TChisel Project 2 - Shaker influenced step stool

[Thomas MacDonald]

Interested in developing the skills to cut dovetails by hand? This is a good project to learn with because it doesn't take a lot of lumber and it should only take a weekend to make. The instructions and cut list are all here, and you can get additional help by watching the videos I already posted in iTunes and on the Tchisel.com forum. Fine Woodworking included this in their January issue hitting newstands right now but here's the information you need to know if you want to build it.
http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/1058/pic1xq6.jpg

Here is the rough dimensions cut list. Note: the 1st column is the number of parts, so for example under sides you obviously make 2 sides with that dimension listed.
ROUGH CUTLIST:
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/4369/pic2rz4.jpg
Mill boards to the rough dimensions, then sticker them overnight, at least. Stickering is stacking them with thin strips of wood laid crosswise in between; this lets air circulate all around the newly exposed wood. The next day you can mill to finish dimensions and be on your way.
FINISH CUTLIST:
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/8921/pic3ol9.jpg
I'll post the procedure list in a reply next.

[Thomas MacDonald]

PROCEDURE LIST:
Step Stool Procedural List Information
The dovetail joint probably pre-dates written history. Some of the earliest known examples of the dovetail joint are in furniture entombed with mummies dating from First Dynasty of ancient Egypt [starting around 3000 BC], as well the tombs of Chinese emperors. The dovetail design is an important method of distinguishing various periods of furniture. –Wikipedia

Dovetails – strength from multiple glue surfaces and mechanical strength


Lumber Choice

Color match.
Grain direction.
Grain choice.
Fold the stretchers down from the front of the steps.
Wrap the grain around.

Tool List
- Pencil or Lead Holder
- Combination Square
- Hand Plane (#4-ish)
- Chisels (1”, ¼”)
- Saw (dovetail, jigsaw/bandsaw/coping saw)
- Marking Gauge
- Bevel Gauge

Rough Milling
Mill all boards to rough dimensions.
Finish Milling
Mill all boards to finish dimensions. Any boards with common dimensions should be cut at the same time with the same set-up (especially the lengths of the treads and cleats).

Taper the Back
1. Make a mark on the top end of the tall side boards 1” from the back.
2. With a straight edge, connect this mark with the back corner of the bottom.
3. Saw close to these lines. Save your cut-off!
4. Plane down to the line.

Dovetails
Layout:
1. Remove the mill marks from all inside faces.
2. Set your marking gauge to the thickness of your thickest board (All your boards should be the same thickness, give or take a few shavings).
3. With the marking gauge fence against the end of the board, mark around all four faces. Do this on every end that will be dovetailed. Save this marking gauge setting.
4. In pencil, layout the bottom of the front cleats and the top and bottom of the back cleat. Lay them out on both the inside and the outside
5. With the same marking gauge setting as before, mark down to your front cleat lines and mark between your back cleat lines. Be sure to mark the inside and outside faces. Also, mark the top end of your sides from the front (connecting the inside and outside marks for the cleat).
6. Layout the pins on your sides.
A. Determine the width of your half pins on the inside [3/8”] and mark them in pencil.
B. Draw another line half this distance from the edge [3/16”]. These are the center-lines of these pins. Extend one of these lines a few inches down the face of the board.
C. Determine the number of tails you want.
D. Line up a ruler so that the 0 is on one of the center-lines. Adjust the angle of the ruler until the number on the other center-line is a multiple of your number of tails (for 4 tails, try 8”). Make a tick mark at each multiple (so for our example, every 2” make a tick mark). These are the center-lines for the other pins.
OR
D. With a pair of dividers, start on one center-line and walk them across the board. Adjust them until they land directly on the other center-line. Each “step” is the center of a pin.

E. Square these center lines up to the end of the board.
F. Mark 3/16” on either side of the center-lines.
G. Square the 3/16” marks you just made down to your shoulder line. These are your 3/8” pins, centered on the center-lines.
H. With your bevel gauge draw your dovetail angle across the end of the board, starting from your inside lines.
I. Square the other end of those lines down the outside of the board to the shoulder line.

E. With a pair of dividers, start on one center-line and walk them across the board. Adjust them until they land directly on the other center-line. Each “step” is the center of a pin.

Cutting the Pins:
1. Saw to the waste side of your lines with your dovetail saw.
2. Cut out the waste either by chopping, or using a coping saw, bandsaw, or router.
A. First, set your chisel about 1/8” from the marking gauge line and, pushing into the bottom of the line, take a small chip. This establishes a small shoulder.
B. Hold the chisel vertically, with the flat against this shoulder and deepen the shoulder by pressing the chisel in, no mallet necessary. Take another small chip, as before.
C. Set the chisel vertically, bevel towards the waste, but about 1/32” away from the shoulder (in the waste wood).
D. Chop down, with a mallet this time, taking larger chips. Do not remove the wood at the end of the board, Start all the chips about 1/16” from the end.
E. When you are halfway through, flip the board over and repeat on the other side until you break through.

3. If you have more than 1/32” of waste remaining, carefully remove some by chopping. Stay off your line when doing so.
4. With the board flat on the bench, set the chisel in the marking gauge line, perpendicular to the face, with the flat against the shoulder. Carefully chop straight down, about halfway through. Then flip the board and finish the cut.
5. Put the board upright in your vise and check the shoulders with your square. The shoulder should be perpendicular to the inside face. If it isn’t, pare down any high spots.
6. Clean up the vertical cheeks of the pins with your chisel. Pare across the grain on the cheeks.
7. Check that the cheeks are flat across and square to the end of the board. Also check that the shoulders are flat and square to the face.

