Stepladder for Painting

My wife likes to paint. When we moved into our first house, she needed a stepladder she could stand on while painting overhead. That was when some of the folding stepladders with wide steps and a high front were not so available. We also did not have extra cash for a commercially made stepladder. I made this one for her more than 35 years ago from some scrap wood and it is still holding up as well as the day it was first used.

Step 1 The first thing

The uprights are from two pieces of 2 x 4. I ripped the 2 x 4s to yield one piece 2 1/4 inches wide and one piece 1 3/16 inch wide. The sum of those plus the thickness of the saw blade, plus a little lost from planing the surfaces smooth again equals the original 3 5/8 inches from the face of the 2 x 4.

Next I made dado cuts into the faces of the 2 1/4 pieces for the steps. The uprights holding the steps are at 65 degrees off of the horizontal. Make the dado cuts angled so the steps will be level when the ladder is assembled.

The first step on my ladder is 8 inches from the floor. The second step is 7 1/4 inches above the top of the first step. The top of the ladder is the same distance above the second step. They could be an equal amount of separation.

The two steps are 4 5/8 inches by 13 inches. They are from solid lumber 3/4 inch in thickness. Glue the ends of the steps into the dados.