Rich Rick shows how to make a four-legged stool on a mini-lathe
Mini and midi-lathes seem to be ever more popular these days. Lower price, not much space needed and easy to move from bench to shelf were reasons I purchased one.
Like many woodturners, I now have a full-size lathe and a mini-lathe. Small and delicate creations often dominate the turnings made on mini- lathes, so this project will use the small lathe at complete capacity. This stool was designed to be turned on a mini- lathe with only 300mm of swing and at least 355mm between centres once the drive and revolving centres are placed. My mini-lathe just allows this. Of course you can make a larger version on a bigger lathe if you choose, just scale up all the measurements in the drawing provided.
For this small stool, I turned a Windsor- style design to convey a classical look. To get the leg design to look correct I had turned several legs moving the ‘working parts’, which are the bead, cove and balusters up and down until I liked what I saw. I then made the story stick I use from that leg.
For this design, the tenon is marked 38mm from the top of the blank and turned 20mm round. The tenon base must then swell larger at the same place on all four legs. This provides a base for the tenon to stop against the bottom of the seat blank.
No special tools are required. The turning tools are basic and already in most turners kits. The few woodworking tools and supplies needed are likely in your toolbox or easily obtainable from a hardware or big-box building supply store. I use a standard school supply-type protractor and pencil compass, the sort that are nearly given away every year during back-to-school sales.
To make it easier to set the legs into the seat make a simple jig of 20mm plywood 300mm square with the corners cut out. The jig’s purpose is to support the seat and raise it so the leg tenons can protrude through. The other jig is simply two small pieces of construction 40 x 100mm timber, with a V-notch cut into each. It supports the leg when cutting the saw kerf.
Tools and materials
- PPE & RPE
- Drive and revolving centres
- Four-jaw chuck with standard jaws and woodworm screw
- Spindle roughing gouge
- Skew chisel
- Spindle gouge
- Parting tool
- Bowl gouge
- Chatter tool (optional)
- Sliding bevel, pencil compass and protractor
- Two turning ‘outside’ callipers
- Two clamps
- Drill with proper bit for screw centre and a 20mm spade bit
- Hand saw
- Hammer
- Seat jig – 300mm square 20mm thick plywood with corners cut out, and two V-jigs
Blank sizes prior to turning are:
- One seat blank – 250mm round by 38mm thick
- Four leg blanks – 305mm long by 38mm thick
- One button blank – 75mm long by 38mm thick
- Four wedges – about 50mm long by 20mm wide by mm thick with one end tapered. I used hard maple (Acer spp.)
Four-legged stool plan
Seat layout
Find the grain line along the blank the best you can. Align the protractor with the grain line and make a mark at 45° from centre. With a straight-edge (the story stick will suffice), mark a line at 45° from the grain line. Go from edge to edge. Pick either side where the line intersects with the circle. Place the pointy end of the compass there. Stretch the compass out enough so the pencil will mark a short line above and below the halfway point along either side of the middle. Do this from the other intersection also.
There should now be an X on the side of the circle. From this X and the centre mark, draw a line from edge to edge. There should now be four equal intersections around the circle. These are the leg hole drilling points and layout lines
Seat drilling
Be careful to ease the drill bit and not apply too much pressure as the bottom of the hole can suddenly give way. In addition to being dangerous, it can cause more tear out than if moderate pressure is applied. I don’t worry too much about the tear-out because the blank is still thicker than needed. Drill the remaining three holes this way
Turning the seat
Once complete, turn the lathe off and reset the toolrest to cut the other side of the blank. With the bowl gouge, remove excess material from the blank top down to the second line made 35mm from the bottom edge. Round over the top edge to make a pleasing radius for the seat top, connecting with the bottom edge made earlier
Button turning
Cut a V-groove about 10mm from the face end and part down to 8mm (or bit size used to drill centre hole) to make a tenon about 13mm long. Parting slightly inwards towards the button face allows the edges of the button to seat completely around. Part the button off
Leg turning
Check tenon fit in a seat leg hole. It should go in relatively easy yet fi t snug. Like other woodworking mortise and tenon fits, try the gravity test. Install the leg tenon into a mortise. Lift the leg up. The seat should stay with the leg, at least briefly. If you must beat the leg in with a hammer, it is too tight
Handy hints
- For the drive spur, I use a Steb-centre, which seems to slip easier than a standard four-spur centre if a cut gets too heavy.
- Use a popsicle stick or old toothbrush for glue spreading – cheap and disposable.
- Put masking tape on the seat prior to cutting the tenons. It helps save the seat from being scratched by the saw blade.
- Use a flush cut saw to cut the tenons off for best results.
- Set the toolrest at centreline, or slightly above as I prefer, for use of the skew chisel.
Wedge kerf sawing
Stool assembly and levelling
Remove the tape and sand the seat as necessary. Apply finish as desired and set the stool on a flat surface. Find out which legs need trimming and use one of the following methods to trim any legs. Method 1: Use a block plane to remove wood from the bottom of the longer leg(s) until the stool sits flat. A bench vice is handy to hold the plane while rubbing the leg bottom across the plane. Method 2: Sandpaper is taped on the bench and the longer leg bottom rubbed across it
Further reading
PHOTOGRAPHS BY RICK RICH