2013 summer project #1 - Shop stool

[youngnstudly]

So I finally built the shop stool I've been needing for the past few years. I originally planned to use some scrap stainless tubing to fab up something extra cool, but I now have a better purpose for that stainless, so I scraped the bottom of the barrel to find the scraps I needed.

I used Jody's shop stool project on WT&T to base my stool from, mostly due to the fact he had some clever ideas that really simplified the project. The main center part that the stool legs are attached to is 6" long piece of .120" wall 1-3/4" tubing, the legs are 1.5"x.065" (1/16") wall thickness, the caster plates are 3/16" thick flat stock, and the seat bottom consists of a leftover SBC flexplate, a rough cut piece of 1/8" plate that had been chucked into a lathe at some point (giving me a good line to follow for my cut), a 1" long piece of 2"x2"x1/4" square tube (smashed with a BFH to fit the nut tightly for welding), and a few 1"x8TPI nuts for the All Thread to join with. I still need to stitch up a vinyl cover tomorrow and grind the welds on the flex plate to remove the ring gear (tell me I'm not the only one that thought of adding a small High-torque starter to this stool for fast adjustability!).

Everything was tig welded and my only regrets were using the 1.5" tubing for the legs since I had just enough to get by with (which made the legs a little too short for total stability), plus I chose not to increase the miter angle to (say for example) 60 degrees to gain the stability back. It's not a teeter totter mind you, but it would be nice if it had a wider foot print. When I cut the legs, I had one piece of tubing 25" long, and one piece 13" long, so I measured the long piece, marked a 45 degree angle on it in the center, cut it, then realized I used the 1" mark on the tape as my "0". I was a little pissed at myself for making such a silly mistake, but I had 3/4" plate laying around that worked well for a shim, and the remaining 1/4" was removed from the other 2 legs when I notched them for the round main body. The legs didn't look right mocked up to the main body at different heights, hence the shim at the bottom. It is adjustable from 18" to around 25" without the foam and a cover installed.

The last photo shows the stool nearly finished (paint is still wet), plus the reason I don't have that new 200DX tig yet. She may look like a yellow lab to you, but I look at her and see $4600.00 in shop tools and welding equipment...that has a waggly tail, floppy ears, a cute face, and the heart of a child. That's just the combined vet bills from the past 16 months (she's not even 3 years old yet!)!

[DaveO]

I still need to stitch up a vinyl cover tomorrow and grind the welds on the flex plate to remove the ring gear {snip}...without the foam and a cover installed.

Is it comfortable to sit on without the pad and cover? I was thinking it looks pretty cool as is. The gear teeth don't look like they'd catch your clothes... just a thought.

[youngnstudly]

Haha, no it's hard as a rock...or in this case a steel flexplate. It's not bad for a short period (I used it to sit on while cutting and sanding the plywood seat bottom), but it could be a little softer...which hopefully the foam and cover will provide. I have another shop project that the ring gear teeth will be used on, so that would be the reason for removing it. Otherwise I agree with you, it does look cool!

[Mr120]

Great looking stool. Too bad you have to cover the seat. Cute dog. Just remember, welding tools won't come over when you've had a bad day and give you unconditional love and lick your face ....

[DaveO]

I'll put in a vote for a *removable* cover... so people can see and appreciate it for what it is, then be comfortable on it as the need strikes them. Shoulda mentioned before: nicely done!

[youngnstudly]

Great looking stool. Too bad you have to cover the seat. Cute dog. Just remember, welding tools won't come over when you've had a bad day and give you unconditional love and lick your face ....

Thanks! You are absolutely right about the dog giving unconditional love. In the past 8 years that I've been a cancer patient, I've had 2 different dogs (at different times) for 3-1/2 of those years, and those times have been a lot easier to get through than the times I didn't have a dog. You can see how the dog stands at the shop door opening while I work (I don't grind, cut, drill, or weld with the door open, and I always sweep up thoroughly before she is allowed out). If I stop giving her attention, she stands there (5 feet away from me) and "chucks" a ball or toy at me until I respond. Sometimes there are 10 toys at my feet, other times she picks up the same ball or toy and keeps throwing it at me. Then she gets impatient and starts barking until I respond. She's the best!

My dad said the same thing about the removable cover too! His thought was that if the cover tears, wears, or you get tired of looking at the color, you can change it. Plus we both agreed that the wooden seat base would fall apart sooner or later with any type of threaded wood fastener screwed into it, and that bolts would be the best idea for long term use. Elastic or a draw string of some nature would be simple enough to do. I still can't decide on what color to do the cover in, mostly since I don't have the exact color I want. I have a feeling that it won't look so "cool" once I remove the ring gear and leave it uncovered.