Simple Furniture Designs
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child’s wood stool
#60 Square stacking tables/stools
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Here are a number of square stacking tables. (I’ll do round ones in the next blog entry.) The smaller ones would also work as low stools. I’m only detailing one at 14” high but you can see there are many variations on this theme. The ones that have legs outboard of the top will tend to stack much higher . . . maybe to infinity if you want to make that many -- however many infinity is. The one I’ve detailed will only stack four high. It is relatively simple to make but does require a dowel hole drilling jig. The space between the legs is too small to use a pocket hole drilling jig. Toe nailing might work. I’ve also used a 1/8” reveal between the top and the legs. This will help in concealing any misalignments. That’s easy to do so keeping everything square is important.
Assembly notes:
Step #1: Cut all parts except the top -- just in case the assembled frame is not what you hoped it would be. The closes metric size stock should also work.
Step #2: Drill the holes for the dowels. This is the tricky part since the holes have to be offset up and down so as not to interfere with the holes in the adjacent side of the leg. These holes must also match those on the 1x3 rails. Be careful and mark them. Do a test piece first. If you are going to use the 1/8” reveal on two sides of each leg, cut them now on a table or miter saw. Also bevel the ends of the legs and sand all other parts as required.
Step #3: I assembled two sides first, let them dry a little, then connected them together. If you have glue with a longer open time, assembling all four sides together allows you to check the square and level all at the same time. However you do it have lots of clamps and blocks and keep checking the square. I have shop made wood corner gusset which I clamp on to the frame as I assemble it. There are also commercial versions which work well. Having a reusable set to square things up is worth the extra effort.
Step #4: Cut the top to match the frame. Hope it’s square. Here I attached the top using a pocket hole jig on the rails -- do this after you first cut the the pieces. If you have assembled the frame properly the top of the rails should be flush with the legs. This will allow you to glue and clamp on the top without screws. You can also glue and nail/screw through the top, but then you will have to fill the holes before painting. I’ve found that the MDF may shrink a little after you’ve painted it and pucker up the filler plug. Plywood seems to work fine for nailing. Add bumper pads to the bottom center of the rails.
Below are a number of variations to give you an idea of the options.