What is the best way to cut wooden bar stool legs?
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at
8:27 am
I have some bar stools that are too high for my table. I want to cut a few inches off them. What is the best way to do this (e.g. I don’t want them to split, etc)?
Tagged with: bar stools
Filed under: Your Community Center
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Most table saws come with a guide bar that can be set to a determined length. Decide how much you need to cut off, set the bar, rest the uncut leg against it, and go!
Or you can DIY a template. Set a 2X4 chunk upright into a flat work surface (clamp, screw, or nail), measure out how much you need to cut off, set 2 1X1 (or whatever is handy) perpendicular to the 2X4 leaving enough space between the 1X’s1 for the stool leg to rest snugly in and the ‘waste’ space between the 1X1′s and the 2X4. Set the leg in the groove and cut the excess off using the inside of the 1×1′s as the guide. If the stool has thick legs, I’d use 2X2 or larger for the braces, enough that they are taller than the leg so you can guide off of them BEFORE you start cutting.
Mark each one whilst on the floor with a piece of wood and use a hand saw then remove the sharp edges with some 60 grit sand paper this will stop the legs splitting.
I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest you buy a cheap laser level. Place it on something under the seat, but between the legs, on a very level surface. Mark where the laser hits the legs. That will assist in keeping all the legs the same length. However, since most bar stools have legs that angle out from the seat to where they meet the floor, your cut has to be the same angle as the previous bottoms of the legs, to get them to fully meet the floor. The alternative is to either use them on carpet or place sticky pads under each leg to help them level themselves.
I have see a person cut six inches off bar stools this way. But first, he cut only two inches off the bottom of one, then used the angle of that to determine the angle used to make the rest of the cuts. He was lucky and got an almost perfect fit of leg bottom to floor first try.
It isn’t rocket science, but I would opt for accepting two lengths cut off the legs, one inch apart. You start with the shorter amounts cut off, thus longer legs, and if all four work well, don’t go further. If they don’t you still have another inch or so to work with. I wouldn’t worry much about split. Most bar stools, have hard wood legs. Softer wood simply won’t hold the cross supports and joints as well. Hard wood doesn’t split as easily.
hi
I used a bandsaw
use your measuring tape to mark the legs and make sure they are all marked correctly.square the marks around all four sides of each leg. and using a tenon saw in a miter box, carefully cut to your lines. sand your cuts with 80 grit paper on a sanding block. attach small floorsaver felt pads underneath the legs and its done.
An easy way that gives flat bottoms on the legs regardless of any angle on the legs is to make a spacer the same thickness as the amount to be removed less 1/2 the diameter of a pencil.
Used a baby food jar…close enough for me.
Place the stool on level floor & trace a line all the way around the legs w/ the pencil on the spacer.
The line will be parallel to the floor all around.
Score on the line w/ a utility knife & wrap tape along the line to reduce splitting.
Used a sabresaw .
Cut following the line as you go around a little at a time till you go all the way through.
Best regards