# Has anyone had any luck building a jig to make a saddle seat for a stool?



## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

I am trying to build a jig to carve a saddle seat stool seat. I have some ideas but I thought that I would post out here to see if anyone can save me some trouble with the experimentation process. As I am new, I am not able to post any links here but if you go to the pottery barn web site and search for stools you will see a Tibetan bar stool with a seat like I am looking for. 

Thanks,

Joe


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## woodie26 (May 31, 2009)

Check out Woodsmith Vol.34/No.201, I think it was the last issue. It has a Shop-Built Routher Jig for Sculping a seat.


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## biloxi tom (Sep 10, 2012)

As both ends are open as opposed to a dished out circular seat it would seem straight forward to me either on a a router table or a ts. A ts most likely would be faster whether you use a dado blade or not. Lay out your desired curve and starting our at the outside of the curvature place your fence to where blade is in right spot, raise the blade to appropriate height, cut all the way through seat, turn seat 180 degrees and repeat. move the fence out according to the next cut in adjust blade and repeat and keep repeating until you've hogged out the basic shape. Doing it in this manner ensures a centered removal of the major part of the waste. Then just use a spoke shave to even out the "steps (don't know what else to call it) and then sand to your finished grit and pop a finish on this. Thanx by the way I wanted to make a folding stool for the shop or maybe some for the kitchen to sit and do prep work and could not figure out a logical way to dish out the circular stool shape I was thinking of using and didn't think of this answer in shapes. I unfortunately don't own a lathe. hope this helps


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## woodie26 (May 31, 2009)

With the Woodsmith Jig, that is made for round seat just do turn the jig round.


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## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

biloxi tom said:


> As both ends are open as opposed to a dished out circular seat it would seem straight forward to me either on a a router table or a ts. A ts most likely would be faster whether you use a dado blade or not. Lay out your desired curve and starting our at the outside of the curvature place your fence to where blade is in right spot, raise the blade to appropriate height, cut all the way through seat, turn seat 180 degrees and repeat. move the fence out according to the next cut in adjust blade and repeat and keep repeating until you've hogged out the basic shape. Doing it in this manner ensures a centered removal of the major part of the waste. Then just use a spoke shave to even out the "steps (don't know what else to call it) and then sand to your finished grit and pop a finish on this. Thanx by the way I wanted to make a folding stool for the shop or maybe some for the kitchen to sit and do prep work and could not figure out a logical way to dish out the circular stool shape I was thinking of using and didn't think of this answer in shapes. I unfortunately don't own a lathe. hope this helps


I plan to use a rounded jig that my router rides down and up and then use a 3/4 inch straight bit cutting out small amounts per pass. It seems to me that it will work and I will of course try on something less expensive than the maple I bought for the stool to make sure it works but I just thought if someone had done it before, they may have some pointers. I thought about the table saw but I am concerned about getting them even when I shave down the 'steps' as I have never really done any carving before. Perhaps it is easier than I am thinking. 

Thanks for the advice.


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## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

woodie26 said:


> With the Woodsmith Jig, that is made for round seat just do turn the jig round.


I tried to email you but as I am new to this forum I was not allowed to do so. If you can post a link, I would appreciate it. 

Thanks,

Joe


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## MAFoElffen (Jun 8, 2012)

Just so everyone has a visual, I'll post the pic for him.








My choices. First, fastest and easiest would be on a band saw. But sounds like you don't have that option.

Next would be on a table saw. Cove cuts at full 90 degrees to the blade using 2 cove fences. Some aren't used to this and if you don't know what you are doing...

Look up Harrysin's router ski's. He has a few threads and videos here on this forum on router ski's. I'm thinking his jig uses round rods between the sides. If you used slightly undersized rods, you could bend the rods to the desired curve, then the router shouldn't bind on that slight curve. It would then cut at that gentle angle. (Harry would be proud- another use for his jig.) I think this would actually be the best option for the OP for what he has, for minimal cost. Make up another set of normal straight rods and he has the jig for many other things.


