Chinese JoineryChinese Joinery
中文
Legs, tops and aprons
无束腰杌凳
wú shùyāo wùdèng

Waistless Stool Joint (无束腰杌凳): How a Ming Stool Leg Meets the Seat

Waistless stool leg joint · 无束腰杌凳腿足与凳面的结合

By · Updated

A plain Ming stool has no waist between seat and apron.

Its leg runs straight up to the seat and every other part is tenoned into it.

Chinese
无束腰杌凳 · wú shùyāo wùdèng
Joins
Leg, aprons, stretcher, seat frame
Found in
Ming stools and tables without a waist
Signature parts
Two tenons on the leg top · aprons below the seat
Compare
Long and short tenons
Drag to rotate. Slide to take the joint apart, or press Assemble to watch it go together.

How it works

No waist

On a waistless stool the aprons sit directly under the seat frame. The leg runs up to the frame and ends in tenons that go into mortises in its underside.

Aprons and stretchers

Just below the seat the aprons tenon into the leg from two sides, and lower down a stretcher does the same. Wang Shixiang’s drawing shows the round leg with the aprons shouldered against it and the leg top tenoned into the seat frame.

Proportions in the model are illustrative.

How it's made

  1. No waist
    Step 1

    No waist

    No waist: the apron is right under the seat.

  2. Leg tenons
    Step 2

    Leg tenons

    The leg top carries two tenons.

  3. Apron tenons
    Step 3

    Apron tenons

    The aprons have tenons.

  4. Into the leg
    Step 4

    Into the leg

    Aprons and stretcher go into the leg.

  5. Seat
    Step 5

    Seat

    The seat frame goes on the leg tenons.

  6. Done
    Step 6

    Done

    Assembled.

Variations

Wrapped-leg version

In the 裹腿 version the aprons wrap round the leg like bamboo.

Can you CNC this?

Possible, with design or setup changes

The tenons and seat mortises are simple. The mortises go into a round leg, which may need a cradle or a 4th axis to hold it, and the apron shoulders may need coping to the curve.

Free STL downloads (one file per part)

  • Leg 腿足 · wushuyao-wudeng-leg.stl
  • Apron (front) 牙条（正面） · wushuyao-wudeng-apron-front.stl
  • Apron (side) 牙条（侧面） · wushuyao-wudeng-apron-side.stl
  • Stretcher 枨子 · wushuyao-wudeng-stretcher.stl
  • Seat (simplified slab) 凳面（简化为整板） · wushuyao-wudeng-seat.stl

Before cutting or printing, read the CNC and 3D-printing notes on tool radius, scaling the STL files and their licence.

In museum collections

Square table, 17th century, 17th c., Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession no. 94.30.1
Square table, 17th century
Minneapolis Institute of Art

Where you’ll see it

  • Waistless square table · Leg into the top: The leg runs straight up to the frame and ends in tenons into its underside; aprons tenon into the leg just below.

Questions

What is a waist?

A recessed band between seat and apron; this stool has none.

How does the leg hold the seat?

Its top carries tenons into the seat frame.

Is the seat frame shown?

It is simplified to a slab.

Further reading
  1. Square table, 17th century, Minneapolis Institute of Art (collection record)
  2. 王世襄《明式家具研究》（Wang Shixiang, Research on Ming Furniture），第 111–112 页，图 3.28
  3. 王世襄《明式家具研究》（Wang Shixiang, Research on Ming Furniture），第 112 页，图 3.29