The legs need holes drilled. I used a bit and brace for the first few holes, but pear wood is hard, and I am weak! Drill press it is.

Fitting the first leg with the cross dowels. I made a mistake on were to place the grooves on one of the crossbars, and need to add a fourth grove on the remaining ones. This will make it a little more difficult to drill the holes for the vertical dowels that are in between the cross bars.

Looks like a little stick man. You always start with one leg and work your way out with a triangular stool.

It also helps to make sure all your pieces are labeled. Makes assembly a lot easier.

The front legs have one set of holes drilled.  At this point a ruler is placed across the front legs for two reasons. The first is for the length of crossbars in the front. The span is 1.5″ wider than the back sections. The other reason is to scribe a line for the angle of the drill holes.

The scribed line is then transferred along the edge of the leg using a ledge brought up to the scribe line.

The legs on this stool are narrower than on my original back stool. It hadn’t occurred to me that the 3/4″ drill holes would then be so close together. This means the chair will have a weak point at the joint. I am hoping the strength of the wood will help strengthen the joint compared to the softwood used on the back stool.

The final crossbars loosely placed in the drill holes.

Next up… Cutting the dowels so they fit properly in the holes. Drilling for the vertical dowels, more turning, and then stringing the chair seat.

• June 6, 2010 -- Triangular stool v1.0 (4)
• January 10, 2010 -- Pole Lathe from Electric Conversion (2)
• January 16, 2010 -- 60 Spools (0)
• December 20, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.5 Almost Done (0)
• December 14, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.4 (0)
• July 4, 2009 -- Pole Lathe Class (4)

Why a stool though?. The competition is to make something on the theme of WAR. Stool doesn’t sound very war like. Well, I am not a fighter, just a mere ostler in the south of Tir Righ (England) . If a war was to break out near my inn, I would have to use what was near at hand. A stool although no match for a true weapon, will still stun one of those Avie bastards when I smash it over their bacon obsessed heads. Just Say’n

So I took a trip to the magical fun time shop of Awesomeness (Windsor Plywood – Burnaby), and saw much to my delight that pear wood slabs were on sale. Not a commonly used wood for furniture construction, but considering I live in an orchard rich area it is probable. Pear wood is an amazing wood, as it is resistant to alot of tear out issues you find in alot of other wood species. I took a slab that had some nice hartwood/sapwood sections. The change in color ads so much awesomeness to wood. The slab was almost big enough to get two full stools out of it. The second stool I will build will have a bit of dogwood to make up for the missing pieces.

I still haven’t got around to making a rip saw. I turned to my trusty table saw to cut the slab down to 1.75″  board. I love the color contrast.

Earlier in the year I was given a new live center for my lathe. Sadly my tail stock doesn’t have a moris taper on it, thus rendering my new toy kind of useless. Useless except for using it in the head stock for pole lathe applications. This is a big improvement on the old conversion method that had me remove the motor belt. I still had alot of motor resistance, but this new method is effortless.

Short video to show the action of the lathe. The treadle is getting hung up on other machinery, but otherwise is a workable solution.

The three legs of the stool turned, and waiting to be drilled.

• June 16, 2010 -- Triangular Stool ~ V1.1 (0)
• January 10, 2010 -- Pole Lathe from Electric Conversion (2)
• January 16, 2010 -- 60 Spools (0)
• December 20, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.5 Almost Done (0)
• December 14, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.4 (0)
• July 4, 2009 -- Pole Lathe Class (4)

More images of the quick build after the jump.

Used some scrap oak I had kicking about. I have used up a large amount of my cutoff  pile so beggars cant be choosers. I would have preferred a fruit wood (or almost any wood that is close grained).

Marked the center and1″ from each end.  The end winding boards will be drill around 1″ deep so I need to be careful maintaining the right diameter  on the handle to fit the end holes snuggly.

Made a test block so I could make quick checks on fit.

The winding end boards had a 1/2″ hole drilled  1″ deep .

Checked the fit again.

Marked out the cut pattern on one board. I cut out the piece on the band saw as I wanted to get this done quickly.

I then scraped all the tool marks off the piece, and the filed the edges so that all the sharp points were gone.

I used the first piece to transfer the pattern to the other side.

One side is fixed in place with a wood dowel pin. The other side is left unfix so the niddy noddy can be stored flat.

Finished Noddy.

Noddy on its first test run. Not sure I was doing it right. The winding seemed a little awkward so I am sure I was doing it wrong.

The wool skein twisted up and ready for the dye pot.

• June 3, 2009 -- Rasp Handles (0)
• August 19, 2010 -- Turkish Carpet Project v1.7 The Math (0)
• August 11, 2010 -- Ouled Naïl Bedouin Tent v2.2 Wooden Bits & Rope (0)
• August 10, 2010 -- Ouled Naïl Bedouin Tent v2.1 The Other Tedious Stuff (0)
• August 4, 2010 -- Ouled Naïl Bedouin Tent v2.0 (2)
• July 26, 2010 -- 15th Century Timur Disked Bell Tent. (0)

I was requested (told really) that I make a plywood bowl for my aunt’s birthday.

