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DIRESTA Wood Stool

287 likes
2431 opens
929 copies
9 comments
Jimmy DiResta

Project by

Jimmy DiResta
East Durham, NY

General Information

I designed a stool and all its parts using the full surface area of the larger X-Carve .. my first sample was cut from Baltic Birch Ply 1/2" thick .. modify as you see fit .. the ring pieces will need to be cut to be assembled, they are not a perfect fit. thank you !

Like this project Open in Easel®
Material Description Price
Baltic Birch Plywood

Baltic Birch Plywood

1

Overview of the project

8 minutes

You can watch how I did the entire project in this video

2

Cut down the sheet to 750mm long (~30"in)

15 minutes

I used a hand held saw because of the size of the sheet

3

Cut it down to 750mm x 750mm ~(30"x30")

5 minutes

Then I used the table saw to cut it down to fit on the X-Carve

4

Hot Glue the sacrificial MDF layer

5 minutes

I like to use hot glue instead of clamps. It goes on easy and can be scraped off later. I hot glued a piece of MDF onto of the Inventables waste board.

5

Mount the Baltic Birch to the MDF

5 minutes

Hot Glue the Baltic Birch to the MDF

6

Open up Easel and Carve

146 minutes

Fire up your X-Carve, make sure you have the USB connected and click carve. I used a 1/8" bit with a federate of 70IPM, the Dewalt set on #1, and a depth per pass of .040". I probably could have pushed it a little faster but this was my first project and I didn’t want to risk breaking the bit. The formula to determine federate is:

Feed Rate = RPM x # of flutes on the bit x chip load.

The Dewalt has numbers for speed from 1-6 that maps to 16,000 RPM to 27,000 RPM

7

Break the tabs loose

20 minutes

I used tabs so the pieces wouldn’t go flying when they were cut out. I then broke each tab to remove the pieces.

8

Take off the burrs

25 minutes

Using a file I scrapped off the burrs left from the bit.

9

Lay down tape and mix the wood glue

10 minutes

Mix up the two part glue on the tape with a stick. Mixing on top of tape makes it easy to clean up. I use a wood stick to get a nice mixture and then I use the same stick to apply the glue to the stool.

10

Apply glue to the joints

15 minutes

Using the stick I apply the glue to each of the mating surfaces of the stool and push them together. You want to make sure you get a nice connection and clean up the glue that squishes out.

11

Wood filler

15 minutes

I mixed in a little wood filler into the glue and added a little more glue. I then applied it to the top of the stool to fill in the cracks. Make sure you get in all the little nooks and crannies and let it dry. We’ll come back to this in a later step.

12

Rungs

30 minutes

Clamp and glue together the rungs of the stool. I made them in separate pieces so I could fit the entire stool on one sheet of plywood. This meant they come out looking like bananas and I glued them together and clamped them in to make the rungs.

13

Sand the filler on the seat

15 minutes

I took my sander and went back over the filler now that it is dry. This gave the seat a nice smooth finish.

14

Fix the thin side of the 'A' in DIRESTA

15 minutes

The A on my logo has a part that was thinner than the 1/8" bit. I had two choices. I could do a bit change and use a smaller bit for that part of the carve or I could ignore it and then Easel and X-Carve don’t attempt to carve that section. I chose to ignore it and fix it manually. Now I’m drawing with a pencil the rest of the A and knock out the wood to make the A with a hand held rotary tool.

15

Spray paint and sand

15 minutes

Spray paint in the groove to make the DIRESTA logo black. Don’t worry too much about keeping it inside the lines you can spray paint a box around it and sand the excess away.

16

Take a picture

5 minutes

Post your version as a remake and tweet it at me.

David F Portera
Is any one in this forum thinking about waste? I'm sure you all have considered my point at some time during manufacturing. Where can I find conversations about what to do with all the wood that is left from this stool?
David F Portera
phil johnson
David P. It makes good kindling for a fire.
phil johnson
Michael Brooks
I say the same thing, perfect for fire pits!
Michael Brooks
Michael Hudson
I too use it for kindling.
Michael Hudson
Michael Hudson
More importantly, I always arrange things as carefully as is economically possible to save.
Michael Hudson
Clay Bates
HOW ABOUT IN BAR STOOL HEIGHT AND WIDTH
Clay Bates
Michael Pollina
Hello, real new to all of this. Can any one recommend a table/stand for the x carver 1000. Thanks for any help
Michael Pollina
Ben Hall
Is this really the best you can do with all this cutting edge technology?
Ben Hall
Wilberth Alvarado Ramirez
Excelentes proyectos, muy creativos. Saludos
Wilberth Alvarado Ramirez