OSFÜR

Published April 28 2023

Professor: John Dixon

by Vikram Mishra

This page showcases my process of designing the OSFÜR Planter Kitchen Stool

Inspiration for Elevation

Most dining chairs are made for the average height adult.

When I was a kid, I could never find the right height to sit on the dining table.

So I chose to design a stool that would have different height options so that everyone could find the right height for their dining experience.

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Image of height adjustable stacking concept

The Concept

Most height adjusting mechanisms are complex and easily fail after a few uses.

Through design ideation and experimentation, I designed a kitchen stool that would integrate with standardized planter pots that could be stacked to increase its height or stand by itself at a comfortable seat height.

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The Search for the Perfect Pot

Criteria for the pot:

Stackable and increase height by at least 1" and less than 2"
Able to withstand force of 150 lbs while upsidedown
Fits the aesthetic of a kitchen

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Designing Around the Pot

I chose to design my stool around the IKEA 13" VITLÖK Metal Planter Pot

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The Process

In early iterations I tested different methods to create the round seat. The Lathe I used had a maximum diameter of 12 inches which limited the maximum size of my seat for the prototype.

I also created a larger circular seat from lumber without the lathe, by rough cutting to a circle with the band saw and then using the disc sander to shape it to the exact 13 inch circle.

I explored edge treatments including large fillets and chamfers with this second seat but to stick to the aesthetic of the chosen IKEA pots, I decided to have 1/4" fillets instead

To make holes in the seat at an 8° angle to fit on the pot, I used a jig, that I made from plywood to hold the seat in place on the drill press.

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Making the Legs

For the prototype I went for a simplistic leg design with minimal features. I used a slight cove for the placement of the pot, to ensure it would sit well. I turned the legs from coopered 1.5"x1.5"x25" pieces. I then cut the 8° angle using a chop saw.

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Prototype #1

I made a full scale prototype of my design from 2x4 lumbar to learn from mistakes and make the next prototype of the stool with design improvements.

After developing the first prototype, I learned that the four legged design did not sit well on floors that were not perfectly flat, causing it to rock on some floors.

I also learned that the legs wanted to spread apart when the stool was sat on when placed on the pots. This put a lot of stress on the seat that caused it to crack.

I also made a new jig with better ground support to drill through for my next prototype as seen in the process images.

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Design Development

The design evolved to have 3 legs with a cove designed specifically to attach on the slelected pot as seen in the image below.

The seat was made by creating a 15" square panel from red oak lumber I also attached a pine wooden block on the back of the seat as I intended to turn it on a lathe to a unique design but was unable to access a lathe large enough so I ended up sawing it off later.

With the new drill press jig I created, I made the 1 inch holes for the legs to fit into and had minimal tearout this time

Since the first prototype created a lot of strain on the seat, I added stretchers with a unique aesthetic design which also achieved the maximum strength without interfering with each other for the 3 legged design. I made angled 1/2" holes with a hand held drill for the stretchers.

Prototype #2

The final prototype for this class was made from red oak with a tung oil finish.

The rich grain of the wood emphasizes the attention to detail with which the stool was made.

The aesthetic fits in with the design of the pot with the small fillets and rounded shoulders to go with the selected IKEA VITLÖK pot.

Future Improvements

The bottom hole for my stretchers were close to a cove which left the material with a thin wall thickness between the stretcher and the cove. This part would be susceptible to chipping during assembly.

I would move this hole at least half an inch higher up so that this does not happen for future prototypes.

The seat can also be made more aesthetic with a 1/4" chamfer instead of fillet which would reflect light to create a highlight while still comforming to the aesthetic of the chosen IKEA pots.

I would also consider using a different hardwood such as hard maple as it has less tearout while turning on the lathe.

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