MY FIRST STRETCHERS

Having made a few low stools, I decided it was time to level up and add some horizontal stretchers beneath the seat. So I went ahead and designed a little barstool with stretchers. Turns out, adding stretchers adds quite a bit of work. But it also makes for an incredible rugged stool—especially when using straight-grained oak. The glue-up is a lot more complex with stretchers involved as well. But sometimes it’s definitely work the extra effort. And sometimes it’s mandatory: when it’s a high stool, you must create an artificial floor roughly 17” below the seat by means of a stretcher. This was also my first foray into milk paint. Learned some things. It should go smoother next time. Overall, I had fun!