Assembling

Assemble with glue. If desired brads may be driven through the leg in the stationary joints of the dowels, also into the top pieces. Be careful not to nail, or get any glue, on the dowel joints which are supposed to turn. With a sharp steel scraper (Chapter II., Paragraph 16) remove all pencil or tool marks.

Finishing

If you desire to change the color of the wood, stain the desired color (Chapter IV., Paragraph 54); finish with one or two coats of shellac (Chapter IV., Paragraph 57).

The Top

The top is to be made of canvas. This is to be tacked on the outside of the top rail. The canvas should be turned under about

1/2" or 3/4" on each side of the seat. This will give it strength. It should also be turned under slightly where it is tacked to prevent raveling and give it a neat appearance. Be careful to get it equally tight on each edge.

Optional and Home Projects Employing Similar Principles.

Folding Chair

1. A folding camp or porch chair can be made on almost exactly the same principles as the camp stool. The leg pieces should be considerably longer, with one pair extending high enough to form the back; from this back braces should run down to the rear legs, and be joined with a long dowel which would rest in notches in the legs, thus providing means of adjusting the angle of the chair. The canvas would extend from the top round to the front one, forming both seat and back. Arms may be provided if desired.

Folding Cot

2. A folding cot, particularly adapted to outdoor sleeping or camping trips, may easily be made by using exactly the plan of the camp stool. The material should be heavier and the legs considerably longer; the cross rails between the legs would need to be about 6 feet long to provide sufficient length to the cot.

Saw Buck

3. In localities where wood is no longer used for fuel the saw buck has gone out of existence, but in some places there is enough wood to be sawed by hand to make it still worth while. It consists of a pair of strong legs (each made "X" shape, like the camp stool) fastened together at a distance of about 2 1/2 or 3 feet with a heavy stretcher. This stretcher may consist of one piece rounded on the ends to enter holes in the legs, or it may be made of strips nailed on each side of the lower portion of the legs. The limbs, or pieces of wood to be sawed, are placed in the saw buck and, because of its "V" shape, are held perfectly solid at a convenient height to be sawed. Sometimes a temporary buck is made by driving stakes in the ground in an "X" shape over a small log, which thus braces them.