This is the first plywood bowl I have made with an inner lip. I left the wall a little thick as I was worried about the laminations separating if I cut it too close. I have previously made a very thin walled plywood bowl, that has now broken in a couple of pieces… Live and learn I guess. Turned out pretty nice, although I did see a little tear out on one side of the bowl. I looks nicer after a few coats of wipe-on-poly.

http://www.maryostler.com/2009/09/plywood-turned-bowl/ Link to another larger bowl I made for another aunt. This one has step by step photos in the post.

Cheers all!

• June 16, 2010 -- Triangular Stool ~ V1.1 (0)
• June 6, 2010 -- Triangular stool v1.0 (4)
• February 28, 2010 -- Niddy Noddy (0)
• January 16, 2010 -- 60 Spools (0)
• January 10, 2010 -- Pole Lathe from Electric Conversion (2)
• December 22, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.6 Done Baby Done! (2)

I cut down the wood on the table saw till it was roughly square and  4″ long.

Image Laden Post after the jump.

Used a center finder to establish the center of the squares.

Used a pick to makes a whole for the centers on the lathe.

Slapped it onto the lathe centers.

Using a roughing gouge to turn it cylindrical.

I use a parting tool to establish the size of the spool end button, eyeball the side wall thickness, and the use the parting tool to cut down to the size I want. The other side of the spool will get turned down later.

Using a caliper to make sure the spool spindle is roughly the right diameter.

Using the roughing gouge to waste away the left over wood between the spool ends.

Using the left over wood dust I burnish the spool to make a decent burnished finish. This only works well if I have made fairly fine cuts while turning the spool.

I flip the spool over to finished the other end. Its easy to break the finished end at this point by applying to much force from the end stock.

Eight down, Fifty Two left to go!

• December 20, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.5 Almost Done (0)
• December 14, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.4 (0)
• June 16, 2010 -- Triangular Stool ~ V1.1 (0)
• June 6, 2010 -- Triangular stool v1.0 (4)
• January 10, 2010 -- Pole Lathe from Electric Conversion (2)
• December 22, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.6 Done Baby Done! (2)

I am lucky enough to have a decent size shop, and even luckier (mis-fortunate) to have inherited a lot of old tools. The decent size shop seems pretty small when all the tools are taking up every corner. Hence I have no room to have both a modern electric lathe, and a period pole lathe. This means most years I end up doing with out a pole lathe for the fall and winter months.

I came up with a simple cheap way to use the electric as a pole lathe.

Everything I need to convert the lathe. two eye hooks, one bungy cord, some rope, and a wooden stick, tape, and a steel rod. (you can accomplish the same thing without the tape, steel rod, and one of the eye hooks, you’ll just have less adjustment)

First off you need to place the eye hooks in the ceiling. That was easy in my shop, as I have drywalled all the surfaces but not taped and finished the panels. I can see the nails holes and thats where I drill the pilot holes for the two eye hooks. I spread them apart just shy of the steel rods length.

I took the steel rod, and wrapped both ends with duct tape. We are just keeping the rod from slipping out of the eye hooks.

Next, one end of the bungy cord was hammered closed. The rod with the duct tape ends are slid through the bungy end.

The rod is then slipped through the eye hooks in the ceiling. You can see how the bungy hook can now be slid along the rod. I used some rod I had kicking around the shop. It has a bit of flex but not enough to cause concern.

I tied the bungy to the rope. Don’t cut anything at this point as you will be needing to adjust it to your own needs. I also left the hook on this side, as I can quickly wrap the bungy cord around the hook raising the distance of the rope to the turned object.

The rope is then wrapped around the object to be turned.

The rope is then tied to a wooden stick (1×2 scrap I had kicking around). Don’t cut the rope as you will be playing around with this area too.

When I have the real pole lathe outdoors, I have a long treadle that I have jutting out the front of the lathe. It makes for a fairly small movement with my foot to get a good length of travel. In my shop I have a smaller stick and I have running parallel to the lathe bed. This means I have to use a bit more knee to operate the lathe, but it still works great.

The only other thing I do to the electric lathe, is I remove the motor belt. This means the snap back motion is not slowed down by the motor resistance.

This is not as nice as some of the pole lathes I have made, but it keeps my shop a little more workable space wise.

***update*** 

 I recieved a second live center for my birthday. With this live center installed in the headstock, and the tailstock allready equiped with a live center, you get a  pole lathe (bungy) that has very little resistance in the snapping action of the bungy cord. Works better than my purpose built pole lathe.

• June 16, 2010 -- Triangular Stool ~ V1.1 (0)
• June 6, 2010 -- Triangular stool v1.0 (4)
• January 16, 2010 -- 60 Spools (0)
• December 20, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.5 Almost Done (0)
• December 14, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.4 (0)
• July 4, 2009 -- Pole Lathe Class (4)

Weaving the seat with paper rush was harder than I thought ti would be. The top side looks really nice, but the under is a bit of a mess. Part of the problem is the thickness of the knotting of adjoining lengths. It wanted to pull the strands apart leaving unattractive voids in the pattern.

