My wife wanted a step poser for use with her photography business. I saw similar ones to this that sold for $300 plus shipping. I had a lot of poplar and not so much time, but if anything, I'm cheap. I had to rush to get this done for some dance pictures she was doing.

I ripped the legs and side to 2 1/2 inches and the seat boards to 3 1/2 inches. Then I cut the pieces to their final length.

I drilled pocket holes in the side pieces and joined the sides of each step.

I clamp the sides together so I can drill the holes for the bolts and get them to line up properly. I also made the holes a little bigger than the bolts to give myself more tolerance.

I splurged on the right angle camp and used it to help connect the sides to the cross pieces. 

I also used pocket screws to fasten the seat boards to each step.

After assembly, I sanded to 220 grit. I put wood conditioner and let i sit overnight. This was probably too long, but when I follow the instructions on the can I still get blotching. Why do manufactures give us instructions that do not work? It may have been too sealed, but I kind of like the "zebra" effect it made.

I used a 1/4 inch hex bolt with a washer on the head, another washer in between then two legs, and then another washer on the wingnut. I used wingnuts so they could be dissembled quickly and used individually. My favorite part of this step poser is that it folds up for compact storage.