Note: This project has been entered in the LumberJocks Woodworking Awards Summer 2008 Challenge, under the “One Man’s Junk” category. I in no way expect to win, but I’m pumped to have been able to submit an entry!

My buddy found a mattress “pallet” (pine?) from an Ikea bed (see the pic here) discarded on the side of the road, and passed it on to me. I was happy to take the opportunity to make something out of a wood that wasn’t a tropical hardwood (about all I can find here that’s reasonably priced). The wedges for the tenons are from scrap hardwood that came off an old cabinet.

So here it is. This one was a “speedy” project, only taking me about 40 days as opposed to six months for my last one. The stool was made entirely with hand tools. I finished the box with a couple coats of BLO/varnish/spirits, followed by a couple more coats of varnish/spirits. You can read about the building of this stool in my blog series over on LumberJocks.

Tools used: ryoba saw, coping saw, Stanley #4 plane, spokeshave, cabinet scraper, chisels, combination square, and a carving chisel (to accentuate the lines in between boards).

stool 1

stool 2

stool 3