20- One Small Step
High Resolution Version
Its been about a month since my last video post and I am excited to release another video. The last couple of months have been crazy with the major commissions I have been working on, and now its time to prepare for the upcoming AWFS Fair in Las Vegas. As I’ve mentioned before, I will be working at the Festool booth all four days and my goal is to build some cool projects with Festool tools. The step stool in this video is just such a project and is designed to show off the power of the Domino system. Thanks for watching!
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WOO HOO! We’ve gone widescreen!
Nice vid, Spags (both of you)
Cheers,
Schwigs
You skipped the tricky part. How did you determine exactly where to place your steps, and how long they’d need to be at that given height?
Great podcast as always, the step stool looks great. Notice how stepstool rhymes with festool ?
Very well done…..a small suggestion, to help the audience, when you draw up plans on a layout scrap board use a sharpie with a slight bunt tip.
I would weight test it for you, it looks very sturdy.
Hey Mark. I basically cut the step to approximate length and dropped it into the pre-assembly and pushed it upwards until it locked into place. Then I transferred the centerline of the step to the sides. That gives me the line for my mortises in the sides.
And Lord, you are discovering the disadvantage of my “new” podcasting method. For the time being, things are not going to be planned out as well as I would like. So although using a sharpie for the lines of the drawing would have made it much more visible for the viewer, it would have ruined the drawing for me. lol. I use a 5mm pencil on my drawings so that I can be as accurate as possible. With the luxury of time, there are many things I would have done differently with this particular episode.
Spagnuolos, great video! You shouldn’t sweat not being able to have things with the podcast as planned out as you would like to. The WhispererHeads (sort of like Deadheads,lol) are going to enjoy it even if its not refined to absolute podcast perfection.
Keep up the great work! The step stool turned out nicely.
A question for you… Did you leave the walnut nosing accents ‘as is’, or did you round over the edge? I ask because to me the nosing looked like it would hurt the bottom of your foot if you used the step stool barefoot.
Not trying to be critical, just curious.
Thanks,
Ryan
Who needs planning – this was a great example of jumping in and building something. I liked the fast paced nature of the ‘cast, from start to finish. You didn’t bother with milling the lumber on screen, or all the details. It was great to see it from start to finish.
You are totally right about the steps Ryan. But I did give them a nice roundover. So now its just a nice bump that gives you a better grip on the step. But they were sand after the glueup. I’ll post a picture later since I now have a few coats of lacquer on it.
Hey Skee. I thought it felt fast paced too, until I looked at the total time. lol. Not sure how I ate up 30 minutes.
great job you guys :)
Great Video!! What other ideals do you have for the show? If your looking for more ideals have a look here. http://www.makezine.com/blog/a.....makes.html The first puzzle (with all the triangles) is held together with little festool like pins. What makes it a puzzle is that you have to push in all 3 pieces in the corners together at the same time. Here is the video. You have to watch or fastforward to the end to see the mercabut (name of puzzle). http://www.makezine.com/blog/a.....ast/2.html Again great video.
Hi, M & N You two did a great job on the podcast. It is a good piece for what you are doing with it. While it is simple it shows how that festool will make it quicker and easier. Nice job. Dean Knight
Mark
In your video you expressed slight concern about the strength of the domino tenon. I think the concern should be with the strength of the wood grain of the step that surrounds it. There is quite a bit of torque or leverage on the end grain of the step that could cause it to split.
Think of it this way. How would you build this using conventional methods? Probably insert the end of the step into a dado in the stringer which would support the step along its entire width. I know which I would rather trust my 220 lb. carcass on.
To maintain your design of the through tenon look you could add two additional non-through tenons to each side of the step. This would double the weight bearing surface plus just think of the “demo” factor, you get to show how easy it is to adjust the depth of cut with the flip of your finger.
Great fun guys..loved seeing the festool team of
products in action..German engineering rocks.
You two make a great comedy pair.
I’ll see you in Vegas!
