Meet a Maker: Wolfgang Siebeneic

Wolfgang Siebeneich works with wood and metal at the Makerspace.

Among Siebeneich’s many projects at the Makerspace is rehabilitating tools that have been misused.

“Doesn’t take long for tools to get bad in the woodshop,” said Siebeneich. “Tools in this place get … abused a lot …. But I’m gonna clean these up and rehabilitate them and then put them back in the woodshop and see how long they live. And I don’t expect them to last very long.”

One such tool is an adze. Adzes are ancient instruments used for carving wood. 

“One of the earliest known uses for them is for hollowing out logs for canoes. You use it much like you would a hatchet,” said Siebeneich. “I’ve been really happy with the way these work.”

“I’m a real fan of old-school human powered tools,” he said. “In my world, utility trumps aesthetics.”

Siebeneich enjoys making useful items despite his finished projects sometimes being underused. Siebeneich said, “One [project] I did about three or four years ago is building a kickwheel for the pottery area … It took me about three weeks to make it and for the next two years nobody ever used it so it seemed kind of a waste. But it was a fun project.”

“I do get a great deal of satisfaction from doing a project successfully,” said Siebeneich. “The reason I’m proud of them is not anything I do with craftsmanship…but I’m proud of them because they work, beautifully.”

by Madi Drayna