Paul's Apprentice

Starting on a piece of furniture is always exciting, even if it’s one I’ve already made before. Not too long ago, I made one of Paul’s designs from 2013. It’s a work stool he designed mainly as a functional seat that will allow you to work comfortably at the bench; ideal for tasks that demand precision -like sharpening and setting fine toothed handsaws- whilst also helping you regain energy levels whenever you need a sit down. However, taking one of Paul’s commonly quoted rules: form follows function, it would be fair to say the aesthetic element of this stool is not lacking in any way.

The first of these stools I made seven years ago, shortly after Paul finished filming the project for Woodworking Masterclasses. I then went on to make two twinned stools using the same quarter sawn lenga (nothofagus pumilio) or ‘lenga beech’ as it’s more commonly referred to; a semi hard wood native to the south of Argentina and Chile frequently used as a substitute to cherry.

Just recently, I finished yet another stool made out of some upcycled pine beams someone had thrown out on their drive. That one I made in a work shed with no woodworking bench or vice; just an old workmate and a few clamps. Even so, it came out very well so I have put it to good use at the kitchen island.

For this one, I am using an offcut of laminated and finger-jointed 40mm oak countertop that made its way into the workshop recently. I was doubtful at first about how the structural finger joints would hold up when ripped down to smaller sections, especially on the relatively thin legs. However, I had just used a smaller offcut of the same material to make the three-legged ‘milking stool’ below, and nothing then gave me any reason for concern, even with the thin, round, tapered legs, so I decided to go for it.

Every time I make one of these work stools, I am reminded of the importance of working accurately every step of the process. It’s not just taking the necessary time to make sure all the pieces are square and out of twist before starting; this is important, but there’s more. The stool has eight rails and sixteen tenons, each of which must fit at 90° to its matching mortice hole. Even though they only go in 1 ⅛” (29mm) into the legs, two or three joints out of square by a small amount can be enough to split the legs when all clamps are in place. In other words, the tolerances are very tight so you cannot count on a margin for error. Every careless shaving or chisel cut on the tenons means a compromise somewhere else in the joinery, and even when the rest of the joints may hold up and keep the frame together, the integrity lies in what’s not seen – and that’s what we strive for.

As can be seen in the photo below, I decided to change the orientation of the grain on the seat top. In the original design, and in every stool I’ve made so far, the grain runs from side to side, possibly making it easier to shape the very front edge. Having the grain run from front to back, however, gives the stool a different look without deviating too much from the original.

Follow this link if you are interested in purchasing this stool.