. For additional adhesion, glue is used.

The stool seat boards are installed on the finished frame, which are also fixed with self-tapping screws.

At the final stage, the product is varnished or painted. If desired, the seat can be made soft by placing a piece of foam rubber and covering it with leatherette on top.

Plywood stool

If, after renovation, a large sheet of plywood with a thickness of 9-15 mm remains in the apartment, it can be turned into a small stool, which can be useful in the garage or while fishing. The advantage is that it creates a lightweight, collapsible stool that is convenient to take on trips. The chair is made according to the following scheme.

Two U-shaped posts are cut out of a sheet of plywood. The width of the legs is about 5 cm, the upper crossbar is 10-15 cm thick. The length of the legs is chosen arbitrarily, depending on personal preferences. A protrusion 15 cm long and 2.5 cm high is left on the top surface of each rack.

A cut is made in the central part of the transverse strip of each rack. The cutout should be in the lower and upper parts so that the supporting elements are connected to each other during assembly.

Two identical squares are cut out to serve as a seat. A cross-shaped cut is made in the part that will be installed on the legs, corresponding in length to the protrusion left on the posts.

The stool is assembled as follows. The racks are joined with grooves crosswise. The seat parts are glued together and installed on the seat groove.

Folding stool

A folding wooden stool is a rather complex, but more functional and practical design. It is suitable for cottages, fishing and city apartments. To make a folding stool from wood with your own hands, prepare a drawing that determines the shape of the seat and the dimensions of the main parts. Such products look most interesting if the seat has a round shape, but this point remains at the discretion of the master.

As in the previous case, blanks for the stool are cut out of wood according to the prepared drawing. However, when making legs you need to take into account 2 nuances.

When assembled, the legs will be arranged crosswise, so the supporting elements are conventionally divided into an internal and external frame. The bars that will be used to make the internal frame must have an angle of 30 degrees at the point of contact with the seat. If you do not take this point into account, the chair will turn out to be unstable.

The legs are drilled through the middle. There will be a pin running through here, connecting the posts together and simplifying the folding process.

When the blanks are cut, you can start assembling. Markings are made on the inside of the seat for installing hinges. The outer legs usually have a wide distance between them and are located closer to the edge of the seat. The internal racks are placed a little further from the center, closer to each other. After marking, loops are screwed to the legs, then the posts are connected to the seat.

The structure is brought into the assembled position, a pin is passed into the drilled groove, which is fixed on both sides with nuts. The finished chair is varnished or painted.

Children's bench

A small high chair will be useful not only for kids, but also for adults. The attractiveness of this model lies in its compact dimensions and light weight, so even a child can move his bench to a place convenient for playing.

It is recommended to use linden for production. This array has a beautiful natural texture and low density, which allows you to reduce the weight of a small stool without losing strength. The bench consists of only 3 elements: a seat and two racks. The optimal starting material is a board 30-40 mm thick. It is better to make the legs carved, which will give the chair an original appearance.

It is important to understand here that products for children should not have sharp corners, so it is recommended that all components be given a rounded shape. The parts are fastened together with dowels; additional fasteners are usually not required. After assembly, the product must be carefully sanded so that the baby does not get a splinter.

Stool with drawer

This model is made by analogy with a classic wooden stool, but has a small drawer that can be used to store various household items. To do this, the drawers are made from a full-size board, the width of which will determine the depth of the box. It is better to place additional stiffening ribs not in the middle, but in the lower part of the support posts, so that the finished product has a symmetrical shape.

The seat of the stool is made of chipboard or thick plywood; a curved hole is cut out in the middle part, which will be convenient to grasp with your hand when opening the lid. The seat itself is placed on 2 hinges, the bottom wall of the box is filled with a sheet of thin plywood, cut to the size of the walls.

Some home craftsmen create more complex options. In particular, the top cover is made monolithic and tightly attached to the legs and drawers. The box is made retractable and installed on metal guides.

Step stool

Quite an interesting option, which consists of two articulated parts. During production, the general concept of a folding stool is retained, but with some differences. In particular, a high bar stool with long legs is made. The structure is assembled according to the standard scheme: seat, drawers and 4 legs.

Then a small ladder of 2-3 steps is made from thick plywood, depending on the height of the stool. The total length of the ladder is calculated so that when folded it fits completely under the seat. Holes are drilled in the two legs of the stool through which two pins will be passed connecting the stool and the ladder.

Wicker seat

To create a stool with a wicker seat, you only need to assemble a frame from bars: four legs, upper and middle crossbars. To give the structure a more elegant look, it is better to make the support posts carved, like a figured bas-relief. The frame can be made square, rectangular or round.

The function of the seat will be performed by belts: leather trouser belts or synthetic ones, which are used for safety in cars. The straps are stretched along the length of the frame, the edges are folded to the inside, secured with decorative nails. Then, according to a similar pattern, a transverse row is stretched. Thus, the belts are intertwined with each other, forming a pattern.

Even an ordinary wooden stool, made by a skilled craftsman, can turn into a real work of art. A little work - and the wooden block left after cutting down the trees turns into two spectacular stools on 3 legs. For those who love original things, you can make a homemade chair seat in the shape of a puzzle. Three or four of these chairs, placed in a row, will form a bench; if necessary, the structure can be easily divided into separate seats.

There are no standard solutions in handicraft production, so the shape and size of the product depend only on the imagination of the craftsman.

A stool is an integral element, a must-have fixture in any home. It's not too expensive or rare to make your own, but a homemade stool is sure to be more durable and elegant than a standard item from any store. This is what we will talk about today.