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///

Ro

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mat

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d zo

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in o

n 3

D a

nim

atio

n of

thi

s pr

ojec

t at

popularmechanics.com

/3Dworkshop.

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WOOD BASIC TOOL

S

HARDWARE

AND SUPPLI

ES

C L A S S I C SSimple Do- I t -Yourse l f Projects

> B Y N E A L B A R R E T T> I L L U S T R A T I O N S B Y T H O M A S K L E N C K

FREE

ST

EP

-BY

-ST

EP

PU

LL

OU

T I

NS

IDE

Reach your book and read it, too—with a red-oak step stool that converts to a chair.

Double Play

GATEFOLD P U L L O U T

Wood stoves, lightning rods, bifocals—and the founding of our coun-try—are a few of the things we think of when Benjamin Franklin comes to mind. But somewhere in between fl ying kites in storms and diplomatic missions to Europe, the great man had a hand in furni-ture design, including an innovative step stool that doubles as a chair. We’ve created a version that’s easy to build and ideal for any home. It’s a four-step design that’s hinged at the middle step. When the top pivots down to the fl oor, the middle step opens into a seat and the rear legs become the chair back.

104 N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 7 | P O P U L A R M E C H A N I C S . C O M P H O T O G R A P H B Y C H A D H U N T

C l a s s i C sSimple Do- I t -Yourse l f Pro jects

> b y n e a l b a r r e t t> i l l u s t r a t i o n s b y t h o m a s k l e n c k

Fr

ee

s

te

p-

by

-s

te

p p

ul

lo

ut

in

sid

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Reach your book and read it, too—with a red-oak step stool that converts to a chair.

Double Play

g at e F o l d p u l l o u t

Wood stoves, lightning rods, bifocals—and the founding of our coun-try—are a few of the things we think of when Benjamin Franklin comes to mind. But somewhere in between flying kites in storms and diplomatic missions to Europe, the great man had a hand in furni-ture design, including an innovative step stool that doubles as a chair. We’ve created a version that’s easy to build and ideal for any home. It’s a four-step design that’s hinged at the middle step. When the top pivots down to the floor, the middle step opens into a seat and the rear legs become the chair back.

104 n o v e m b e r 2 0 0 7 | P o P U L A r m e C H A n I C S . C o m p h o t o g r a p h b y c h a d h u n t

3/4View

On thE WEB /// rotate, animate and zoom in on 3D animation of this project at popularmechanics.com/3dworkshop.

S t e p S t o o lp l e a s e C u t h e r e

Cla

ss

ics wood

We chose red oak for this project because it’s strong, durable and available at most home centers and lumberyards. maple would also work, but avoid a softwood like pine. The screw joints rely on a tougher wood to hold the threads securely.

BASIC TooLSJigsawrouter3⁄4-in.-dia.

straight bit1⁄4-in. quarter-

round bitDrill/driverDrill bitsChiselPlaneSander

HARdwARE ANd SUPPLIES11⁄2-in. no. 8 fh

screws2-in. no. 8 fh

screws11⁄2 x 2-in. butt

hinges3⁄8-in. wooden

plugsGlue or epoxy

adhesive

except for the dado joints that support the steps, all of the parts are assembled with simple screw-fastened butt joints. we used a wood glue along with the screws—if your joints are less than perfect, use epoxy adhesive instead. This is a good gap filler and it works well on endgrain.

we’ve counterbored the screwholes and covered the screwheads with 3 ⁄8-in.-dia. wooden plugs. You can buy plugs, or make them with a plug cutter—or simply countersink the screwholes and leave the heads flush.

ASSembLY SeQUenCe

1 Join side subassemblies with screws and glue.

2 Rout step dadoes.

3 Join front step and seat rail to sides.

4 Join back step, slats and top step-stool step to sides.

5 Join seat halves with hinges.

6 Attach seat to front and back subassemblies.

SideView

Tools &

Materials

TopView

while the piece is simple to build, the parts must fit together correctly so the assembly works in both stool and chair positions. To get everything right, it’s best to make a full-size drawing of the side view from which you can transfer the actual shapes and sizes of the parts. For the curved parts, make templates from 1 ⁄4-in.-thick plywood. Transfer the shapes to the wood, cut to the lines with a jigsaw and smooth the sawn edges. You can leave the lower ends (chair position) of the rear side-frame components long, then cut the bottom to length after the parts are joined. Similarly, the upper ends of the front sides can be trimmed after assembly.

Cut the seat shapes with a jigsaw, clean up the saw marks and plane 221 ⁄2-degree bevels on the adjacent edges. Use a chisel to cut the hinge mortises and join both seat halves with the hinges. Then rout a 1 ⁄4-in. round along the ends of the seat pieces and around the front.

you can cut plugs flush with a sharp chisel, but take very light cuts at first to deter-mine grain direction. otherwise, you risk tearing out a bit of the plug below the surface of the sur rounding wood.Q

uic

k ti

p

Cutting the step JointsThe best time to rout the dadoes for the steps is after the side components have been joined. Use a straight board to guide the router, and clamp the board and the side assembly to your bench. For extra router support, secure a piece of scrap wood between the legs of the stool with double-sided tape.

Jigsaw

This tool handles both curved and straight cuts.

combination bit

If you opt for counterbored screwholes covered with plugs, you should invest in a combination bit. The best ones have a tapered twist bit, an adjustable counterbore cutter and a depth stop.