Just finished the standard Shaker step stool. Most seem to make the sides dark and the treads lighter, but this is for the shop (and an excuse for more dovetails) so I decided to use some #3 common maple for the sides and walnut for the treads. Also hand cut the thru wedged mortise and tenons. Several design changes presented themselves during construction, my fault (mortise on different side of the layout line from inside to outside).
I decided to cut the tails with my Adria small tenon saw instead of the dovetail saw. It was great, fast cutting, straight, became my favorite saw. But when cutting the pins, the extra length seemed to magnify small errors in cutting, had to pare more than my last several projects.
This project seems so simple, but it really kicked my butt. 3/4 plus thick material is unforgiving when it comes to fit of the joints, and small errors become bigger in thicker stock. I find it hard to mark the pins from the tails (London pattern) in the thicker material. You just can't quite see what you are marking, and the thin marking knife seems more prone to error. The last several projects have been small boxes in 5/16-3/8 thick stock.
One coat of BLO so far, plan wax since this will get used as a step stool. Height is perfect for sitting, and plan to use top as my saw bench.
Thanks for looking, feedback for version 2.0 is welcome.
Gary
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), but I think God ordained that these woods be combined in woodworking projects
