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DIY Bar Stools

If you’re looking for some quick, simple DIY bar stools – these are the plans for you.

Bar stools are actually the second project I ever built back when I started this whole journey a couple years ago. I didn’t have much experience back then, so it was kinda a trial and error project and took much longer than it really should have. I didn’t cut any corners (woodworking punnnnnnn 😉 ) and went with the traditional slanted legs. Needless to say, there were a lot of angles all over the place. It took a while to figure everything out and put it all together, but they turned out decent in the end. Feel free to check that project out over here – DIY Basic Bar Stools.

That first set of stools was extra tall in order to fit the counter in our town home. When we moved into our new home, we added a kitchen island with a standard bar height counter. So it was time for some new ones!

And let me tell ya, this set of bar stools went much smoother! All the pieces went together like peas and carrots.

Just a few tips for any first-time stool builders: take your time, make sure your angles are correct and all boards are the exact same length, measure 37 times and cut once.

Enjoy the free plans! I’ve written the plans for ONE stool. Adjust as necessary.

 

DIY Bar Stools

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Tools & Supplies

Lumber:

  • 2  |   2×2 @ 8′
  • 1  |   1×2 @ 8′
  • 1  |   2 x 12 @ 15″ (all you need is one 15″ seat)

Cuts:

  • 4  |   2×2 @ 28″ with a 5° miter and 5° bevel parallel on both ends (see Step 1 below) – legs
  • 2  |   1×2 @ 10.5″ with 5° miter (short side) – bottom rungs
  • 2  |   1×2 @ 12″ with 5° miter (short side) – bottom rungs
  • 2  |   1×2 @ 7 1/4″ with 5° miter (short side) – top rungs
  • 2  |   1×2 @ 9″ with 5° miter (short side) – top rungs
  • 1  |   2×12 @ 15″ – seat

Step 1.

To cut the legs, set your saw to a 5° miter and 5° bevel. Cut the stock end off the board, slide the board down (no need to flip it) and make your next cut at 28″. Repeat for the next leg.

To keep track of what’s what, mark the tallest corner of each leg as you cut. It’s a super helpful tip I picked up from Ana White the first time I built stools. The angle is so small that it’s hard to keep track once all the boards are in a pile. Marking them saves a ton of time and headache. The tallest corner is the inside edge of the leg.

 

DIY Bar Stools

 

Step 2.

Align the top 9″ rung flush with the top of two legs and attach with wood glue and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws. Make sure the marked corners of the legs are pointed toward the inside.

 

DIY Bar Stools

 

Step 3.

Position the 12″ bottom rung according to the diagram below and attach with wood glue and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

 

DIY Bar Stools

Repeat for the second set of legs.

 

Step 4.

Once you’ve finished both sets of legs with top and bottom rungs, join the two sets with the 7 1/4″ top rungs.

 

DIY Bar Stools

 

Step 5.

Attach the final bottom rungs according to the diagram below with wood glue and 1 1/4″ pocket hole screws.

DIY Bar Stools

 

Step 6.

Fasten the stool legs to the seat from the bottom side in order to best hide the screws.

 

DIY Bar Stools

 

There are a number of ways to attach the seat. I drilled 2 1/2″ pocket holes into the inside edge of each leg before attaching the rungs and fastened them down with wood glue and 2 1/2″ pocket hole screws. You could also drill straight through the bottom of the top rungs into the seat (just make sure to pre-drill to avoid splitting). You could also use brackets. Its up to you!

 

Step 7.

Fill the visible pocket holes, sand, and finish as desired.  I used stainable wood filler in the visible pocket holes and they covered up nicely.

 

DIY Bar Stools

 

I finished the stools with a new finish from Varathane called “Weathered Wood Accelerator” in the brown tint and sealed it with a semi-gloss polycrylic spray.

 

DIY Bar Stools

 

Let me know if you have any questions and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

For more project ideas, you can find me on Pinterest. And to stay up to date with the latest shenanigans, follow me on Instagram.

 

Don’t forget to pin it for later!

 

DIY Bar Stools

Sad

Tuesday 6th of April 2021

I followed your cuts but when I tried to put it together it was all off. I can’t get them to line up maybe I should have flipped the wood instead. Such a disaster. But nice stools. I hate that I have to go back and recut all of my wood to get it to work.

Jess

Saturday 12th of September 2020

How many pocket hole screws do you recommend to connect two pieces of wood? For instance, at the connecting point of the leg and one of the rungs.

tylynn_sattler

Monday 21st of September 2020

I just used one, but you can fit two on a 2x2.

Mary Abarca Vasquez

Monday 31st of August 2020

In the cut list, can you explain what you mean by the short side?

2 | 1×2 @ 10.5″ with 5° miter (short side) – bottom rungs 2 | 1×2 @ 12″ with 5° miter (short side) – bottom rungs 2 | 1×2 @ 7 1/4″ with 5° miter (short side) – top rungs 2 | 1×2 @ 9″ with 5° miter (short side) – top rungs

tylynn_sattler

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

The miters are perpendicular to each other, so you'll end up with a longer side and a shorter side.

Scott Clifford

Sunday 2nd of August 2020

STEP 1. To cut the legs, set your saw to a 5° miter and 5° bevel. Cut the stock end off the board, slide the board down (no need to flip it) and make your next cut at 28″. Repeat for the next leg.

Are you measuring the 28" from the tall side of the miter or the short side?

tylynn_sattler

Sunday 2nd of August 2020

Since it's a parallel cut, it will be 28" along both sides.

Brian H.

Saturday 11th of July 2020

Your plans call for a 1 x 12, but based on your pictures, the seat is actually a 2 x 12.

tylynn_sattler

Sunday 12th of July 2020

Thanks for letting me know! I just fixed it.

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