The cardboard added to the final tightness of the project. It also helped keep a visual eye on keeping the lines going straight towards the center.

Finshed top of the seat. I will not be showing the underside. (I do have some pride)

I love it. Now to make up a strap in belt and a cushion rail (she is still really small for this kids chair).

• December 20, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.5 Almost Done (0)
• December 14, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.4 (0)
• December 9, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.3 (0)
• January 16, 2010 -- 60 Spools (0)
• December 7, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.2 (0)
• November 26, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.1 (0)

This is the design I drew for the back board of Emily’s Chair. It has all three of her initials ECV in it.

The back spindles were a pain. 13″‘s long but only a 1/2″ thick. It wanted to chop so badly. I ended up trying to hold the spinning  dowel with one had while cutting uncomfortably close to my hand with the other hand. I really need to build me a spindle support one day.

Dry fit of the back spindles. I have no real plans for this chair, just a doodle or two, so It was very surprising after all my effort, that I only miss cut one part. The very last back spindle, I forgot to an 1″ to accommodate the holes the spindle sits in…doh!

I decided to use a wipe-on poly-urethane finish. I have used it in the past, and have been happy with the consistency of the finish. No bleeding run lines.  I did a coat on all the part before assembly ans I used a artist brush to get into all the spindly parts. It work so much better than trying to force a sopping wet rag into a tight area.

The center part I was kind of dreading carving. I am not an experienced carver, an so I eliminated the initial C to make it easier on myself.

Punching in the pattern

I managed to carving out without gouging out an area I wasn’t suppose too. Success!

More finishing I love the contrast between heartwood, and sap wood. I tried to include as much of the difference in the bigger parts of the chair. I love flat and satin finishes. I find them so much more satisfying to look at then a gloss.

Glueing the front and back section together first. Normally I would glue the whole thing together at the same time but….

As the old adage goes “You can never have enough wood clamps”. Too True! I used every clamp I owned (over 18″) to glue up the final pieces.

Next time: Weaving the seat material. I have never done it before, so I am kind of excited.

• December 14, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.4 (0)
• December 22, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.6 Done Baby Done! (2)
• January 16, 2010 -- 60 Spools (0)
• December 9, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.3 (0)
• December 7, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.2 (0)
• November 26, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.1 (0)

The arms are shape kind of like an exclamation point. I walked around the house menacing people with the club.

The under side of the arms had 1/2″ & 3/4″ holes drilled. The main post and 5 spindles will occupy these holes.

To give the arms a little bit of interest, I beveled along the side and around the hand rest. Carving around a round perimeter of a piece is not my idea of fun.

Checking to see if I drilled the arm  hole was in the right spot. I had to turn the flattened piece of wood on the lathe to get a nice 3/4″ round tenon on the back leg side of the arm.

The two arms are done but for a little more sanding. I also went ahead and cut out the back rail that will be the center of the chair. Everything but the circle in the center has to be worked with on the lathe. Its a little nerve wracking having the large disc spinning so close to the cutting tool being held in one hand. It also doesn’t help that the spinning disk in mostly invisible while its spinning.

I managed not to kill myself. It looks alright. I am kind of freaking out, as I still am not sure what I will be carving in the middle of the disk. I tell you… This whole en-devour has not been planed out well at all!

The small spindles that fit underneath the arm rests. I used a story stick to get the general dimensions the same.

I decided to alternate every spindle with a different style spindle. This way it adds to the coolness factore, and hides any inconsistency between similar spindles.

I think it worked out fairly nicely.

Next exciting episode: Mary finds out the horrors of turning a small diameter long spindle… Can we saw Choppy McChop Chop….

• December 20, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.5 Almost Done (0)
• December 22, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.6 Done Baby Done! (2)
• January 16, 2010 -- 60 Spools (0)
• December 9, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.3 (0)
• December 7, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.2 (0)
• November 26, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.1 (0)

I cut a board down to squared spindles. The four spindles that will have the reed seating strung over are boring 3/4″ dowels.

The lower spindles that circle the bottom are also being left plain. A simple ball and groove element to give it a little something.

The chair with the seat rails and leg rails in place. Finally starting to look like a chair.

These are for the arm rest spindle bottom rails. A set of five spindles will be placed between this part and the arm rest 6″ higher.

A little bit of chop on the rounded parts next to the drilled out sections. Not to bad… a little sanding will fix that up.

The arm spindle rail installed. I am starting to think I didn’t leave myself a lot of room for weaving the seat area.

• December 22, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.6 Done Baby Done! (2)
• December 20, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.5 Almost Done (0)
• December 14, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.4 (0)
• January 16, 2010 -- 60 Spools (0)
• December 7, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.2 (0)
• November 26, 2009 -- Emily’s Highchair v1.1 (0)