DIY Garage Stool

[KwikFab]

Ripped the band-aid off today.

She's offset by say, 1/16" or so from center but at least it's not canted.









Now for those invested so far in my thread (I appreciate y'all), what kind of design do you want to see for my handle?

Naturally it'll be a 2 or 3 piece handle with the first part being welded around the top nut like a closed ended wrench on it.

The second part would slot to the first part and welded in so it is in a vertical orientation and not horizontal like the first part.

The third part will be a piece of 5/8" solid rod I can use as the handle end.

 

[Beerhippie]

The handle will go on the second nut above the tube to act as a lock-nut?

I'd use a adjustable wrench....

 

[KwikFab]

The handle will go on the second nut above the tube to act as a lock-nut?

I'd use a adjustable wrench....

Yes sir!

I could do that and write off the handle, but it'd be a cool feature to have.

 

[Beerhippie]

In that case, something resembling a vise handle with nice, big balls for ends would look good and offer little in the way of things to bash your calves against.

I wouldn't think it would need to be very long, either. I'd probably add a sintered bronze thrust washer between the nut and tube to make tightening easier--and add that little flash of bronze accent.

 

[KwikFab]

In that case, something resembling a vise handle with nice, big balls for ends would look good and offer little in the way of things to bash your calves against.

I wouldn't think it would need to be very long, either. I'd probably add a sintered bronze thrust washer between the nut and tube to make tightening easier--and add that little flash of bronze accent.

Send one my way and I'll use it

 

[Beerhippie]

Send one my way and I'll use it

I'm fresh out of 1" ID thrust washers right now!

Here's kind of what I'm thinking:



That's for tightening down a manway door on a fermenter. You could get away with shorter arms.

A man's shop stool deserves a pair of big balls.

 

[KwikFab]

I'm fresh out of 1" ID thrust washers right now!

Here's kind of what I'm thinking:



That's for tightening down a manway door on a fermenter. You could get away with shorter arms.

A man's shop stool deserves a pair of big balls.

The one I posted is $50+ before shipping and tax.

No more money to be spent, especially since we're basically done!

Just waiting for the leather cushion to be done, so I can mount things up and cut the leadscrew.

After which I'll start painting parts.

 

[Beerhippie]

The one I posted is $50+ before shipping and tax.

No more money to be spent, especially since we're basically done!

Just waiting for the leather cushion to be done, so I can mount things up and cut the leadscrew.

After which I'll start painting parts.

The what you posted?

I was thinking you'd weld some balls to the rod ends and weld the rods to the nut.

I just like the look of the angled handles on that manway door.

 

[KwikFab]

The what you posted?

I was thinking you'd weld some balls to the rod ends and weld the rods to the nut.

I just like the look of the angled handles on that manway door.

Ah gotcha!

Trying to do this what what I've got on hand.

I have 1/4" rod, 5/8" rod, and a bunch of steel plate (16 gauge, 3/16", 11 gauge, 10 gauge).

I'll get creative tomorrow when I'm in the garage. Maybe weld two 5/8" rods side by side as part of the angled handle itself.

 

[Beerhippie]

Well, looky what I found out in the stainless section of the boneyard!



Unfortunately:

1) The bore is 7/8"

B- The threads are UNC

III: My bosses would not be happy were I to give it away.

 

[Beerhippie]

Ah gotcha!

Trying to do this what what I've got on hand.

I have 1/4" rod, 5/8" rod, and a bunch of steel plate (16 gauge, 3/16", 11 gauge, 10 gauge).

I'll get creative tomorrow when I'm in the garage. Maybe weld two 5/8" rods side by side as part of the angled handle itself.

Two angled handles cut from plate to mirror the angles of the legs with pieces of the 5/8" rod, rounded on the ends, welded vertically to the ends? That would look good on that stool and echo the rest of the design.

But I'm sitting sipping beer and BSing while you're building it.

 

[KwikFab]

Two angled handles cut from plate to mirror the angles of the legs with pieces of the 5/8" rod, rounded on the ends, welded vertically to the ends? That would look good on that stool and echo the rest of the design.

But I'm sitting sipping beer and BSing while you're building it.

Yeah the same design as the legs is what I was referring to if doing the above design of cutting out some steel and welding it to the nut. And using the 5/8" stock as such.

But I opened up the discussion to other ideas too!

 

[Beerhippie]

Fortunately it ain't much to remove.

Only need to get to 1.4690" for the ID of the tube



From 1.8265" the widest points of the nut



The flats come in at exactly 1.6000".

