This is the second blog post in a series highlighting Rural Studio’s Woodshop class. You can read more about Woodshop class in the first blog of the series.
In the Woodshop class, Instructor Steve Long introduces students to tools used in woodworking, from small hand tools to the table saw. Using simple instruments, students learn techniques for producing fine finishes. They also learn the importance of safety. In the second class of the semester, Steve provides safety training for using the equipment. He demonstrates the appropriate methods and then encourages students to try the tools using the lessons learned. This information is vital to students’ success throughout their time at Rural Studio because they will be working in the woodshop for their team projects.
Woodshop class also teaches students about the importance of appropriate tools. Steve’s motto is “Know the right tool for the right job!” Although the woodshop houses a variety of equipment, including motorized tools, Steve stresses that sometimes, a smaller, more manual tool works best.
The Zig Zag Chair
The Zig Zag chair was designed around 1934-1936 by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, a member of the Dutch minimalist design community in the early twentieth century. The Zig Zag Chair has two origin stories. In one, the Dutch department store, Metz & Co., asked Rietveld to create a chair that could be mass produced, which was a revolutionary idea at that time. Rietveld’s goal was to create a chair that could be produced efficiently but still display sleek modernist design.
To achieve this goal, Rietveld’s tried to create a chair with as few individual components as possible, and even envisioned a chair made of one piece of metal, mass produced by a machine that would construct and spit out the chair in one process.
Rietveld experimented with several materials for the Zig Zag chair but eventually devised the iconic wooden model, consisting of four slabs of wood, connected and supported at 45 degree angles by dovetail joints and metal screws.
Although the Zig Zag chair was not widely adopted or mass produced, it has become an icon of simplicity and utility in design.
Q & A with Instructor Steve
Tell us a bit about the safety curriculum in your course. How do you introduce students to safety concerns?
I very much ease the students into the use of the shop. The second class is always about safety training, which involves the appropriate use of equipment and general rules of the shop. This includes demonstrations of the most commonly used equipment and then getting the students to try. Many have never used any of this equipment before so it’s fun watching them learn & grow. From there, we have in-class tutorials of the different building techniques and equipment. The first building exercise I give the students is the cutting board exercise. This gives the students a chance to start using the equipment that will also be used on their chairs. By the time we get to the making of the chair, the students have had an opportunity to become proficient in most tools.
What is the most vital lesson or advice you give new Rural Studio students about safety in the woodshop? How do those lessons carry over into other aspects of Rural Studio, like building construction?
It is very important to understand what tools are necessary for the job at hand and how to properly use that tool. I always tell students: “If you don’t know, ask! If something doesn’t seem right, tell me! If you break something, let me know!” I truly hope that the process of building the chair instills in the students an understanding of the appropriate tool. And I hope this way of thinking extends itself beyond the woodshop and into all corners of Rural Studio.
Are you ever nervous about new students handling tools like table saws?
No, but I’m hyper aware of the responsibilities that comes with student using the shop. I would never want to put a student in a situation where they do not have proper instruction or supervision. I also try to be easily approachable with any questions the students have.
Tell us about some of the most important and most used tools in the woodshop. Which one is most versatile?
All of the chairs can be built with a handful of basic tools. But if I were to say which is the most versatile, I would say that is the table saw. It is truly the heart of the shop. It hardly ever stops being used. With some lateral thinking and creativity, it can certainly facilitate 90 percent of the cuts that have to be made for all of the chairs. It also makes the most precise and clean cut in the shop.
Describe one tool that most people haven’t heard of.
There’s a number of obscure hand tools that we don’t get to explore much in the shop mainly because of limited time. One of those would be a card scraper. This is a wood finishing tool that scrapes a very thin layer of wood grain. It can be used instead of sandpaper during the finishing process and is also less invasive. If not careful, you can scratch the finish of wood with sandpaper. But the card scraper is more difficult and time consuming. I bring it out every now and then when it feels right for the students.
What is your favorite woodshop tool and why?
The table saw is my favorite tool for the same reasons I described before. This is true of most tools, but if you understand its capabilities, it is so much more than something that can cut a board in two. You can achieve almost any cut with it, no matter what you’re trying to do.
Why did you choose the Zig Zag Chair for the chair project?
The Zig Zag is one of the most famous pieces of furniture design on the planet. I picked this one for several reasons, one being that it fits the criteria of being linked to one of Reitveld’s most famous projects, the Schroder House. The Zig Zag is also one of the most reproduced chairs out there, and there is a lot of information about it. Some of that information is contradictory, so it’s interesting for students to build a case what’s accurate and what’s wrong.
Stay tuned for the next Woodshop class feature: Alvar Aalto’s stacking stool!