I’ve been making folding camp furniture. The stools are sometime called “pea-pickers”. They were somewhat difficult to figure out without a plan but some photos of others and experience making other furniture helped.
They’re not as easy to make as I thought they would be. The holes must be very precise and dowels tight-fitting. If everything isn’t square and precisely cut, the stool just doesn’t work.
This is their beauty. They fold flat and have an integrated handle. They can be made just about any size and out of any straight lumber. My first one is made from scraps from around the workshop. These later ones are from premium pine.
Seventeen pieces, twelve holes. Stick ’em together. Sit. Mine are sturdy enough to use as a step stool, with some caution due to the narrow width.
A table of similar construction. The top is about 22 x 46″. I made it 2 inches lower than a standard table to fit the stool height. A combination of pine, poplar, and oak. Definitely strong enough if it is well-fitting.
Preindustrial Craftsmanship 
do you have a drawing with dimensions. The stool looks like a great project for scouts and I think that table is awesome.
No, I don’t have drawings worked up. I vary the dimensions depending on need and lumber, make a few notes and go. Its easy enough to sketch them out with some graph paper. Maybe that would be a good Boy Scout project too for the older ones. I will look later to see if I still have a sketch I know I made for someone else a while back. If so, I’ll scan and post it. I actually made parts from some scrap that I keep as a template for myself.
Follow up in the folding stools. Here is my cutting list from most recent batch. The angles of the feet and such will have to be worked out for yourself.
Legs 1×3″: 4 @ 18″
Skirts 1×3″: 4 @ 11″
Seat 1×6″: 2 @ 16″ (can vary substantially. adjust dowels accordingly)
Dowels 1″ oak: 1 @ 12 3/4″
Dowels 1″ oak: 4 @ 1 1/2″
For a 28″ tall table:
Legs 1×4″ hardwood: 4 @ 34″
Skirts 1×4″: 4 @ 20″
Top 1×12″: 2 @ 36-48″
Reblogged this on Paleotool's Weblog and commented:
I’ve been remiss in posting much on the blog or finishing promised articles to certain parties but that’s not because I have been idle. On the contrary, I’ve been too busy to keep up. Piles of drafts are poised on the laptop while real work is getting done. For the moment, I should say that all my furniture, accoutrements, goo-gaws, and accessories are going mobile. We’re pot-latching much of our big stuff and making our lifestyle “campaign ready.” Presented here is s preview of a planned update about nomadic furniture.
After living with the prototypes for several years, I know what I like, what works, and what doesn’t.
Reblogged this on The Obsession Engine and commented:
We made a couple or mortise and tenon stools a couple of years back, and it was…well, not quite fun. Satisfying? At any rate, here’s a different kind of wooden travel bench!
Thanks!