Literally a few minutes grinding the corners. Again, just hate metal dust

Metal dust is just something I have to deal with daily.

But, when grinding these nuts down:



using an 80 grit wheel for today's dumb project, it was metal splinters that were the problem. I probably spent five minutes with my magnifying goggles and a fine set of tweezers picking splinters out of my fingertips. Ouch.

 

[KwikFab]

Metal dust is just something I have to deal with daily.

But, when grinding these nuts down:



using an 80 grit wheel for today's dumb project, it was metal splinters that were the problem. I probably spent five minutes with my magnifying goggles and a fine set of tweezers picking splinters out of my fingertips. Ouch.

Form fitting gloves, welding jacket, eyepro, and respirator for me.

Young ones think it's 'cool' to skip out on PPE - I've been through enough injury to not protect what I've got.

Just hoping my damn cushion is done tomorrow otherwise I'm picking up all my goods and taking it elsewhere.

 

[honcho]

Ehhh, I'm at less than half the cost. Not sure where you got double.

The value of your time and the amortized cost of all your shop equipment likely more than doubles your cost. Just because it's not immediately out of your pocket doesn't mean you aren't paying for it.

You can be proud of your seat no matter what the cost. Being able to roll your own is priceless.

 

[KwikFab]

The value of your time and the amortized cost of all your shop equipment likely more than doubles your cost. Just because it's not immediately out of your pocket doesn't mean you aren't paying for it.

You can be proud of your seat no matter what the cost. Being able to roll your own is priceless.

I agree 1,000% on part of this statement, specifically the cost of the equipment used.

Time? Yes it definitely has value. Making stuff (for myself or others) is therapeutic and by itself, payment to my mental health.

But yeah definitely gonna be proud of it for sure! I don't often make myself anything. But it's fun doing so for others and seeing their projects come alive!

I'm always down to talk shop when people swing by.

 

[Skyman]

Looking great!

 

[KwikFab]

Shop called and said my seat cushion is done!

Just gotta wait for the wife to get home so I can head out. I'd take the kiddo but not to this shop

 

[KwikFab]

Ok this fucker came out nice!







Now the angle might look off, but that's more due to the camera angles.

The backrest mount is in a perfect position for the actual padded rest I've got coming in.

Matches the custom barstools I've got inside the house as well as the one in the garage.





Can't wait to weld up the leadscrew to the nut, then weld the assembly to the baseplate so I can move on to paint.

Bonus points if you can spot the difference in this pic.



Even though I ordered a backrest from Vyper, I will most likely return it on account that I have a ton of leather left over.

 

[Skyman]

That’s really coming together.

 

[KwikFab]

That’s really coming together.

Hell yeah it is, I'm stoked!

Before I turned in for the day, I unbolted the footrest from my Harbor Freight stool and laid it over the new stool - DAMN.

I can't just half-*** the footrest by going with a flat circular cutout so I shot an email over to a nearby shop owner to see if he can roll some tube for me. The shop does a lot of parts as they have a few CNC laser tables as well as large 10' and 20' press brakes.

Hoping he can knock out a tiny job like this one for me.

 

[KwikFab]

Part of me wants to temporarily steal the footrest from the stool I never use, it looks so good!



Anyway, a little pre-heat on the nut and leadscrew and I glued her up.





Going to leave it alone for the next hour or two and let it cool down on its own before I mount up the seat.



After which, I'll need to decide on a final sit height.

With the leadscrew bottomed out as shown, the seat will sit at the same 29" height as my other stool. To add to this, my current stool is at it's lowest which is still too tall for anything other than my laptop.

Too high for my shop so I'm thinking of cutting off between 6 - 7" from the leadscrew to give me anywhere between 22" to 29" of range.

My welding tables need something like a 24" to 26" height to sit behind comfortably.

 

[Beerhippie]

I'd just give that footrest ring a few hard-tacks until you find what you really want. A little grinding and no one need know it ever happened.

 

[KwikFab]

I'd just give that footrest ring a few hard-tacks until you find what you really want. A little grinding and no one need know it ever happened.

That thought has occurred more than once

Maybe I should run with it, and just cut a flat ring and weld on some tabs so I can mount it on the other stool?

I just don't want anyone that visits to sit on it and have it collapse or something cause one of the legs buckled or something.

 

[Beerhippie]

That thought has occurred more than once

Maybe I should run with it, and just cut a flat ring and weld on some tabs so I can mount it on the other stool?

I just don't want anyone that visits to sit on it and have it collapse or something cause one of the legs buckled or something.

