I have owned a simple stepstool for some 50 years that I got from a relative who used to be a village cartwright/carpenter back then in Germany. It is European white oak and only made by hand tools like chisel, saw, plane and draw knife.
Although I used and abused it all the years (mostly in my shop), it is still as solid as new. The wedged-in legs are tight in spite of moving to several different climate zones. Unfortunately it is not as pretty anymore and so I set out to make a (slightly improved) copy from cherry on the CNC. This makes extensive use of the moulding toolpath for the radius bevels of the legs and the radius and chamfer of the seat top.
Here the original:
And my copy:
Components:
Legs are fitted in mortises, glued and expanded with wedge-shaped dowels: