Build a small step for the kitchen or bathroom. Explore real wooden stools, then open a shared Easel design for the parts or carving you want to make.
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Start from a blank workpiece
Watch a birch plywood side-panel design take shape in Easel. Add an arched outline between the feet, a rounded handle shape and a rectangular tread slot, then turn the 3D preview to view the cut paths.
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Choose the shape and construction you want. Each project explains which parts come in the shared design and which you make separately.
Two Steps from a Boardby Christopher FinkeBuild a two-step stool with shaped sides and narrow connecting rails. Christopher’s shared design includes the sides, rails and both treads. He designed it around a 1×12 board, but says the tops may need to be cut separately when using a narrow board rather than a sheet.
Wide Two-Step Stoolby Doug WatkinsDoug made this wide two-step stool so children could reach the sink. He used Merbau decking timber and glued and screwed the parts together. The shared design includes several side-panel sizes and two tread-detail workpieces. Cut the tread boards separately to suit the width you want. His finished build uses the medium version.
Carved Single-Step Stoolby Richard WittryAdd a carved name or picture to a low solid-wood step. Richard’s oak and maple project includes several top designs, side legs and underside locating recesses. Cut the two straight braces separately. His notes explain the hidden pocket screws and glue that join the base and top.
Interlocking Plywood Stepby Martin LathuilleMake a low rectangular step from 18 mm plywood. Martin’s design joins the side panels and cross brace with fitted joints, then adds a separate top. The three shared workpieces supply these parts. His description explains that the inside corners need clearance before the joints will fit.
Plywood Sides and Wooden Treadsby Joseph Van BeckumUse shaped plywood sides with wooden boards for the steps. Joseph’s shared workpieces supply the left and right sides, with large round openings and smaller handholds. Make the tread boards separately from the wood you choose. Doug’s wide version shows how this same side-panel approach can suit a different tread material.
Step Stool with a Carry Handleby Robert RiekeMove a small step without bending down to pick it up. Robert’s plywood stool has a tall carry handle and curved braces below the top. The shared workpiece supplies the base, top, handle and supports. His illustrated instructions explain the fitted joints and assembly; the pockets were designed for his measured plywood thickness, not every sheet sold under the same nominal size.
Shamrock Two-Step Stoolby Charlie - River's EdgeGive the two-step board design a different finish with shamrock cutouts in the sides and a carved upper tread. Charlie made this version from 3/4-inch birch plywood. The shared design has two workpieces for the decorative detail and parts, including the sides, rails and treads.
Compass-Carved Round Stepby April WilkersonCarve a compass rose into the top of a small round stool. April glued two boards together for the thick top and built the four-legged base with angled legs, stretchers and pocket screws. The shared Easel file supplies the compass carving only. Her gallery instructions describe making the round top and building the base separately.
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From the makers’ comments and project notes
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Robert Rieke rounds the exposed edges after a successful dry fit, but leaves the ends of the curved supports and the bottom of the carry handle square where they meet a glue joint. Ease the edges you will touch, not the surfaces that need to fit together.
Project notes by Robert Rieke: read the source.
From MWP X-Carve Stepstool by Robert Rieke.
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