Making a Footstool

A footstool provides comfort and improved blood flow when sitting.

Sitting with your legs bent at a 90-degree angle at the knees restricts the blood flow in your legs. A footstool will raise your feet, decrease the angle of the bend in your legs and increase the amount of blood flow. This increased circulation provides more comfort and improves overall health. Building your own footstool is not terribly complicated, but the project requires some time, the proper materials and just a bit of know-how.

Things You'll Need

• Plywood, 24 inches by 12 inches by 3/4 inch
• Speed square
• Pencil
• 4 dowels, 1 inch by 10 inches
• 2 dowels, 1/4 inch by 20 inches
• 2 dowels, 1/4 inch by 8 inches
• Drill with 1/4-inch bit and 1-inch paddle bit
• Wood glue
• Rags
• 2 bar clamps
• Spray polyurethane
• Work gloves
• Safety glasses
• Hearing protection

Instructions

1. Lay 10-inch dowels on a flat surface. Hook a speed square onto one end of each 10-inch dowel. Place a pencil mark 2 1/2 inches from the base of each dowel.

2. Use a 1/4-inch bit to drill a hole 3/8 inch deep into each pencil mark. Fill the hole in one dowel with wood glue. Slip one end of a 20-inch dowel into the glue-filled hole. Wipe the excess glue from the joint with a clean rag.

3. Fill the hole in a second 10-inch dowel with glue. Slide the free end of the 20-inch dowel in your assembly into the glue-filled hole. Lay the assembly flat with the long ends of the 10-inch dowels facing the same way.

4. Open the jaws of a bar clamp. Line up the jaws with each end of the 20-inch dowel in your assembly. Close the jaws of the bar clamp around the outside of your 10-inch dowels. Lay the body of the clamp onto the long ends of the 10-inch dowels.

5. Use the remaining 10-inch dowels and the remaining 20-inch dowel to make another assembly to match the first. Glue and clamp the second assembly. Leave the assemblies clamped and undisturbed overnight. Remove the clamps.

6. Use the 1/4-inch bit to make a hole 1 inch above and perpendicular to the original hole in each 10-inch dowel. Make the new holes 1/2 inch deep. Fill the holes with wood glue. Slide the end of an 8-inch dowel into each hole to connect the two assemblies into one.

7. Hook the jaws of your clamps onto the 10-inch dowels, in line with the ends of the 8-inch dowels. Leave the stool base assembly clamped overnight. Remove the clamps from your stool base.

8. Make a mark 2 inches over and 2 inches in from each corner of your plywood. Make a hole 1/2 inch deep at each mark with the 1/4-inch bit. Remove the 1/4-inch bit from your drill and install the 1-inch paddle bit. Place the tip of the paddle bit into a 1/4-inch hole.

9. Drill into the hole to widen it. Be careful not to go deeper than 1/2 inch. Widen all of the holes in the plywood in the same manner. Fill the holes with glue and slide the long ends of the frame's 10-inch dowels into the holes.

10. Place one jaw of a clamp around an 8-inch dowel on your stool base. Hook the other end onto the plywood platform and tighten the clamp. Attach the second clamp in the same manner on the opposite end of the stool. Wipe off the excess glue from the joints with a clean rag. Let the glue dry overnight. Remove the clamps.

11. Spray three coats of polyurethane onto the stool. Let each coat dry for three hours before the next application. Let the final coat of polyurethane dry overnight before using your footstool.

Tips & Warnings

• Work gloves, safety glasses and hearing protection are required for this project.

• Spray polyurethane outside or in a well ventilated area only.

References

• Home Envy: Stool Crazy After All These Years