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## biloxi tom (Sep 10, 2012)

*Sounds interesting*



juisman said:


> I plan to use a rounded jig that my router rides down and up and then use a 3/4 inch straight bit cutting out small amounts per pass. It seems to me that it will work and I will of course try on something less expensive than the maple I bought for the stool to make sure it works but I just thought if someone had done it before, they may have some pointers. I thought about the table saw but I am concerned about getting them even when I shave down the 'steps' as I have never really done any carving before. Perhaps it is easier than I am thinking.
> 
> Thanks for the advice.


The rounded jig sound interesting. You could design it using sketch up but with a squared angled bit I don't see you gaining anything over just using a router table or if you don't have one using a planer jig as in one would use to flatten a board with a router. Of course you would have to add a guide rail to that but that is just a straight edge clamped to the planer jig. Using a 3/4" will save you time but you will still need to advance the position of the cut at the next depth by only and eighth or a quarter inch at a time I feel. I particularly like the wood whisperers and a you tube jig shown in use. Just go to youtube and search for flattening a board and the choice are quite a few. If you design your rounded jig please post it for others. I would love to see it or maybe even a video of it in action!


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## biloxi tom (Sep 10, 2012)

I like the idea of curving the rods that could be very interesting. If anyone tries this please let us know how it worked out.


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

I'm with biloxi tom and Mike a table saw is the way to go (short of doing it with a bandsaw). It would take longer to build a jig and route it out then it would with the table saw. Start as biloxi tom said and rough it out then as Mike said cove it by using your miter gauge. If you are not sure what he means then do a search on making cove molding on a table saw. I like the looks of this stool and may make one myself.


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

I would make a plywood ski that has curved instead of straight tracks between the feet (or as Harry calls them, "cheeks"). Then it is like planing a board. I can do a skecthup of it later if that would make it more clear.


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## del schisler (Feb 2, 2006)

juisman said:


> I am trying to build a jig to carve a saddle seat stool seat. I have some ideas but I thought that I would post out here to see if anyone can save me some trouble with the experimentation process. As I am new, I am not able to post any links here but if you go to the pottery barn web site and search for stools you will see a Tibetan bar stool with a seat like I am looking for.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Joe


whatch this video by charles neil on making a chair seat.

Scoopin' a Chair Seat - YouTube


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## GRLevel3 (Apr 4, 2012)

Like the first post said, woodsmith magazine, #201 page 32, you can get it online someplace in a pdf free, get the whole thing its got some nice chit in it,

very simple and to the point, the jig that is in the magazine, lol


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## woodie26 (May 31, 2009)

juisman said:


> I tried to email you but as I am new to this forum I was not allowed to do so. If you can post a link, I would appreciate it.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Joe


Joe, My email is, [email protected]


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## Chris Curl (Feb 13, 2012)

something like this ...


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

I have sat on similar stools in Thailand. For me at least, they tended to get very uncomfortable, very rapidly, if they were not short enough to be able to plant both feet flat on the ground. On the other hand, it would tend to get people away from the bar faster. :laugh:
For any length of time, a stool where your feet are not flat on the ground, a back makes it much more comfortable.


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## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

biloxi tom said:


> The rounded jig sound interesting. You could design it using sketch up but with a squared angled bit I don't see you gaining anything over just using a router table or if you don't have one using a planer jig as in one would use to flatten a board with a router. Of course you would have to add a guide rail to that but that is just a straight edge clamped to the planer jig. Using a 3/4" will save you time but you will still need to advance the position of the cut at the next depth by only and eighth or a quarter inch at a time I feel. I particularly like the wood whisperers and a you tube jig shown in use. Just go to youtube and search for flattening a board and the choice are quite a few. If you design your rounded jig please post it for others. I would love to see it or maybe even a video of it in action!


