Dragon Stool Part 1

My wife and I recently returned from the first big road trip in our (new to us) travel trailer. We drove about 3300 miles, from Los Angeles to Colorado and back . We were able to catch some fall color along the way; here’s a photo of our rig in southern Colorado. Now that we’re both retired, travelling in the fall is now possible! I haven’t been able to do that for over 20 years.

So, on to the next project…the Dragon Stool. Bob Lang called it that in his Winter 2009 Woodworking Magazine article. He actually calls it the “three-clawed dragon stool,” a reference to Chinese dragons, etc. Bottom line – it’s a three-leg stool with a cool stretcher system.

I made the stool in April 2020 as a demo for my Advanced Handtools – Joinery class. I had created the three-part stretcher in poplar a few years earlier, just to see how it went together. Since then, I was waiting for the right time to make the whole project. Covid and the related restrictions on in-person classes created that opportunity.

I have since started re-editing the videos and will be posting them in the next few weeks. It’s a great, challenging project and will really put your handtool skills to the test.

Download the drawing, the SketchUp model (assuming you know how to use the program), and watch the first video.