I made this radiator chair when my kids were little so they could have a cozy seat to read or watch TV. But they have outgrown it now, and it’s time to repurpose the solid oak boards.

Supplies

1 Oak Radiator Chair, masking tape, glue, paper, varnish

Tools: Thickness Planer, Table Saw, Dado Set, Bandsaw, scissors, ruler, sandpaper

Step 1: Say Goodbye to the Old Chair

Say goodbye to the old chair. Make sure no-one wants it anymore.

Step 2: Retrieve Raw Materials

Strip off the felt. Knock the glued bits apart.

Step 3: Plane the Wood

This gets rid of the old finish and glue. I planed it to ⅝” thickness. Note: It’s not safe to run pieces shorter than 13” long through the planer and I found out why when I tried. The small piece broke up and part of it flew out the front of the planer. Luckily no-one got hurt.

Step 4: Cut Out Templates

Cut out some templates of the parts needed, and use them to get an idea of how many you can make with the wood. I tried to get 4 uke stands out of it, but there wasn’t quite enough wood, so I settled for 3.

Step 5: Make the Angled Cuts

Layout the parts carefully on the wood, and use the miter gauge to cut the angled parts.

Step 6: Make the Square Cuts

Use the rip fence and/or crosscut sled to make the square cuts.

Step 7: The Round Cut

Use a 2” hole saw to cut the round part. Center the bit 1/2" in from the edge. Clean up on the bandsaw.

Step 8: The Dados

Set the dado cutter to ⅝”, then do a test fit. Mine was a little loose so I adjusted the stack with some shims until I got a nice snug fit. I taped the parts together and clamped them to the sled for safety. Then I made several passes to reach the final depth.