Plans to Build a Step Stool

You can find plans to build step stools in many styles for free online.

Building a step stool is a satisfying weekend or afternoon project. Whether your decor style is traditional or modern, Queen Anne or Victorian, eclectic or strictly Colonial, you can find plans to build a step stool for any room.

Types

Plans for steps stools vary from simple written directions with schematics to full-scale templates for use with a laser-guided table saw. Plans can be found free online, or in many basic guides to woodworking and specialty titles for making furniture in a particular style.

Price and Use

Plans are free on many websites; books with sets of plans can range from a few dollars to over $50, depending on the scope of the book and level of detail in the directions. Plans are seldom published full-scale. Instead, plans are published in scaled-down versions, at a certain percentage of the actual size of the furniture piece. Instructions included with plans usually specify the amount that the templates need to be enlarged to be full size. Photocopiers are usually the best bet for blowing up plans to full size.

Difficulty

Woodworking plans can be found for all skill levels. Depending on the furniture style, a plan can specify turning, dovetailing, or other complex details, or require only minimal use of a basic saw. A step stool project can present a way for do-it-yourselfers to try new techniques on this small scale, gaining confidence in fine furniture making techniques they can later apply to larger projects.

References

• Woodworkers Workshop: Step Stools
• Wayne of the Woods: Free Stool Plan