A Shaker-style step stool in Scots pine
The kitchen needed a way to reach the top cupboards. Two steps, no nails showing, and plain enough to paint.
Cut list
| Part | Qty | Size (in) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sides | 2 | 17 × 14 × ¾ | Stepped profile, arched foot |
| Treads | 2 | 16 × 7 × ¾ | Housed ¼ deep each side |
| Back rail | 1 | 16 × 3 × ¾ | Dovetailed into the sides |
| Front rails | 2 | 15½ × 2 × ¾ | Under each tread |
Process
The pine came from the local timber merchant as planed boards, so the work was mostly marking out. I glued the sides up from two boards each and laid out the steps with a framing square: lower tread at 8½ inches, top at 17.
The housings are stopped ¾ inch short of the front edge so the joint does not show. I knifed both walls, deepened them with a chisel, sawed them with a carcase saw against a batten clamped on the line, and took out the waste with a chisel and then a router plane set to ¼ inch. Pine crushes rather than cuts unless the iron is sharp, so I touched the router plane iron up halfway through. Each tread got a notch at the front corners to match the stopped end.
The back rail is joined to the sides with a single wide dovetail on each end, which is what keeps the stool from racking. The arched cut-out at the foot was sawn with a bow saw and cleaned up with a spokeshave.
The mistake came at glue-up. With four joints going together at once I tightened the clamps unevenly, and the diagonals differed by about three-sixteenths of an inch. I put a clamp across the long diagonal and pulled until the two measurements matched, then left it until the glue had set. It sits flat now, but it was a close thing.
Finish is two coats of milk paint in a dull red, rubbed back on the edges with a worn abrasive pad, and a coat of wax.
What I'd change
Glue it up in two stages: the treads into one side first, then the second side once that has set. And I would splay the sides a little wider at the foot; it is steady, but only just, when someone steps on the top tread near the edge.