Medieval Woodworking
Part 3

Lord Simon de Roquefort

Hello again; in this issue, I will be showing you how to construct two types of simple camp stools.

Basic Fold-away stool

The simplest design of any camp stool dates as far back as the Babylonian cultures and has been seen all over the world ever since. Even today the basic design is still in use as you will see. Once you have mastered the basic stool it can be modified to suit almost any period and can also be highly decorated.

Materials:
4 x 2" poles 2 foot long
1 x 1/2" dowel + end caps or pegs 10" long
2 x 1" poles 9" long
1 rectangle of canvas or leather 1'10" x 9"
For the wood, ash or hazel will work best, but pine will do.

Tools
Drill with 1/2 inch bit
Needle & leather sewing thread
Awl
Small saw
Small hammer

Method
Drill a hole through the 4 poles about half way down.

Insert the 10" dowel and cut a small inset into the ends, then drop a little glue in these and lightly tap in the "pegs" with a hammer. If you do this too deep or hard the dowels will split. This is to stop the poles coming off the dowel.

Saw the ends of the poles so that when the legs are open the bottom ones are horizontal to the ground. Then saw a 1" rebate (a slot to hold the horizontal battens) into the top of the legs to take the smaller battens. Now, sew the leather or canvas seat as follows: Fold about 2" over from each end, and sew them down to create two tubes. Place the two 9" battens in the tubes, and then glue them into the rebates on the tops of the legs.

Your camp stool is now complete. The seat, it made of leather, can be carved or painted, as can the legs, to make it more individual.

A simple 3 leg camp stool

Materials:
3 x 2" or 3" dowels, 1' to 1'6" long
1 disc of wood, 1" to 2" thick, about 1' in diameter

Tools
Drill with 1 - 2 1/2 inch inch bit
Small saw

Method
Drill 3 holes in the round seat, angled out from the center at about 30 degrees. The holes should be slightly smaller than the diameter of the dowels you are using for the legs. Next, taper the 3 legs at one end so that they fit snugly into the holes. Apply wood glue, ram the legs in as tightly as possible. When the glue is dry, use a plane or a saw to smooth off the the top, in case the legs have protruded through the top, and flatten the bottom of the legs off so that they are level with the ground. You can finish off the stool with a tacked on leather cover, or with some nice varnish.