Tool Storage Stool | MillerWelds

Tool Storage Stool

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Ron Covell, owner of Covell Creative Metal Working, shows you how to create a comfortable and functional stool to help you in the shop.

SKILL LEVEL:Intermediate

TIME COMMITMENT:10–12 hours

Here's what you'll need to get started.

Tools and Materials

Welding machine – Millermatic® 142, 120-volt MIG welder
Shielding gas – C25
Filler wire – .024 ER70S-6
Casters – Service caster 3-inch-diameter expanding stem
Sheet metal – 18-gauge cold rolled steel
Cooking pan – 19-inch-diameter spun aluminum pan
Round over-dies – 5/16 and 1/2-inch Covell round-over dies from Trick Tools
Bead roller – Pexto 622
Punch & flare dies – Mittler Bros. 1", 1 ½", 2", 2 ½"
Abrasives – 3-inch 80 & 120 grit, 6-inch 120 & 180 grit

WARNING: READ AND FOLLOW ALL LABELS AND THE OWNER'S MANUAL.

I do my best work when I’m comfortable, and I’m usually most comfortable when I’m seated. For some time, I’ve wanted a stool with certain features — something that’s low, rolls easily over small obstacles, and has a storage tray. I recently got a new Millermatic® 142 welder, which I’ll use for building this project.

My stool will have three legs, so it will be stable on any surface, and I’ll use 3-inch casters, which can easily roll over small obstructions. I found a 19-inch cooking pan, which was ideal for the tray, and I was ready to start the design.

With a little research, I found casters that mount with an expanding stem that fits inside a 1 ½-inch tube. I positioned the casters close to the edge of the pan and measured the distance between them. I made a fixture to hold the caster mounting tubes in the proper location and support the 2 ½-inch tube that will hold the seat. I made the fixture from ¾-inch plywood, covered with sheet metal to protect it from heat and denting. I used a piece of ¾-inch pipe as a column to hold the seat tube, and a standard pipe flange holds it vertically on my fixture.

I drilled holes in the fixture at the caster centers and inserted 1/2 -inch bolts. Tightening these bolts will expand the caster arbors, gripping the mounting tubes and pulling them snugly against the fixture. I made some MDF sleeves that fit inside the seat tube and slip over the vertical pipe. A hose clamp tightened on this pipe allows me to position the seat tube at any height.

With the caster and seat tubes located, I was ready to design the legs that join them.

STEP BY STEP

STEP ONE:

First, I mocked up a simple leg with parallel edges. Next, I considered a tapered leg, and then a curved and tapered leg. I went with the last iteration, and added four holes to give it a high-tech appearance that reminds me of race cars and aircraft.

STEP TWO:

I transferred the leg pattern onto 18-gauge sheet metal and cut out 6 parts.

STEP THREE:

Using round-over dies in a bead roller, I curled the top and bottom edge of each part.

STEP FOUR:

Next, I used punch & flare dies to make the holes in each part and radius the edges.

STEP FIVE:

To finish the legs, I cut tapered strips of metal to cap the top and bottom edges, and I used the round-over dies to curl the edges on each cap. I used the Auto-Set™ feature on the welder, dialing in .024-inch wire and 18-gauge steel. I was really impressed with the bright digital display, which eliminates any guesswork with the settings, and the machine worked perfectly for this application.

STEP SIX:

I placed tacks 1/2 -inch apart on all the joints.

STEP SEVEN:

After double-checking the legs with the fixture, I was ready to finish weld the joints, using the same settings on the welder.

STEP EIGHT:

After the legs were welded, I smoothed the joints with a 3-inch 80-grit hard disc, followed by a 6-inch 120-grit padded disc.

STEP NINE:

The final finish was achieved with a 180-grit sanding disc on an orbital sander.

STEP TEN:

The fixture did a great job of holding the caster and seat tubes in position while I scalloped the ends of each leg to fit, and I tack welded them into place. The seat and caster tubes are 16-gauge and the legs are 18-gauge, so I readjusted the Auto-Set parameters for the thicker metal and used some strategy to join the different thickness materials: I aimed the wire more directly at the thicker metal, which absorbed the bulk of the heat, but I allowed the puddle to lightly flow into the thinner metal, ensuring a good bond on both sides of the joint.

STEP ELEVEN:

After welding, I ground all the joints smooth. I used a small belt sander to create a consistent radius on the fillet welds, followed by sanding with a 120-grit disc, and orbital sanding with 180-grit. I needed a bracket to hold the tray to the caster tubes. I made this from ⅛ x 1 ½-inch bar. I welded three pieces of material together for each of the Z-shaped pieces. I stayed with the .024-inch filler wire and dialed in the ⅛-inch material using the Auto-Set feature. Once again, the recommended settings worked perfectly. Next, I used the fixture to properly align each piece, then cut and welded them at the center, and ground the joints smooth.

STEP TWELVE:

The last component to fit was the mount for the seat cushion. I had a spare cushion from a tall Miller stool, and I used it for this project. Alternatively, you could use a wooden disc instead of a padded seat. I cut an 8-inch square from ⅛-inch steel sheet, and drilled holes for the mounting screws in each corner. To center this plate on the seat tube, I cut an aluminum disc sized to fit snugly inside the seat tube and screwed it to the center of the steel plate. Finally, it was time to weld the plate to the seat tube. Again, I was welding materials of different thicknesses — the ⅛-inch seat plate to the 1⁄16 -inch wall tube. I kept the same settings I used for the ⅛-inch tray bracket, and like before, I “favored” the thicker metal with the arc.

STEP THIRTEEN:

With the fabrication complete, I used a spray can to coat all the bare metal parts.

STEP FOURTEEN:

Once the paint dried, I assembled all the components. As a finishing touch, I cut a protective disc of thin rubber for the bottom of the tray.

This was a fun project, and it works extremely well. It’s so convenient to have a low stool I can zip around to any part of my working space and a place to store the tools and components I need for the task at hand. I hope you will be inspired to make a stool like this for your own use!

Ron Covell is a talented welder and metalworker in the automotive industry. He writes a monthly column for the Goodguys Gazette and contributes technical articles to Modern Rodding and Classic Truck Performance magazines. He owns Covell Creative Metalworking, teaching private classes at his home base in California, and streams 20 instructional videos on metalworking and welding, plus offers over 100 videos free on YouTube.
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