How to Build a Stepstool From Scratch

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Use this pattern to build your stepstool from scratch.
Use this pattern to build your stepstool from scratch.
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This stepstool design is easy to create from scratch and gives your Little One the opportunity to do things themselves, like brushing their teeth.
This stepstool design is easy to create from scratch and gives your Little One the opportunity to do things themselves, like brushing their teeth.

“Not only does this wooden stepstool save Mom and Pop some steps,” writes Gail E. Johnson from Duluth, Minnesota, “but it also gives your Little One the all-important opportunity to do for him- or herself some things that he or she is perfectly capable of doing . . . like getting that umpteenth drink of water, brushing teeth, or just plain washing up.”

You can easily make your own wooden stepstool with a few common workshop tools and 52″ length of 1″ X 12″ board . . . and, best of all, says Gail, the handy stool can be constructed from scratch in less than an hour (or two, if you’re slow)!

Kick this project off by tracking down common workshop tools such as a power drill (with an assortment of drill bits and a countersink), a hand-held electric saber saw, a screwdriver, some wood glue (Elmer’s Glue-All is fine), and a sheet or two of fine sandpaper. You’ll also need 14 No. 8 X 1-1/4″ flathead wood screws, a can of wood putty, a piece of string, some polyurethane or shellac, and a paintbrush.

Once you’ve gathered all of your equipment, cut the plank of wood into five pieces with the dimensions shown in the image gallery (remember that a standard 1″ X 12″ board is actually 3/4″ thick and slightly over 11″ wide). Don’t worry about the rounded ends right now . . . you’ll take care of them in the next few steps.

After the board is cut and set aside, enlarge the grid pattern in the image gallery so that the squares are 1″ X 1″ in size, then trace the shape on the larger grid and transfer it onto the two 11″ X 13″ side pieces.

  • Published on Jan 1, 1979
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