Shop fixtures · Beginner
Shop Step Stool
The first thing I build for any new shop. One 6-foot board, a weekend, and a stool that will hold you for the next twenty years.
Free with an account, so you can download it again any time.
- Size
- 14 × 11 × 9 in
- Wood
- Pine or poplar
- Board
- One 1×12, 6 ft
- Tools
- Circular saw, jigsaw, drill
- Joinery
- Glue and screws
- Time to make
- 1 weekend
- Plan
- 6 pages · PDF
What’s in the plan
- Cut list from a single 6-foot board
- Front and side elevations
- Full-size template for the leg splay
- Build order in nine steps
- Finish notes for a shop stool that gets stood on
Why this is free
Everybody needs a step stool in the shop, and building one teaches the three things every other plan here assumes you can do: cut to a line, make a square glue-up, and drive a screw without splitting the board. If you build this one and it doesn't rock, you're ready for anything in the catalog.
Wood
One 1×12 pine or poplar board, 6 feet long, from any home center. Pick the flattest board in the pile: sight down the edge and pass on anything with a bow you can see.
What people get wrong
Gluing up on a table that isn't flat. The stool takes the shape of whatever it's clamped on. Check your bench with a straightedge first, or assemble it on the floor.
