Why
A bench, top about 55 cm high for comfortable sitting, for that reason also useful to work on, for example to saw boards. Light to carry around, flexible as to ensures that all four legs can rest on the floor. To be made of the lowest grade of wood.
Specially a project on the island of Seram in Indonesia taught us how practical it is to be able to use table benches also for working on. If there are more than on of such benches it helps in assembling frames. The advantage being specially to facilitate working off the ground on a comfortable height, for example to be able to fixate a piece of wood under one's knee.
Futher inspiration was found in the low workbench, that was the only useful item we found in our barn/workshop when starting to use it back in 1983. Just crudely put together by a workman, it served us well for years. Then we saw children carry their seats to school. Should such stools not be light weight?
In The Gambia we experienced the need for students to be taught to make things of direct practical use. One of the items could be such school furniture, possibly foldable, anyway light to carry and giving the right sitting height. As in all practical situations you never find a flat floor, so the stool has to be flexible as to support its load on all four legs.
How
Constructed out of small wooden battens, interconnected with bits of metal wire. The top is supported by two X-frames, shored by two sticks. The parts are interconnected by strips of rubber, for that reason also easily disassembled. The top is flexible because of the thin battens, the bench is stable to work on because of the X-frames.
Image: ZitWerkKruk140x125.gif
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