As I have a full time job, a wife that works evenings, neighbors close by, and two small children to keep an eye on, time to work on things is hard to find. I did put a jig together and I did a couple of swipes on a piece of 2x4 just to see if it would work. I think it will do the job. Today I was able to plane down and cut the pieces of the stool tops (I am making two of them). I just didn't have the time to try to cut out the seat yet. I really hate this too because I am dying to find out if it will work or not. Once I am able to get things working, I will post pictures. 
Thanks for all of the advice and input. 

Joe


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## tjcarita (Feb 1, 2009)

I posted my version here on Lumberjocks.com a while ago. Maybe this will help a few people that wish to make a saddle seat on their stools. 

Router Jig & Stool's for my daughter - by woodshaver @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

tjcarita said:


> I posted my version here on Lumberjocks.com a while ago. Maybe this will help a few people that wish to make a saddle seat on their stools.
> 
> Router Jig & Stool's for my daughter - by woodshaver @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community


Tony very nice stool I book marked it.


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## tjcarita (Feb 1, 2009)

mgmine said:


> Tony very nice stool I book marked it.


Thanks Art! 
Here's the plan if your interested in making this stool

The Sorted Details: Folding Step Stool - Free Plan


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## n6vc (Oct 11, 2012)

juisman said:


> I am trying to build a jig to carve a saddle seat stool seat. I have some ideas but I thought that I would post out here to see if anyone can save me some trouble with the experimentation process. As I am new, I am not able to post any links here but if you go to the pottery barn web site and search for stools you will see a Tibetan bar stool with a seat like I am looking for.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Joe


Here is the fixture I'm planning for my router table:


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## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

n6vc said:


> Here is the fixture I'm planning for my router table:


Thanks for that idea. The problem with something like this is that I am making a carve out that is 18 inches wide and goes .5 inches deep. That would create a need for an 81 inch radius meaning to use a fixture like this, I would need it to be 80+ inches tall. 

I was successful at doing this with two curved plywood tracks that I moved the router back and forth on. It took a little sanding when it was done but did a pretty good job. I will post some pictures when I get the stools done.


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## tjcarita (Feb 1, 2009)

Great! I'll be looking for your photo post! 
Thanks Jon! 
Tony


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## tjcarita (Feb 1, 2009)

oops! I though your comment was directed at me! I should read more! 
I would still love to see any photos you post!


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

MAFoElffen said:


> J....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd love to make that stool, and I have some nice wood here at the moment that would suit it. Do you have any plans or dimensions? I'd like to get the proportions exactly per that picture. Thanks. 

JC


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## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

*So here is the end result...and jig I used*

As previously stated, I said that I would post my results. Well, here it is. I am still working on finishing them but here they are glued up and ready to sand and finish. The jig was rather simple. I made this out of 3/4 inch plywood. As you can see in the picture, it is just two curved pieces between two flat pieces. I made this 25 inches long and the stool top is 18 so this gives an extra 3.5 inches on each side for the router to travel. I used a 3/4 inch straight bit on a plunge router. 
I cut the curved pieces for the jig by attaching the router to a 1x2 at 81 inches. This gave me the radius I needed. I then drilled a hole in the 1x2 and put a bolt through it and a piece of scrap plywood. I clamped the plywood to my bench and then used that as my pivot point. Using a 1/4 inch straight bit, I cut the curves for the jig. 
As you can see in the picture, the ends of the jig are just under 1.5 inches too tall to hold the jig above my piece (the seats were 1.5 inches). I originally thought that I could clamp the jig down on top of the piece and this would hold both the jig and the piece in place for the movement. Then, I went to the lumber yard to buy another piece of maple as that did not work so well. I wasn't getting consistent swipes with the router. So, after rethinking it a bit, I added the two long pieces of 1x2 to the ends. Using this, I was able to clamp the jig down on the four corners allowing my piece to slide under it (I had to off set the 1x2 to compensate for the extra 1/16 inch I intentionally left short for the previous clamping idea. I put a 3.5 inch spacer between the piece and the end and then clamped the piece to the 1x2 using a long clamp. This worked pretty good but the piece wanted to lift up so I had to be careful to ensure it was flat on the bench but it worked pretty good. I also took the time to vacuum between clamping with each pass so that I could make sure that the piece remained flat on the table. Using the flat side of the router, I could make a pass and then turn the router around to get another bit taken off. By doing this, I was able to get a little over an inch per clamping. Once I got the process down, it went pretty quick. I would take an 1/8 inch in the first pass and then 1/4 in the second but I suspect I could have taken the full 3/8 inch in one pass but I didn't want to spend another 35 bucks on a new piece so I figured I would just take the extra time. 
There were a few ridges in the end but I was able to take them down with a RO sander in a few minutes so it wasn't bad. 
Let me know if you have any questions. I should have taken pictures while I was working on it but I had such limited windows of time to work on things that I didn't think of it.


