Jorge Larach - Project 1: Building with Hand Tools

Process

This project was unique because it actually began with my grandfather and I working together in Houston to come up with a design for this tote. He's a retired architect, and when he heard I was assigned this project, he was excited to help me. After we came up with a cursory sketch with basic measurements, I translated it over to Fusion 360 and corrected any mistakes (mainly the fact that the wood we're using is 3/4 in. thick, not 1 in. like we assumed). Then, I ported the model into an "engineering drawing" in Fusion and printed it out. The next step was to trace the size of the pieces I needed to cut on a large slab of wood, which I did (and probably took way too much time on). Once I had finished tracing and labelling each piece, I took it to the table saw and roughly separated each piece, having left about an inch of space between each, from the big slab. Afterwards, I used the band saw to carefully cut along the traced lines until I had all six of my pieces. I noticed there were a couple pieces which stuck out a handful of millimeters too far on one side, due to my inexperience with the band saw, and I attempted to sand down the extruding sides. Unfortunately, I slightly overcompensated on one particular piece, resulting in a tiny gap between a short wall and a long wall. After that mishap, I began assembling my box. This involved lots of clamping, drilling pilot holes, and maybe one or two stripped screws, but I eventually got it together. Finally, I took a hand sander to the outside and handle, used a file to carve out a nook for the hand on the handle, and my box was complete. 

Result

When I was designing the tote with my grandpa, we spent some time thinking about what decisions we could make to make it useful, visually appealing, but also sturdy. This led to us deciding that since the tote was mainly going to be lifted vertically, all the screws should be inserted horizontally, to prevent weak points where the screw could somehow fall out of place when lifted. In order to achieve this, the four walls of the box had to surround the floor; otherwise, if a wall was on top of the floor, there would have to be a screw that is oriented vertically. One challenge I faced was that I realized I didn't specify which walls (the long or short ones) had to cut off in the corners, and I didn't realize that until after I'd sketched out the pieces on the slab (but mercifully before I cut them). The fix was easy; I just had to subtract 1.5 in. (the sum of the 3/4 in. thickness of the longer walls) from the width of my shorter walls, and suddenly everything would magically fit together. I spent a lot of time putting the loose pieces of my box together before I assembled it, making sure the measurements were right (leading to the sanding mishap), and deciding the most efficient order of assembling each piece to make the process not only reversible should there be a mistake, but faster. 

Reflection

This process was definitely an iterative one. Changes in the design occurred in each step, from a preliminary sketch in Houston, to a Fusion 360 model, to tracing the pieces on the slab, to final modifications while assembling. Corrections were abundant for sure. But the final piece not only miraculously resembles what I set out to construct, but is also sturdy and robust. The range of tools I used throughout the process (Fusion, ruler and pencil, table saw, band saw, bench sander, drill, hand sander) were each necessary and contributed to a core component of the final product. Despite my efforts to make this as error-free and smooth a process as possible through careful preliminary deliberation, I totally goofed up a few times on obvious things. That's probably part of the process though. Overall, I'm happy with what I ended up with, and I'm excited to move on to the next project.

Photos

Tracing the pieces on the slab

Getting them cut out

Final pieces ready to assemble

Finished tote