Hey Marc, nice to see you in action again. FWIW I don’t think you need to make apologies to any of us for the work you do on the podcasts. I always pick up a pointer or two from the shows. (this time it was the tape trick).
BTW loved seeing the outtakes, have you considered a compilation pod cast of some of the others?
Yo,
Glad to see you are getting some well deserved perks for your hard work. I hope you don’t go the way of Norm, I love his shows but the guy has more tools that do everything taking away from some more traditional ways of doing things or the use of tools that the average guy can afford. I too love the Festool line but man are they spendy!!! hopefully one day I can afford them becuase they look like a treat to use!!!
Good luck at the show…
John
Mark and Nicole, not only do I think you should NOT have done anything different with this last episode, I think you should do more of these types of videos from time to time (including the outtakes). It was infomative and completely enjoyable. It also helps in keeping your content from growing stale. Great stuff.
Great episode. This is how it’s supposed to be, approachable and FUN. A small request, I know this was for the festool booth, but if you can help it, don’t leave us non-festool toting brethren behind in your ‘normal’ episodes to come.
I’ll add another vote for appending the outtakes to the end of subsequent episodes. If you make a compilation, please include the footage where you almost tripped on Nicole’s garage sale stuff — that was classic.
test
When you get to your last armoire and have some time to spare, can you do a quick video like this on how you did those louvered doors?
Marc,
I have to agree with the others…the “natural” flow of Episode 20 was the most real, perhaps since Episode 2. Not that the other videos are substandard, far from it. You have a teaching gift and we all learn something with each podcast. But in this one, we got to see you, unedited and unscripted, as it were, working in your raw natural state. I probably learned more from this video than from the others because I felt like I was in the shop with you.
Erik
WhispererHeads????
Hey Tim. I actually didnt make the doors. They were supplied by the customer. Thanks for the comments everyone concerning the approach of episode 20.
When talking about big lines on the plans vs. small lines. I was thinking this is why Norm always has a test build of a piece, before filming and showing the step by step?
Enjoying the shows, keep up the good work.
Hey Marc, Pretty slick stepstool. Nothing like giving yourself a bit of a challenge! All those angles, ouch.
I would have liked to have seen the glue up. I think that was probably a bit of a hair-raising time with all those odd angles to go together, and yet still not wanting squeeze out if at all possible. In your dry fit you tapped the dominos into the sides first. How did you do it for real? I would have put the glue in the steps first and tapped the dominos home, then wiped glue into the holes int he sides and popped them into place, and probably had some squeeze out on the outside.
Oh, and as for festool making tenons in other woods… good idea, but I still bet that on the finished stool they stand out. Aren’t the cut ends of the tenons mostly end grain, which will show darker than the side grain that they penetrate.
Kudos to Nicole as well, for patiently putting up with you dragging her in front of the camera for no good reason… ;-)
best,
…art
Hey Art. The reason I never showed the glue-up is because I haven’t done it yet. This is a sample for the show and I want to be able to to take it apart. But my approach would have been very similar to yours. I might even go as far as milling up some special cauls that would help apply pressure on the angles.
These exposed tenons do stand out. But it would be nice to have the color options.
I will make sure Nicole receives your kudos. :) Thanks art.
Well I was wondering about that (whether you were taking it to the show as a sample)… but up above you mentioned that you’ve already put some lacquer on it, so it seemed safe to assume it was finished.
nah. just finished to make it a bit more durable for handling.
That was great!
This is probably the bset video you have done! Like Eric says, it was like we were there with you.
Here is the question: Did you step on it yet? It is a beautiful piece, but it is one of those like a lidded box that wants to be touched – this wants to be stepped on!
Thanks for all you and Nicole have done -I think it is simply awesome that she supports you in the shop and “Living your dream!”
