A Documentation, Analysis, and Optimization of the Woodworking Workbench as Tool, Appendage, and Work Plane for an Architectural Craftswoman
Open Access
- Author:
- Rothrock, Elizabeth
- Graduate Program:
- Architecture
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- December 16, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Marcus Steven Shaffer, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Yasmine Abbas, Committee Member
Mehrdad Hadighi, Program Head/Chair
Benay Gursoy Toykoc, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Woodworking
architecture
human scale
ergonomics
workbench
woodworking bench
human form
design for the body
industrial design
furniture design
craft
craftswoman
making
fabrication
making and design - Abstract:
- Woodworking workbenches have evolved, from our earliest documented Roman Workbenches, used in workshops or at a building site, to more recent workbenches like the commercial Black and Decker Workmate of 1968, for use at home. Similar to any tool, throughout its history, some components have remained, others have been modified, and some have been removed from the workbench menu entirely. Components commonly vary and change on workbenches based on the material being worked, however, considering the body is commonly associated with hand tools but not with workbench components. By approaching the woodworking bench as an extension of the craftswoman’s body, it becomes an ergonomic design problem. | THESIS STATEMENT | Performing essential woodworking operations on a workbench, recording those operations, and analyzing the movements of the craftswoman’s body reveals the unifying relationship between the body and the bench. The documentation of modifications and movements is customized to the craftswoman working at the bench but can be translated to another craftsperson to understand the unique relationship of a specific body (its measure, stature, strength, and reach) to the workbench, addressing the need for consideration of the female body in a historically male-dominated field. This thesis analyzes historic woodworking workbenches and their components to gain knowledge and draw design influence for the fabrication of a Case Study Workbench (CSWB) that is then used and altered throughout a series of woodworking sessions. Each session concentrates on a fundamental technique or operation taken from Tage Frid’s instructional book series Tage Frid Teaches Woodworking (1979). Ten woodworking sessions culminate in a woodworking project, a chisel cabinet, which incorporates the ten different operations performed. Each operation is recorded, documented and analyzed – showing how the tool moves in relation to the material and bench space how the craftswoman moves in relation to the work and the bench space, and critiques the workbench in relation to the operation. The thesis reveals how these operations inform the workbench as a tool, appendage, and work plane for the craftswoman, and evaluates the overall effectiveness of the CSWB and its alterations as an alternative to historic male-centric bench models. This research also focuses on addressing and breaking down the historic influence of the male figure in determining the size/shape/features of the woodworking bench. Historically the male body is shown in woodworking imagery, excluding the female body from the historic evolution of workbench designs. This thesis selects a single craftswoman as the determining factor for the CSWB’s (a bench informed by historic woodworking benches) modifications to find where the workbench should be altered to enhance the craftswoman’s use of the bench. The resultant workbench is one that is ergonomically informed by the craftswoman’s body, the material, and the tool and how these three relate to each other, to produce a more efficient and comfortable workbench. Exploring the spatial relationship of the body, bench, and material helped not only to develop a custom tool, appendage and work plane for the craftswoman and produced a workbench with customized holding devices and a singularity in space of the craftswoman and bench.