Round Wood Stool Seat, Unfinished Solid Wood, 11.6 or 13.8 in

A stool with a cracked or missing seat is usually still a good stool. This is a new top for it: a round seat in solid wood, sanded smooth and left unfinished, about 3/4 in thick, in two sizes, 11.6 in or 13.8 in across.

Measure first. Measure across your old seat if you still have it, and the spacing of the legs where they meet the seat, or the size of the mounting plate if the stool has one. The new seat should cover the leg tops or the plate with wood to spare around the edge for the screws.

Finishing it:

• Wipe off the sanding dust and try your stain or oil on the underside first, where it won't show.
• Stain or oil it to match the stool. Oil gives a soft, natural look; a stain followed by a clear finish stands up better to daily use.
• Finish the underside and edge as well as the top. A board finished on one face only can take up moisture unevenly and cup.
• Let it dry fully before anyone sits on it.

Fitting it:

• Lay the seat upside down on a soft cloth and center the stool frame or plate on it. Mark the screw holes.
• Drill pilot holes at the marks, with a flag of tape on the bit as a depth stop so you don't come through the top.
• Screw it on from below. Screws are not included: choose ones long enough to hold through the frame or plate, but short enough that the tips stay well inside the seat.

If the stool wobbles after the new top goes on, the legs are the cause, not the seat. Tighten or reglue the leg joints before you screw the top down.

Start with the old seat if you have it. Measure straight across through the center and pick the size closest to it.

If the old seat is gone, measure the frame: across the outside of the leg tops, or the width of the mounting plate and the spread of its screw holes. Choose the size that covers that span with some overhang all round, so the seat looks right and the screws sit well in from the edge.

Between the two, the 11.6 in seat suits smaller and lighter stools, and the 13.8 in gives more room to sit. When the frame measurement falls close to the smaller size, go up to 13.8 in.