So I looked at my wood, and couldn't find any single piece large enough for the base of the stool. I decided to join three different pieces together to form a base. Basswood was perfect for this, due to it's neutral color and grain, as well as it's ease of working; this meant the different blocks wouldn't look too obvious, and the joinery would be easy to make exacting. 

I sawed one piece in half, to form two equally sized blocks. 

To give the base a sense of harmony, I arranged the blocks so the biggest piece would be in the middle. The narrower pieces were given a quarter lap to receive the vertical section. 

This picture show's the arrangement better. In this picture, all the joinery has been cut. I used a 240mm ryoba and a chisel to cut the joinery. I proceeded to joint the edges, but I wasn't too worried as basswood is soft enough it will kind of, for lack of a better phrase, 'smush' into each other and fill in any gaps. 

To get a tight fit, I made the joinery a very, very small amount of too fit- just enough so the vertical member wouldn't slide in on it's own. I then pounded the vertical member's bottom, compacting the grain and reducing it's size. Once the vertical member is placed into the bottom assembly, the compacted grain will swell back to normal, producing a very snug fit. 

After the edges were jointed, and the vertical member pounded, I slid the vertical member into the middle piece, then added the narrow outside blocks. I hammered them home, and clamped the sides together to prevent any gaps. 

I drew some guidelines to help me shape the piece into a more fluid sculpture. I did not have any gouges, or specialty planes; only a drawknife and chisels; this meant the hollow part in the vertical member was very tough, and did not come out as well as I'd hope. A round-bottomed plane is on the to-do list! 

Carving the base was honestly the most fun part of the project, even with the frustration of not getting nice inside curves. These are the moments that reassure my passion for the craft. 

Here, the piece is approaching the finished state; everything has been roughed in. I lost a lot of pictures, but after this I sanded and fine-tuned the details; the seat was carved with a drawknife, chisels, and planes, but a lot of it's creation was by orbital sander. This allowed for the curves to flow into one another without tearing out grain. 

The seat was joined by cherry dowels to the base. I felt this might not be as traditional as a tenon-and-mortise, but Christmas Eve was soon approaching (This gift was for an aunt on the Polish side, we traditionally give gifts on Christmas Eve. I don't know if that tradition is just our family, or a Polish tradition), and I had some cherry dowel leftover from an earlier project that I felt would add some nice color to the piece. 

And there ya have it, one meditation stool! You use it by folding your legs underneath the stool; it's kind of a support structure for a kneeling position, like the cushioned benches at a church. 

The stool was finished with danish oil. Note to the wise: Do not use danish oil below like, 70 degrees or so...Maybe it was that the oil was a couple months old, but the finish came out really weird. Kinda spiky, I had to sand it smooth. The mahogany box was also finished with oil, but it came out relatively plastic-y. 

Anyone who has a good finish that can be used in the cold down to below freezing, or doesn't give off fumes and can be applied in a small bedroom/inside, I would love to hear what you recommend. If anything, hopefully this inspires some dialogue! 

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a good day.