Windsor stool . Cherry and ash w/ inlay

[Brian Millspaw]

This stool is 18" tall and the seat is 13" d. The seat is gummy cherry. The legs and stretchers are ash. The inlay is wenge. I like to leave inlays raised slightly and pillowed over on the edges.
This is the first time I tried the x-brace stretchers. One stretcher runs between two legs and has a hole bored through it. The other two are tenoned into it and pegged. A little carving makes it appear as though the stetchers are mitered in the center.

Brian Millspaw

[Trevor Walsh]

Those stretchers are nicely done. Was the inlay covering a sap pocket or something, or purely decorative?

[Jim Becker]

I really like this piece. Bravo on both the design and the execution. It's masterful how you got those stretchers mated like that in the middle. Bravo!

[Stew Hagerty]

Very nice. Great job on the stretchers. So what is with the "shark?" inlay, is it your logo? It's cool.

[Prashun Patel]

Outstanding. The stretchers are cool. The shark inlay is perfect IMHO. It really goes swimmingly well with the grain and coloring in the top.

[Todd Burch]

Cool.

I was looking at the figure in the seat, thinking "what else would work" for an inlay. First thing that came to mind was an ultrasound picture of an embryo. :eek:

[Brian Millspaw]

I like to put an inlay on my work to really mark it handmade. The shark is not a logo, i was just looking at the grain and trying to come up with something creative.
Todd,
Now I really wish I had done a little embryo sucking its thumb ... Perfect!

-Brian

[Pat Barry]

This is a very nice stool. It was very well done. I am wondering about the raised inlay though. I would be afraid of the raised portions affecting the comfort of the user. While the raised surface looks great, I think it would not be a good feature for a seat.

[Brian Millspaw]

I've done a lot of testing on my chair seats and anything sticking out under about 1/8" you cannot feel as long as it is rounded over. These inlays are raised 1/16 or less. Despite the princess and the pea story peoples bottoms are not sensitive enough to detect minute variations. Do you feel uncomfortable sitting on your wallet ?

-Brian

[Pat Barry]

Actually I don't sit on my wallet any more. About 10 years ago I switched it to front pocket just because it was bothering me. For your project however, the real proof is in what you and your intended customer feels. If there were a noticeable bump I am sure you would know.