Koa Entry Stool
June-August 2023
This entry stool was commissioned in the summer of 2023, and allowed me to foray into custom production outside my regular context. It also served as the first piece where I utilized one of my favorite finishing techniques of a black dyed ash with a satin clear coat. I began the process of building the stool with testing out heights and seat shapes on a dimensional lumber buck. Subsequent to settling on a size and shape, I purchased both the ash and koa wood and set to work on fabrication. After jointing and planing the ash wood, I cut the boards for the legs to their final dimensions and used the jointing sled on the table saw in order to cut joints. This was one of my favorite stylistic choices on the seat, as the subtle detail allowed me to showcase my effort and craft.
I subsequently cross cut the lateral pieces of the legs, and chiseled out the remaining chips in order to guarantee a perfect fit up of the joints.
With the frame glued up and drying, I moved on to focusing on how to best utilize the limited amount of koa wood I had access to for the project. I realized early on that I would need to do a glue up in order to have enough area for the seat, and due to irregularities on one end of the plank I wound up having to make the glue up about an inch and a half shorter than my initially expected calculations. I got to work devising a solution to make the seat work to the dimensions set out to that of the template I made for the buck.
The answer I devised was simple, yet elegant. I decided to use some of the extra ash wood as bolsters at the ends of the seat, and use the offcuts of koa from the scooped portions of the seat to create a uniquely tied-together surface. I cut the ash to length and set the seat top to the side as I began finishing the legs.
After the initial cutting and glue up, I was able to chamfer the edges of the legs to their final specifications. The legs were then set aside until it was time to secure the seat top in place. I double checked the height to ensure that it was to the proper specifications utilizing the buck, and then shifted back to refining the seat.
The seat top was cut, sanded, and re-glued in order to match the shape of the template. Once the seat was finished, I set up the dowel connections that would affix the seat to the top of the legs.
I had conducted some tests with coupons of ash in order to test out the black dye, as I planned to tie the base and top together more tightly through this decision. Applying the dye went smoothly, as the ash took to it very well. I then finalized the preparations to glue the top to the base, which I had intentionally left separate for the dying process.
With the stool complete, it was placed into its spot in the entryway. It even gained the highest accolade for a piece of furniture, being cat-approved. This piece is a watershed in my design process, and one of my best works, as it changed how I thought about the style of my furniture, and encouraged me to explore further and push boundaries on subsequent projects.