Seiza stool

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I just finished this self adjusting or tilting "Seiza" or meditation stool, it is rather quick to make it took me only 8 hours in total (drawing and templates excluded).
In this stool one sits kneeling on the floor and it keeps your butt from lying on your heels hampering your blood circulation or straining your knees. I was inspired by some simialr designs I found on the web although the dimensions and details are mine.

It is made out from two scraps of oak I had and one of them was spalted or so I think due to its dark color and the black spots and the way the wood looked when sawn, besides I know it had been laying on the floor of a barn for a few years.

First I drew the front and side views of the foot and cut it on the band saw after having made the tenon on my TS.
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Here you can see the piece with the cut outs.
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Then instead of sanding it I decided to remove the saw marks with a gouge to give it a more natural feeling, besides it is much faster and less messy than sanding. Gouging it leaves a shiny faceted surface that I find pretty attractive. May be it is my carver side.

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Then I proceeded the same way with the seat, the wood was from a complete different scrap and origin and it shows.
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Before going any further I made a dry fit to check the fitting and the height.
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Here you can see the finish that is obtained with a shallow nº 2 gouge
 

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Nice little project. I do like the gouge finish, it's something I've been trying to get happy enough with to leave alone and not sand out the texture. IMHO when it's done right, like here, it's one of the nicer feeling and looking surface treatments.

Stephen, you're right it is reminiscent of a milking stool, ours were a bit taller (so you could hold the pail between your knees) and not nearly so fancy though. More like a piece of scrap plywood nailed to the top of a 4x4. Not sure we had anything half this nice in the house much less the barnyard :rofl:
 
How are you suppose to meditate if you keep falling off it?

Hi Bill, despite how unstable it may look it keeps your back straight, adapts to your more comfortable hip angle and doesn't move or wiggle if that's what you are thinking about. Here you have two pics on how to use it although the stools depicted in them are not the same.images 2.jpgimages.jpg

Besides, meditation is an exercise of concentration not about not thinking about nothing, so one has to be mindfull of one's posture. :)
 
Nice little project. I do like the gouge finish, it's something I've been trying to get happy enough with to leave alone and not sand out the texture. IMHO when it's done right, like here, it's one of the nicer feeling and looking surface treatments.

Stephen, you're right it is reminiscent of a milking stool, ours were a bit taller (so you could hold the pail between your knees) and not nearly so fancy though. More like a piece of scrap plywood nailed to the top of a 4x4. Not sure we had anything half this nice in the house much less the barnyard :rofl:

There is no secret on the gouge finish, anyone with a sharp nº2 gouge gouge can make it, it is fast and very rewarding. When doing it I remembered about James Krenov and how left almost all his pieces finished only with planes and chisels and if there were some marks left he liked it as he mentions in his book. I think that we all are too much obsessed with perfect shiny spray gun industrial finishes. I understood what he meant when I made this stool.
 
Great project Toni. I presume dimensions need to change to suite individual.
I agree with your comments and view about our obsession with perfection in modern day woodworking.
However, in the absence of an artistic aspect to a piece, focus invariably turns to joint quality and surface finish.
In my view when you put curves and features into a piece, it finishes it off when you add a surface texture like your gouge finish.
But to me that all comes back to fighting that instant gratification urge and taking time to learn to execute the skill in using hand tools like a gouge.

Although your piece is intended for meditation it does remind me of how we see so many Japanese artisans working off the floor. I think there are merits in working down on the floor for certain tasks. Gets our center of gravity down low.


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Great project Toni. I presume dimensions need to change to suite individual.

Thanks Rob, although they may vary from person to person the ones I used fit most people, the curved bottom leg allows for tilting more or less depending on your needs, basically it should be like a prolongation of your spine. On fixed angle stools the angle tends to be 10 or 11 degrees.

It is my intention to make another one with the angled seat, so wait and you'll see.
 
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