Tractor seat stools

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Today’s photos show part of the process of making my tractor seat stool seats. These stools have deeply carved seats that are inspired by the old cast iron tractor seats that, despite being made from a very hard material, were comfortable enough to sit in all day long.

This photo shows a stool seat blank with the holes for the legs drilled in it. On top of the seat is a board with a crescent shape traced on it. This crescent shaped piece will be glued to the back of the seat blank to add thickness. The wood for the seat blank and the crescent were all cut from the same board so that grain and color match perfectly.

This photo show the crescent being glued to the seat blank.

After the glue is dry the outside shape of the seat is cut.

Next the contours of the seat are carved out with a custom made machine that duplicates the contours of a pattern onto the seat blank. There is a tremendous amount of sanding necessary with a variety of sanders starting with very course sandpaper (36 grit) and working up to very fine sandpaper (220 grit) to get this seat ready for assembling into a stool but the basic shape is there.

I make my tractor seat stools in a wide variety of woods and several heights. It is most often used at kitchen counters or breakfast bars but I do make an 18″ high stool which can be used wherever a standard height chair is needed.

Richard Bissell
Putney, Vermont

See all of my handmade furniture at Bissellwoodworking.com

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