Splayed Stool

Stools in various forms have been around for centuries and not a lot has changed in the way in which these furniture items are made. Essentially there are two types of stool, those which have a seat attached to a frame, and those in which the seat is penetrated by the legs with the seat forming an integral part of the structure. It is the latter type we’ll focus on here.

1. Splay angle – the leg angle as viewed from the front.

2. Rake angle – the leg angle as viewed from the side.

3. Variations in rake and splay angles can make a big difference even in a very similar design. The cedar stool in the centre has the biggest splay and rake angles of these three stools, while the walnut stool on the right has the smallest angles. The blackwood stool on the left has leg angles between the other two.

Splay and rake

While chairs may have vertical legs, stool legs almost always have splay angle as you look at the chair from the front () and rake or side view angle (). Variations in rake and splay angles can).