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## tjcarita (Feb 1, 2009)

I like it! Looks like a good design. Your bar stool's look grate too! A lot like my bar stools. (See Link)
I'm thinking of making a jig that can do a round saddle. Maybe using a jig like that with a lazy susan to spin the wood to form the saddle. 
Anyway thanks for posting your work! Good job! 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8140614067/

http://flic.kr/p/dpmZ7q


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Thanks for the update and photos, Joseph.

Sometimes the simplest jigs work the best.


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Tony, the easiest way to allow you to carve out a seat like most rocking chairs have is to make your router support rails convex. Working with the base rails which are concave you will get a bowl cut as opposed to a saddle. Altering the front base rail into two concave arcs will allow you to rough out the shape of a traditional rocker. See the photos below of routing unusual shapes from the Router Workshop.


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## tjcarita (Feb 1, 2009)

Hi Mike, 
I have thought about making the base rail a double concave to accomplish a rocker like seat. 
If I ever have a need to make a seat like that I'll give it a try. 
I took a look at the photos you posted but I'm not sure I understand what I'm looking at.
I might be old but my experience with routers is quite young!


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

The guide stick shown attached to the router base in photo 1 and a similar one clamped to the table in photo 2 have edges that are rounded over. This allows you to roll the router for close radiii. Look close at the project legs in photo 2 and you will see they are a series of saddles or scallops perfectly rounded over on all 4 sides. No other way to do this that I can think of. This is one of the slickest designs Bob Rosendahl ever came up with. Another reason why I encourage people to watch the Router Workshop.


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## tjcarita (Feb 1, 2009)

What a clever idea! As soon as I get a chance I'm defiantly going to try that technique. Also I’ll be watching the Router Workshop video. 
Looks like Joseph did a great job on those bar stools! 

Thanks for bringing this to my attention Mike.


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## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

tjcarita said:


> I like it! Looks like a good design. Your bar stool's look grate too! A lot like my bar stools. (See Link)
> I'm thinking of making a jig that can do a round saddle. Maybe using a jig like that with a lazy susan to spin the wood to form the saddle.
> Anyway thanks for posting your work! Good job!
> 
> ...


Wow! I am truly jealous. This was my first real attempt at making a piece of furniture that we plan to use in the house so I am satisfied with my result. Can you tell me the technique you used to finish that? I think that I had a good end result until I applied the finish. This seems to be something I am struggling with.