You have VISITORS in your shop?

 

[KwikFab]

You have VISITORS in your shop?

Hell yeah!

Whether it's a customer I'm finishing something up for, doing a repair/job right then and there, or a neighbor shooting the ****.

I don't mind chit chatting with certain customers and I won't charge more if it adds another 20-30 mins to the job. Just like you mentioned shooting the **** with your local machine shop in the past

I like making people feel welcomed, and valued.

 

[KwikFab]

Oooh yeah

 

[Beerhippie]

Now you need to remember to remove that sharp screwdriver from your back pocket before sitting down....

 

[KwikFab]

Now you need to remember to remove that sharp screwdriver from your back pocket before sitting down....

Good thing my welding jeans have holes through the back pockets

 

[KwikFab]

With nothing to really do today, I went forward with dismounting the backrest and trying out that new VHT paint I got.

Says to do 3 heavy coats.



Fortunately, you only have to wait 5 minutes between each coat.

So after all that and a good 5-10 minutes behind the heat gun, here's the result!





Not bad. Can't wait to let it sit for 24 hours before flipping it and doing the top side.

The frame/legs won't get done until I come up with some round tube for a footrest since it'll get welded on to the legs.

 

[larry4406]

With nothing to really do today, I went forward with dismounting the backrest and trying out that new VHT paint I got.

Says to do 3 heavy coats.



Fortunately, you only have to wait 5 minutes between each coat.

So after all that and a good 5-10 minutes behind the heat gun, here's the result!





Not bad. Can't wait to let it sit for 24 hours before flipping it and doing the top side.

The frame/legs won't get done until I come up with some round tube for a footrest since it'll get welded on to the legs.

Aren't you in CA? Put it out in the sun for nature to bake it for you!

Nice fab!

 

[KwikFab]

Aren't you in CA? Put it out in the sun for nature to bake it for you!

Nice fab!

And it would be perfectly safe even if I left it out all week!

There's nothing to do today aside from shipping 2 orders I packaged up before painting.

Just going to hang out at the hobby store later running on their course when the wife gets home.

 

[KwikFab]

When I got home yesterday evening, I decided to tackle the front side of the backrest.



Have to say, after letting it sit overnight, I'm loving how it came out.



To add a little more progress I opted to finally cut down my leadscrew.

Removing 6.5" now sits me at the desired 29" at it's highest while still being fully threaded into both nuts.



I dont ever expect to sit below 22" but it's nice to have that much adjustment now.

And since that's cut, I went ahead and started painting the base.



Trust the process, and it'll look good!



The goal this weekend is to weld the footrest onto the legs. This all depends on whether the shop can get it done today or not.

If so, I'll weld up the footrest to the legs, and let it sit overnight until I decide to paint it tomorrow.

My backrest pad is expected to deliver this Monday so if all goes well, this should be done by Monday!

 

[KwikFab]

Dammit @Beerhippie the more and more I progress with this stool, the more I feel inclined to give it a proper locking nut.

I'm super close to pulling the trigger and buying that handle I posted from McMaster Carr.

The paint finish, the incoming backrest, the casters, all of it screams quality. It deserves a handle

 

[Beerhippie]

You can do a better job yourself!

Grind the nut down to round. Cut two pieces of plate to mirror the legs, w/the ends cut vertical and parallel. Cut two pieces of 5/8" rod about 1" longer than the outside end of the plates (handles). Round off the ends and weld the rods to the outside ends and the handles to the nut at 180 degrees. Polish and paint!

 

[mattthemuppet]

looking awesome! I might have a handle that would work for you, give me a mo and I'll take a pic.

 

[KwikFab]

You can do a better job yourself!

Grind the nut down to round. Cut two pieces of plate to mirror the legs, w/the ends cut vertical and parallel. Cut two pieces of 5/8" rod about 1" longer than the outside end of the plates (handles). Round off the ends and weld the rods to the outside ends and the handles to the nut at 180 degrees. Polish and paint!

Draw that on scratch paper my friend!

I'm a Marine, we only read books if they had more pictures than words

 

[mattthemuppet]

Here you go, not sure if it’s big enough for your needs. I can always bore it out on my lathe if need be, but I’m pretty leery of trying to cut an id acme thread

 

[Beerhippie]

Draw that on scratch paper my friend!

I'm a Marine, we only read books if they had more pictures than words

The only thing worse than my free-hand diagrams is my handwriting....

 

[Beerhippie]

You were warned:



Obviously, only half the concept. Could work like this or inverted. Add your fancy cut-outs and match the angles to the legs.