Two Stepstools

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Here are a couple of stepstools I just did.

The first is maple and walnut with a clear shellac finish.

The second is based on a recent FWW -- I made it out of cherry and walnut, rather than maple. I finished it with a shellac sealcoat, BLO and then amber shellac. In retrospect, I should have used mixed in some clear shellac coats with the amber, as I think it got a little too dark.

I am also not sure how wise shellac is as a finish for a stepstool, but I figured it would be easier to repair than varnish. Also, I like how it looks better.

[Jim Becker]

These are really nice. No worries on the shellac...it's more durable than some folks think and as you say, easy to repair.

[Ken Higginbotham]

Now your kids can hang their drawings on the wall above the wainscoting (sp?)

[Ted Calver]

Pretty darn sharp!!

[John Thompson]

Very nice Michael. And as noted.. very easy to repair with Shellac being about the easiest of all finishes IMO.

Sarge...

[Norman Pyles]

I really like the second one. Got to put that on my to do list.

[Jason Tuinstra]

You just can't go wrong with walnut and maple! Great job on both of them.

[David Christopher]

both of them are nice.. I dont think it is too dark

[Michael O'Sullivan]

Thanks for the kind words. I did most of the dovetails in a Leigh jig, and it probably would have been easier just to cut them by hand. Because of the front rails on the one stool, and the tapered bases on both, you can't just align the pieces with the side like you can in a normal situation. I followed the instructinos for asymmetrical DTs, and tried to use spacers to eliminate some guesswork, but there was still a lot of cleanup (and a little filling -- D'oh) to do.

[Jim Kountz]

A couple of cool stools!!