A Three-Legged Stool

Why three legs

Three points always define a plane, so a three-legged stool never rocks, whatever the floor ¹. That’s why milking stools on rough barn floors had three legs. The trade-off: it tips more easily if you lean over the gap between two legs, so splay the legs generously.

Dimensions

A good low stool for milking, the fireside, or a workshop:

The seat

Rive a slab from a log section or saw a plank; a half-log section gives a traditional rounded underside. Hew or plane it flat on top, trace the circle, and saw or axe it round. A slight dish carved in the top with a gouge or adze makes it far more comfortable. Let the seat dry for some weeks if you can.

Legs

Rive leg billets from straight ash, oak, or hickory and shave them on the shaving horse - square, octagon, round - leaving them a little fat (see The Shaving Horse and Drawknife). Then dry the legs, especially the tenon ends, near a stove or in a warm room for a week or two. A dry tenon in a seat that’s a little wetter gets gripped tighter as the seat dries; a wet tenon shrinks loose ². Size the tenons only once they’re dry.

Assembly

1. Lay out three leg positions 120 degrees apart on the underside, about 1 1/2-2 in. in from the edge, and draw sightlines from the center through each.
2. Bore each hole through along its sightline at about 15 degrees, sighting against a bevel gauge (see Stick Stools and Benches).
3. Ream tapered if using tapered tenons.
4. Fit each tenon until it seats firmly with a mallet tap, with about 1/2 in. proud of the top.
5. Kerf each tenon across the grain direction of the seat.
6. Drive the legs home, with glue if you like, then drive a dry oak wedge into each kerf. Saw and pare flush.

Leveling and finishing

Set the stool on a flat surface, shim to level, scribe all three legs from a block, saw, and chamfer each foot. Finish with linseed oil, or with milk paint or linseed oil paint in Nordic colors (see the Traditional Paints and Finishes course), then add a carved initial or date under the seat - kolrosed or chip-carved.

What to take from this

Three legs always touch, so the stool never rocks. Make a 45-50 mm thick seat about 30 cm across, shave ash or oak legs green and dry their tenons before sizing, lay legs out 120 degrees apart, bore through along sightlines at about 15 degrees, wedge across the seat’s grain, then shim, scribe, saw level, and finish.