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## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

JCJCJC said:


> I'd love to make that stool, and I have some nice wood here at the moment that would suit it. Do you have any plans or dimensions? I'd like to get the proportions exactly per that picture. Thanks.
> 
> JC


That one in the picture looks a little taller than mine. The seat on mine is 18" by 9.5". The radius for the seat was 81". I was originally going to do it like the one in the picture and that is what I had in mind when I built the jig but then my wife decided she didn't like the seat so extreme so I chose to only go down 3/8" instead of the 1/2" I originally planned. The seat is 1.5" think. The legs are made from 1.5" x 1.5" lumber and the rails are 1/2 by 1.25". I used M&T joints to attach the rails. The angle of the legs are 8 degrees. I originally was going to go with 5 degrees but I thought it would be too unstable from front to back so I brought them out a little and they seem pretty close to what a similar size one from pottery barn were. The pottery barn web site gives quite a few dimensions which helped. The legs attach to the seat 1" from the sides and to be honest, I don't remember from the ends but I can get you that measurement if you like. I think it was 2" but I have to double check my plans. 
Everything about this was new to me so I really had to figure it out as I went. I can share with you anything that you want to know about it so feel free to ask.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Mike said:


> Tony, the easiest way to allow you to carve out a seat like most rocking chairs have is to make your router support rails convex. Working with the base rails which are concave you will get a bowl cut as opposed to a saddle. Altering the front base rail into two concave arcs will allow you to rough out the shape of a traditional rocker. See the photos below of routing unusual shapes from the Router Workshop.


What episode is that in Mike?


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## tjcarita (Feb 1, 2009)

Joseph, Abut the finish on the stools. 
My daughter and son-in-law hired a cabinet shop to build their new Cherry Kitchen. Shortly after the completion of their kitchen they asked me if I would build them 3 matching cherry bar stools for their eat at bar. I said sure but I won't be able to match your cabinet color and finish. So Tom my son-in-law said he would have the cabinet shop do the finish on the stools so they matched and he would also buy enough Cherry from the shop so I could make 3 stools for our kitchen, (at my wife’s request) More work LOL!! So 6 stools in all 2 of which are folding step stool and 4 plain stools. So I made them and the cabinet shop put a Convergent Varnish finish on them (something I never used before). So to answer your question I didn’t do the finish and 

When I do a finish, sometimes I use a water base finish. First coat is sanding sealer, Lightly sand after the drying time, sand with 300/320. careful not to break through the seal. Clean of the dust and spray a water base finish and it buff out if needed, 
Getting a good finish takes lots of practice. Over the years I found that the Sanding sealer is a very important step. It lets the final finish flow and level out much better. With any finish you should always use a sanding sealer. Choose a good quality finish whether it be a polyurethane or water base they level out better than the cheaper ones. 
Hope this helps! 
Tony


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

James, this is from episode 1307 the round one leaf table.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Mike said:


> James, this is from episode 1307 the round one leaf table.



Thanks Mike...


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

juisman said:


> That one in the picture looks a little taller than mine. The seat on mine is 18" by 9.5". The radius for the seat was 81". I was originally going to do it like the one in the picture and that is what I had in mind when I built the jig but then my wife decided she didn't like the seat so extreme so I chose to only go down 3/8" instead of the 1/2" I originally planned. The seat is 1.5" think. The legs are made from 1.5" x 1.5" lumber and the rails are 1/2 by 1.25". I used M&T joints to attach the rails. The angle of the legs are 8 degrees. I originally was going to go with 5 degrees but I thought it would be too unstable from front to back so I brought them out a little and they seem pretty close to what a similar size one from pottery barn were. The pottery barn web site gives quite a few dimensions which helped. The legs attach to the seat 1" from the sides and to be honest, I don't remember from the ends but I can get you that measurement if you like. I think it was 2" but I have to double check my plans.
> Everything about this was new to me so I really had to figure it out as I went. I can share with you anything that you want to know about it so feel free to ask.


Thank you Joseph. I have a few projects on the go at the moment that I need to complete and clear out, then my table saw (Hitachi C10RA) has to have an overdue overhaul - there's at least 1mm of rock at the edge of the blade, once that's cutting accurately I'll tackle the saddle stool to your dimensions.

Thank you again.

