Do-It-Yourself Pedestal Seats

Place a 24-inch diameter, 3/4-inch plywood circle on the work table. Plywood circles are sold in most home improvement stores, and the sizes mentioned here do not need to be exact. The first circle is the bottom of your base, and it must be wider than your seat for best balance on the floor.

Apply carpenter's glue to one side of an 18-inch-diameter, 3/4-inch plywood circle. (Your circle can vary from 12 to 18 inches in diameter.) Center the smaller circle over the larger circle with the glue side down. Press the two circles together, and clamp with wood clamps. This first set of circles is for the base of your pedestal seat.

Position a 3-inch threaded metal flange centered on your smaller circle. Mark the locations of the mounting holes. Drill through each hole using a 1/4-inch-hole saw bit. Turn the circles over so that the larger circle is upward. Change the bit in the drill to a 3/4-inch bit. Center the bit over the 1/4-inch hole. Drill a second hole 1/4-inch deep. Chip out the wood with a wood chisel. The second hole allows you to recess the head of your bolt. Repeat for each hole.

Place two new small-sized circles together, and clamp. This set of circles is for your seat, and it will not be glued. Center your flange. Mark your holes, and drill with the 1/4-inch bit. Change the bit in the drill to a 3/4-inch bit. Center the bit over the 1/4-inch hole. Drill a second hole 1/4-inch deep. Chip out the wood with a wood chisel. The second hole allows you to recess the head of your bolt. Repeat for each hole.

Insert washers and bolts through the larger glued-circle pair. The bolts should be long enough to go through the flange and receive a nut. Insert a bolt and washer through each flange hole. Place the large circle flush on the table. The bolt heads should be recessed in the larger holes on the underside of the larger plywood circle. Place your flange over the bolts, and attach nuts and tighten with a wrench. The threaded end of the bolt and the nut will be visible above the flange, giving your seat an industrial look.

Screw one end of the threaded 3-inch-diameter by 22-inch-long pipe into the flange, and tighten. Screw the other flange onto the other end of the pipe, and tighten. Spray-paint the base and the two pieces of drilled plywood circles. Allow the paint to dry for four hours before handling.

Place the smaller seat circle with the 1/4-inch holes and the partial 3/4-inch holes with the 3/4-inch hole upward-facing. Insert lug bolts and washers down into each hole of the top circle so that the lug bolts are recessed into the plywood. Spray the top of the plywood with spray adhesive for foam.

Cut 4-inch-thick foam larger than the circle, using scissors. Place the foam over the plywood so that the lug bolt heads are covered by the foam. Trim around the edges of the foam using an electric carving or cutting knife, to make the foam round.

Place fabric face-side down on the work table. Position the seat foam-side down on the fabric. Draw around the fabric1/2-inch away from the edge of the foam. Cut two pieces of fabric to this size. Measure the height of the side of the seat from the top of the foam to the bottom of the plywood, and add 1 inch for seams. Measure the circumference, and add 1 inch. Cut one piece of fabric to these measurements.

Place one piece of circle fabric face up. Position welting with the welt inward. Welting is a type of trim on which fabric is wrapped over cording and sewn into the seams of furniture. Pin the welting with the welt 1/2 inch from the raw edge. Sew the welting to the circle fabric. Start 1 inch from the end of the welting. Stop 1 inch from the end. Seam-rip the last inch of welting. Open the fabric over the welting, and cut the cord to butt against the beginning of the welting. Fold the fabric over the joint, and finish sewing. Repeat with the second round fabric. Cut the center out of the second round fabric leaving 2 inches before the welting.

Fold the strip of side fabric right sides together with the short ends together. Sew the ends together using a 1/2-inch seam to form a fabric circle. Position the side fabric over the circle fabric and welting with face sides together and the raw fabric aligned. Pin the side fabric piece to the circle fabric piece. Sew close to the welting all around. This forms the top of your seat cover. Place the side fabric over the second circle with the center cut out with the right sides together. Align the raw edges. Pin and sew. This creates a bottom edge for your cover. Make cuts for ease from the center cut toward the welt every 3 inches, but do not cut the welt.

Turn the cover right side out, and fit it over the seat. Bring the ease-cut fabric to the underside of the plywood, and staple the fabric to the plywood, keeping the welting even along the edge of the plywood. Staple all around.

Place the bottom circle of the plywood seat over the bolts. Sandwich the cover-stapled plywood and the bottom circle together, and turn the seat over. Position the plywood and seat over the upside-down flange on the pedestal stand. Thread the bolts through the flange, and screw on the nuts. Tighten the nuts with a wrench.