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Technology for the Rural Carpenters
Suvankar Bose sbose@devalt.org Design and Evolution
A
design team from DA interacted with Ramesh. The first thing that the DA
team decided to do was to re-engineer the entire Brief Production Process
Sawing: This operation is required for parting off the wood blank. In the MCW, by fitting the carbide tipped multi teeth sawing cutter on the secondary shaft can part off the wooden piece.
Planing:
This operation is required for sizing and
improving surface finish of the wood blank. In the
Turning:
This operation is required for turning the
wood blank through which the rectangular or irregular Profiling: This operation is required for cutting different profile for decoration purposes. In the MCW, this operation can be done by assembling the Jigsaw machine and linked with the secondary shaft for the transmission of power. AdvantagesThe advantages of the Manual Powered Carpentry workstation are: Ø No need for electric power in manufacturing. Ø Increasing economic growth and increase in purchase power Ø Greater demand for wood based products. Ø Time saving method of production. Ø Cost effective due to use of local material, fewer labour and speed of manufacture
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lives of the people in this part. Carpentry is still a major source of
livelihood for many households. However despite the fact that there is a
great demand for wood based products like cots, chairs, tables etc, the
carpenters are not able to earn a substantial amount of income. The
primary reason for this is the high cost of production, which is the
result of a higher power cost or cost of generators. There is also the
problem of power shortage in the region. Most carpenters work on a
mechanized system. But due to electricity shortage, they are not able to
produce efficiently. As an alternative some carpenters use diesel
generators for production, which increase the production cost.
Development Alternatives (DA), an organization with sustainable
livelihood as a mandate, decided to come up with a solution for the
carpenters in the region, which is cost effective and carpenter
friendly. This is the place where Ramesh Prasad Vishwakarma a rural
carpenter is trying to generate livelihood through his carpentry skills
using small manual devices. The machine he is using is still in the
crude form and carries out only one function i.e. lathe. 
concept. The re-engineering process was a tedious one with a lot of
obstacles being faced by the team. However, the DA team designed a
compact and efficient workstation, with multiple advantages for a
carpenter, which was cost effective and with greater productivity. The
biggest advantage this workstation gives to the carpenter is that it is
manually powered. Through this manually powered workstation, a carpenter
can easily carry out all the activities required for manufacturing wood
products. Four different operations like sawing, planning, turning and
profiling have been integrated in this compact workstation. Earlier all
these jobs were done separately and thus a lot of time and cost were
involved. With the carpentry workstation designed by DA, it has become
easy for carpenters to work more efficiently, produce more in less time.
The products of this workstation are also of a higher quality than the
products made earlier with the traditional process. 
For
the production of different products like cots, chairs, tables etc the
raw wood requires about four different operations which can be easily
operate in the Manual Carpenter workstation. The four
different operations are as follows:
MCW,
by fitting the dismantled bladed multi teeth planing cutter on the
secondary shaft can surfacing and sizing the wooden piece.
wooden pieces turn into cylindrical type surface. In the MCW, the
operation can be done by assembling the head stock and the tail stock.
The head stock will be linked for the transmission of power.