It’s been a while since I first designed the bucket stool and I've found a few ways to improve it. My friend Coco Rocha was nice enough to help me make an updated version with walnut dowels for legs. Coco and I are collaborating on a larger piece of furniture for her home that will also be made out of walnut and concrete, so this quick and easy DIY project was a great way to introduce the materials to her.

SUPPLIES:

1 1/4" Walnut Dowel
Available at Rockler
This 48" long walnut dowel wasn’t cheap, but it sure looks good. You could use more affordable species of wood, but this was a fun experiment.


Quikrete 5000
Available at Home Depot







12 Gauge Wire
Available at the Home Depot
I used 12 gauge wire to keep the legs in the concrete. A wire coat hanger would also work.

5 Gallon Bucket
Available at the Home Depot
I used brand new, clean 5 gallon bucket from the Home Depot.

Danish Oil + Hi Gloss Latex Paint
Available at Amazon.com and the Home Depot

TOOLS:

RYOBI 18 Volt Cordless Drill
Available at Home Depot








RYOBI 18 Volt Circular Saw
Available at Home Depot

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Cut the Dowel
Using a circular saw, we cut the 48" long dowel into three equal 16" long pieces. A handsaw would also work if you don’t mind the extra time it involves.





STEP 2: Drill Holes in the Ends of the Dowels
We drilled a hole in one end of each dowel. The holes should be about 1" from the end of the dowel.





STEP 3: Wire the Dowels Together
We ran wire through the drilled holes and connected the 3 dowels. The wire will keep the legs from coming out of the concrete.





STEP 4: Mark 3 Inches from the Bottom of the Bucket
I used a Sharpie to mark a line 3 inches up from the bottom of the bucket. This line will show how full to fill the bucket with concrete. You can make the stool as thin as 2 1/4 inches but 3 inches is a safe thickness that will resist cracking even if you add too much water.





STEP 5: Mark the Location for the Legs
I used a Sharpie to make three equally spaced marks around the rim of the bucket. These marks will serve as guides for positioning the legs.



STEP 6: Fill the Bucket with Concrete Mix
I filled the bucket up to the 3" line I marked on the inside of the bucket.



STEP 7: Add Water + Mix
We started with just a couple cups of water before adding more until the concrete was the consistency of lumpy oatmeal. Too much water will weaken the concrete and too little will make it difficult to thoroughly mix. Mixing concrete is not as easy as mixing a cake. The sand and gravel in concrete mix is heavy. Tilting the bucket on its edge can help.







STEP 8: Vibrate Out the Bubbles
We shook and tapped the bucket to vibrate air bubbles to the top of the wet concrete.



STEP 9: Set the Legs into the Wet Concrete
We placed the legs into the wet concrete and positioned them so that they lined up with the three equally placed marks around the rim the bucket. Then, we used duct tape to hold the legs in place and a ruler to make sure the legs were extended an equal distance above the rim of the bucket.







STEP 10: Let the Concrete Cure for 48 Hours
Once the legs are placed, let the concrete cure, undisturbed, for 48 hours.



STEP 11: Remove the Stool
We flexed the rim of the bucket to separate the walls from the concrete. Once the concrete was loosened, Coco was able to pull the stool out of the bucket.







STEP 12: Shape the Concrete
After 48 hours, the concrete is not fully hardened and can be shaped by sanding or scraping it with a knife. We used a knife to round over the bottom edge of the stool.





STEP 13: Sand the Legs
We used 220 grit and 400 grit sandpaper to smooth down the legs.





STEP 14: Oil the Legs
We used a clean rag to finish the legs with a coat of Danish oil.





STEP 15: Dip Dye the Legs
Once the Danish oil dried, we dipped the legs in hi-gloss latex house paint. We used a water bottle with a cut-off top filled with paint to dip the legs.













Good luck making your own bucket stool and please email, tweet or hashtag photos to @benuyeda, ben@homemade-modern.com or #homemademodern. For more detailed instructions, dimensioned drawings and different variations of the project, check out our soon-to-be-released book.

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