Woven-Top Stool: Mortised, Braced Frame With a Diagonal Reed Seat (Boy Mechanic, 1915)

The material: 4 legs, 1-3/4 by 1-3/4 by 16 in; 4 bottom rails, 7/8 by 1-3/4 by 16 in; 4 top rails, 7/8 by 2 by 16-1/2 in; 4 diagonal braces, 7/8 by 1-3/4 by 6 in.

Cut the parts to his list. Mortise the legs so the top rails come level; tenon the top rails on the sides only and bevel them at the ends. For the bottom rails, cut the mortises one above the other (5 in above the floor on his drawing) and tenon the rails on all sides. Cut the braces at 45 deg on each end.

Glue the frame together and glue the diagonal braces in place inside the top corners.

Use a wet reed weaver and wrap one layer over the whole top, the strips close together and tightly wound.

Start the second layer at right angles to the first. Strip 1: under one, then over three, under three, and so on by threes. Strip 2: under two, then over three, under three. Strip 3: under three, then over and under three. Strip 4: over one, then under three, over three. Strip 5: over two, then under and over three. Strip 6: over three, then by threes. Repeat the series of six across the top.

Good white shellac makes the best finish for the seat; finish the frame to suit.

From "Woven-Top Stool" by Russel Dodsworth, Erie, Pa., in **The Boy Mechanic, Book 2**, Popular Mechanics, 1915 (Project Gutenberg 44585; checked on the archive.org scan boymechanicbook200chic2, p. 256). His caption names the weaver as reed; he gives no reed size or tenon lengths. Rattan reed as the weaver, the tools and metric figures are ours.