Bicycle Stool

In this Instructable I show how I make a turn an old bicycle into a stool. Its a fun way to recycle, up style or reuse something that would generally be sent to the dumpster or for scrap.

Materials:

1 old bicycle

Threaded bar and nuts

2 carriage bolts

Flap disc

Metal cutting discs.

Primer

Paint

Tools:

Drill/screwdriver

Spanners

Angle grinder

Pliers

Allen keys

Welder

Pump

Stepped drill bit.

Have a look at the short video above to see how I built the stool from start to finish.

Obviously to start you are going to need an old bike, in this case it was an old adults one I got to use. It had some problems like broken spokes and brakes and ceased gears. It possibly could have been repaired but it would probably have cost the same as buying a new one so I decided to have a go at reusing it.

I started by disassembling the bike. This will take a few different size of spanners, allen keys and possibly some hex or torc head. The whole bike came apart fairly easily but if your bike has been sitting out for a period of time some parts may be ceased up. if so just spray on some wd40 and it should free up any stubborn bolts or connections. The spokes on the wheel easily fall out when cut.



I did not have a clear plan when I started of what I wanted it to look like at the end but I did want to use as much of the bicycle parts as I could to make it. The saddle of the bike was always going to be the seat so I had to think about how it would be supported and balanced on the floor. The best option was to keep the A frame, the section over the back wheel as this is the strongest part of the bike and also holds the saddle section. I essentially cut the bike in half using the angle grinder but i left about 8inches (200mm) on the bottom bar to attach a foot rest later.

The next issue was to stabilise the A frame. The wheel off the bike seemed like the best option for this.  I carefully removed the tyre and tube from the wheel and set aside. I placed the A frame inside the wheel, it did not fit exactly but was fairly close. I could not just weld the pieces together as the wheel was made from aluminium and the frame from steel so it was going to have to be bolted together.

At the bottom of the a frame where the pedals join the frame, these are actually threaded bolts. I welded two carriage bolts to these to make them longer and then bent them 90 degrees. I drilled two holes through the wheel for the bolts to fit through. At the back I got some threaded bar and placed it into the holes which had previously held the back wheel on. I then also marked the wheel, drilled and inserted the threaded bar. To cover the threads I got and cut some aluminium tube slightly bigger than the threaded bar.

I cleaned all the old paint off the bike using the angle grinder with a flap disc in it. I also removed any other parts that were protruding from the frame so they would not get caught in clothes when using the stool.

To make the foot rest, I used the handle bars. This was probably the most awkward part. The gears and brakes had different nuts and bolts and they were and they were rusted and stuck on. The magic of editing in the video made it look easier. I used a stepped dill bit to drill a hole for the handle bar to fit through. I let the handle bar stick out about 6 inches (150mm) each side which is what I thought would be comfortable for the foot rest.

I wanted to leave the aluminium and chrome exposed so I just cleaned them using some compound paste. For the frame I used a spray primer first on the and the 3 coats of blue of course this could be any colour of your choosing.

After the paint had dried it was time to re assemble everything. I reattached the bolts to the frame and fixed everything to the wheel using bolts. I reattached the saddle with a wing nut so it would be easy to adjust the height of it if necessary. For aesthetics I put back on the red reflector, I washed the tyre and put the tyre and tube back on and inflated it. This also protects the floor from damage when in use. I put black plastic caps on any exposed tube ends.

And here is the finished bicycle stool. Let me know what you think of it and what if anything you would change or do differently. If I have not covered all the details on the build let me know and I will update them. Thanks for looking. If you would like to see more projects from me you can visit my Youtube channel here Eamon Walsh on Youtube

Thanks again.

Eamon