John


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## JCJCJC (May 15, 2012)

*Nice footstool*

I don't wish to hijack the thread, but since we're on stools, here's a little footstool I put together to pass a wet afternoon yesterday:










The design more-or-less came from here with a few of my own variations, eg the trefoil holes. I'll definitely build this again, next time I'll put those trefoil holes up a bit higher. The one on top is chamfered top and bottom to make it easier to pick the stool up. I think this would make a great gift for someone with a little child - they can sit on it, use it as a hop-up, play with cars under it, and piddle off it if needs be ;-) The wood is very cheap walnut lam-board sold as stair tread remnants in a local builders' merchants here, cost about five euros for materials.

Edit: the top only looks cloudy because it picked up the flash that way - it's a rich dark colour in reality.


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## brucenelson (Jan 7, 2012)

A truly masterful design. Couldn't the router sled be modified to produce a truly ass-like contour?


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## brucenelson (Jan 7, 2012)

brucenelson said:


> A truly masterful design. Couldn't the router sled be modified to produce a truly ass-like contour?


I was truly impressed with the design and construction of the bar stools make by Juisman. The contour on the top of these stools is in the form of a regular arc. What I am looking for is something more matching of the irregular contour of the human ass.


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## camoz (Jan 31, 2012)

brucenelson said:


> I was truly impressed with the design and construction of the bar stools make by Juisman. The contour on the top of these stools is in the form of a regular arc. What I am looking for is something more matching of the irregular contour of the human ass.


I've wondered the same, take a mould of a human ass, or carve the first, and a duplicarver would work, but apart from that I would be interested to hear of another way.

Cheers, 

Camo


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## juisman (Sep 7, 2012)

brucenelson said:


> I was truly impressed with the design and construction of the bar stools make by Juisman. The contour on the top of these stools is in the form of a regular arc. What I am looking for is something more matching of the irregular contour of the human ass.


Thanks for the positive feedback. 

I have thought about the more accurate contour as well and I have not thought of anything as to how to do that. The problem with my method is that you are limited somewhat due to the fact that the base is riding on the jig and the bit is much smaller. I was thinking that I want to make a chair in the near future that incorporates a cut out for the butt. My problem with that is I don't like making things without purpose so if I make a chair, I will have to make a whole set of some sort.


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## brucenelson (Jan 7, 2012)

This topic has been in my mind for some time (making a wood seat with the contour of the human ass). I have recently observed a video showing exactly this process with a new cutter for a 4 1/2 inch grinder called the Arbortech Turbo Plane. It used a plywood template with the outside contour of the ass. It was made from 3/4 inch thick plywood, and the outside perimeter of the cutter could follow the pattern, as there are no teeth on the perimeter of the cutter. The teeth were located on the bottom of the cutter to shape the contour of the ass freehand.


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## brucenelson (Jan 7, 2012)

*Process for cutting a ass-like contour in a chair or stool seat.*



brucenelson said:


> This topic has been in my mind for some time (making a wood seat with the contour of the human ass). I have recently observed a video showing exactly this process with a new cutter for a 4 1/2 inch grinder called the Arbortech Turbo Plane. It used a plywood template with the outside contour of the ass. It was made from 3/4 inch thick plywood, and the outside perimeter of the cutter could follow the pattern, as there are no teeth on the perimeter of the cutter. The teeth were located on the bottom of the cutter to shape the contour of the ass freehand.


This topic has not had any new information in a long time, and I make this post to try to attract interest in the subject.


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## Botelho007 (Sep 23, 2012)

Mario Rodriguez shows you how to use a clever table saw jig to quickly saddle a seat for a contemporary chair. 
Carve a Chair Seat on the Table Saw with Mario Rodgriguez - YouTube


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## brucenelson (Jan 7, 2012)

Thanks Claudio for the link to Mario Rodriguez's chair seat video demonstrating how to make a ass shaped contour almost automatically. I certainly will study this video and adapt this method into my woodworking. This should certainly inspire others to do the same.

Bruce


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