Tail Layout:
1. With the tailboard (tread) flat on the bench, bottom face up, stand the pin board up on it’s end. The inside face of the pins should just cover the shoulder line on the tail board. The front edge of the tread should line up with the marking gauge line for the cleat, but not overlap it.
2. Either hold the pin board in this position or clamp it lightly. Make sure the boards are perpendicular.
3. With a very sharp pencil trace the pins onto the tailboard.
4. Remove the pinboard and square the lines across the end grain.

Cutting and Fitting the Tails:
1. Saw to the waste side of your lines.
2. Coping saw, bandsaw, or chop out the waste.
3. With the board flat, set the chisel in the shoulder line and chop halfway through, then flip the board and finish the cut, Just like on the pin board.
4. Check that the shoulders are flat and square to the face.
5. Pare the cheeks up to the lines, but leave the lines.
6. Test the joint with moderate pressure. Mark where it is too tight and adjust the tails. Don’t adjust the pins once they have been set.

Glue Up the Sides
1. Make sure the bottom edges and the faces are flush. If the sides are different thicknesses, get as close as possible.
2. Use the cut-off from the tapering to help clamp the tall side. Either double stick tape it back on, or put sandpaper between it and the side.

Stretchers/Cleats
1. With your bevel gauge set to the dovetail angle, reference the handle against the end of the cleat and the blade on the bottom corner.
2. Pencil the angle.
3. Clamp the board in your vise. With your chisel, take a chip out of the bottom edge at the shoulder line.
4. Put the flat of the chisel against the shoulder and deepen the shoulder line. Take a larger chip. Work your way down to the pencil line.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 on the bottom edge, on both ends of all the cleats and on the top edge, on both ends of the back cleat.
6. Clamp the front cleat in place against the front of the sides. Make sure the top of the cleat is flush with the top of the side, and that the side covers the shoulder line on the cleat.
7. Trace the half dovetail onto the front edge of the side.
8. Remove the cleat.
9. Remove the waste with a saw and pare to the shoulder lines.
10. Also pare the dovetail angle, checking to make sure the cleat sits right.
11. Repeat this on both sides of both treads.
12. Measure up 10 ½” on the back edge of the side. Hold the back cleat in place just under this line.
13. Trace the dovetails onto the back edge.
14. Cut, pare, and fit the back stretcher.


Layout and Cut the curves
1. The curves on the underside of the stretchers start 2” in from the ends. They curve up ¼” in the center of the stretcher.
2. The curves on the sides start 2 ¾” from the edges and curves up 1 ½” in the center.
3. Bandsaw close to the lines and fare the curves.

Glue up
1. Glue the treads down first. Check that the shoulders close tightly.
2. Once the glue is dry, flush up the Front edge of the tread with the shoulder of the notch for the stretcher (or vice versa).
3. Glue on the cleats.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9714/proc1yr2.jpg
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/9117/proc2da3.jpg
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/3418/proc3ez3.jpg
http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/3903/proc4xi9.jpg
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/2712/proc5oe2.jpg
http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/5016/proc6sv0.jpg

[Thomas Knighton]

Neat little project. As a beginner, this is the kind of thing that will be a big benefit to me. I'll have to bookmark this thread so I can come back to it a little later.

Thanks!

Tom

[Jim Becker]

That's a nice project.

I'm glad you included the detail that around the way the rear and front exposed stretchers notch into the sides. These step stools benefit from the dovetail shape to help keep the piece from spreading over time. It adds a little mechanical strength to the glue joint which does have some end-grain to side/top-grain nature involved.

[John Lytle]

Thomas,

Thanks for posting this. The timing couldn't be better. I was thinking of this exact design this weekend as my wife was rearranging her sewing room shelves. She needed just a couple of steps up to reach the top shelves and this would have been perfect.

Now let's see if I can get it done for Christmas.

Thanks again.

John

[Thomas MacDonald]

hey jim ..thanks i was hoping some of you guys over here would want to build this project together and put em up against the rough cut show or something....good clean bragging rights fun....or keep it in house over here and name a champ...for beginners and pros alike....this is a fantastic project and you dont have to drop a ton of cash down to do it...heck just go to a home goods store and buy some 4s....

thanks again !

and lets see some step stools

[Dewey Torres]

TChisel has sketchup skills too!
I bet you are going to get some takers on this one Tom.

[Thomas MacDonald]

ha!...i cant draw a stick figure ...all this work was done by my team..eli mostly...

[Ed Sallee]

That's great!!! I, too, will bookmark for future reference. Thanks for all your contributions! Maybe your new nick-name can be Cyber Norm! :D

[Thomas Knighton]

hey jim ..thanks i was hoping some of you guys over here would want to build this project together and put em up against the rough cut show or something....good clean bragging rights fun....or keep it in house over here and name a champ...for beginners and pros alike....this is a fantastic project and you dont have to drop a ton of cash down to do it...heck just go to a home goods store and buy some 4s....

thanks again !

and lets see some step stools

What the heck. I'm in ;)

Tom

[Jeff Craven]

Great Project! Here's my version that I built about two years ago:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=54617

I also used it as an introduction to hand cutting dovetails. The dimensions on mine are a little different, but the construction is identical.

[Jim Becker]

Nice "follow-up" in the new Fine Woodworking issue that came today... :D :D :D

[Thomas MacDonald]

thanks...i think it looks ok...i really hope some guys build it !:cool:

[Jim Becker]

Well, the pictures in the article definitely make it a very attractive project to build. I've most often seen these in cherry (and that's what's been planned for the one that's been on my list for a long time), but that figured stock in the article is wonderful.

[Paul Geer]

Thanks Thomas for the detailed plans... but, where have I seen this before?... Heh Heh :D

I have seen and built Shaker steps stools before but the arch was of a high profile, your step is low ... was this your design or did you see this?