After we made the $5 bucket stool, we wanted to try some different options for forming the concrete base and for the legs. Spring form cake pans make awesome forms and pipes are always a good option for legs.

SUPPLIES:

Quikrete Countertop Mix
Purchase at Home Depot
Quikrete Countertop Mix is about twice the price of normal concrete mix but it’s worth it. The concrete comes out as smooth as glass and it easier to mix than Quikrete 5000.

Iron Pipe Flanges
Purchase at Home Depot
I used pipe flanges for ¾” plumbing pipe to connect the concrete to the pipe legs.

¾” Copper Pipe
Purchase at Home Depot
Copper pipe is beautiful but can be a bit pricey. Pipe fittings that screw into cast iron pipe flanges are available. If you aren’t comfortable using a torch to solder the pipes you can use construction adhesive to just glue the joints.

Spring Form Cake Pan

Clean Tap Water
Always use clean water for mixing with concrete.

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Put 3 inches of concrete mix in a clean bowl
Mix the concrete in a clean bowl and pour it into the spring form cake pan.


STEP 2: Shake out the bubbles
Mixed concrete has air bubbles trapped inside. Shake and tap the spring form cake pan to bring the bubbles to the surface.


STEP 3: Place the pipe flanges
Once the concrete has settled, place the pipe flanges in the spring form cake pan. Stick the pipe flanges about 1 ½” past the surface of the concrete.





STEP 4: Wait 20 hours then remove the concrete and screw in the legs
Once the concrete has cured, simply unlatch the pan and remove the concrete. Screw the pipe legs into place. If you aren’t comfortable using a torch to solder the pipes, you can use construction adhesive to just glue the joints.





STEP 5: Sand the edges
The concrete has not yet fully hardened and is pretty easy to work with. 120 grit sand paper can be used to smooth the edges.





See the Instructions for the $5 Bucket Stool in Episode 8

Good luck making your cake pan stool, and please email or tweet photos to @benuyeda or ben@homemade-modern.com. For more detailed instructions, dimensioned drawings and different variations of the project, check out our soon-to-be-released book.

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