Hank Merkle
hey marc and nicole great podcast great project and in great time would like to build one myself keep them coming and I will keep watching, also the podcast made me want to go out to my shop and build something right away thanks for the inspiration. brad
marc
The videos are very helpful. Really enjoy the time you take to illustrate all the details. I’m enjoying this on my iphone while away from home.
aint technology great!
Hi Marc,
Better late than never!
Well done! Unfortunately, it is hard to justify the expense of the Domino for a hobbyist (1000 bucks if you include tenon kit!)! If I could I would get one, but I think there are more important tools for me at this time! Unfortunately, Festool Powertools are not geared for the hobbyist! Does anyone other (translated – Less expensive! lol) manufacturer have a comparable tool that uses tenons (not biscuits!)?
Hey Pat. Thats why this tool has made such a splash. The other “comparable” tools are not truly comparable. The closest analog would be the biscuit joiner. But I would never assemble this project with a biscuit joiner. Another much cheaper option would be dowels. But I have never had much luck with dowels in terms of accuracy. Now there are other tools that make tenons, but the process take alot longer. So its all a give and take. Bottom line is the Domino is a one of a kind tool. But it by no means a necessity. If you have a chisel, you can make mortises. If you have a router, you can do it even faster. Everything else just makes life easier and increases your accuracy, but unfortunately does nothing to increase your skill. :)
I am a recent member and fan, therefore I am late with my response. I do want to tell both of you that I too thouroughly enjoy the “figure it out as you” podcast format. I am worried that your great connections with tool manufactures will leave us income challenged woodworkers in the dust. I love watching your live cam and appreciate when you swing the shot to your table saw on the occasion. Both of you are troopers for all the long hours you spend informing the woodworking comunity all over the world. Again thank you.
Marc,
I’m new to your podcast and I’m just starting to watch them from the beginning. I was watching episode 20 “One small step” this evening and it stopped at the 9:43 point. What happened to the rest of the episode? I was really looking forward to seeing the Domino in action. Keep up the great videos, they are both entertaining and informative.
Hey Steve. Unfortunately, some of the videos were cut short when we did the site redesign a few months ago. I thought we fixed all of them but apparently this one slipped through. I am in the process of fixing it now. in the mean time, you can watch any one of the three versions on this page and they will all play through to the end.
Thanks.
Hi Marc,
Now that it is a year later – how did the stepstool holdup?
I too would have worried about the alder breaking out above the dominoes – or even the dominoes potentially shearing.
Though ugly as sin, I probably would have put a couple cleats under each step – or perhaps try to mortise in ‘blind’ an angle iron or two..
Thoughts?
Keep up the neat work..
Chris
Well, it hasn’t been used on a daily basis or anything, but it is holding up very well. No signs of cracks, stress fractures, or anything. In fact, a few month ago I needed to take a few pictures of it so I cleaned it up and it was pretty much like new. So…. I can report that as of yet, there are no problems. I will certainly let you guys know if a problem develops.
hey mark really attractive step ladder, definitly going to try it but with old school mortise and tenon joints. havent been all the way to the end of your podcasts but have you made a detailed show on putting this step ladder together? what i also find really nice is the picture of the step in the intro to all your podcasts or atleast your older podcasts. i think you changed the intro on your newer ones.
its a pretty sweet step too.
anyways great art you mold into your work, wish i could join your classes but i live in montreal. so the podcasts are the next best thing.
thanks for your hard work
-wil
Hey Wil. Glad you like the stool. It is heavily influenced from a David Marks design, so I can’t completely take credit for it. But unfortunately, I never documented the building process more than what you see in this video. The stool was designed specifically to show off the capabilities of the Domino at a woodworking show. I was pressed for time and this was all we got from it. Wish I had a plan available or something but I don’t. Just email me if you get hung up on something.
I think it looked good, did you stress test it, the best part of the video for me was the whole prototype process
Nothing really scientific. Just stood on it numerous times and tried to see if it felt like it was giving way. Fortunately, it was quite sturdy. The step stool was in the shop for over a year and now it gets used in Nicole’s closet. So it has held up very well.