Lora Wargo Project 1: Building with Hand Tools

    To begin, I considered a need that I had that could be fulfilled with a box-like structure. My makeup bag is quite overfull, so I wanted to create a container that could hold the extent of the makeup that I own. I thought about what I needed: space for brushes, eyeshadow palettes, and larger sized bottles such as setting spray or foundation. Additionally, I thought about my tendency to scatter loose items (such as lipstick) haphazardly in my bag. For the brushes, I wanted somewhere where they could stand upright and not have the bristles ruffled, so I designed a side container in order to hold them upright. For the eyeshadow palettes, I wanted a thinner space where they could stack, so I made the bottom shelf. For the larger items, I created an open air in the center of the box to hold a variety of different sized items. For the loose items, I created a tray on top where items could roll around haphazardly without creating a mess. Initially, I also included a divider in the middle of the open air space and a back for the box, but I disregarded these ideas. I will address why these aspects were disregarded at a later point.

    Once the box was designed, I thought about the different pieces I would need and the shape they would need to be in. On a piece of paper, I drew out each piece of wood, its dimensions, and the number of copies I would need of that particular cut. Then, I etched these into my plank, beginning with the largest pieces. I waited on the smallest pieces, such as the edges for the tray, because I wanted to use the scraps that I had leftover after cutting out the larger pieces. Then, I cut out the pieces and mock assembled it at my work station to see how it would look once put together.

    Then, I was ready to begin assembling. I started with the side container for the brushes because the pieces were smaller. The thought behind this choice was that if I made an error here and needed to cut out the pieces again, I would not have used up my larger pieces of wood. I did in fact run into errors while assembling the container. I was putting the pilot hole in too close to the edge of the wood, so the screw emerged from the wood when I screwed it in. I had to re-cut one of the pieces of the container due to the holes from the screw emerging from the side of the wood.

          After re-cutting the piece, I used a ruler to measure the width of the wood in order to see how much surface area was available. Then, I measured where I put the pilot hole to ensure that the screw was sitting around the middle of the board’s edge. This method worked, so I continued to use it as I assembled the rest of the project. Once all the pieces of the side container were assembled, I sanded the container down in order to have smooth sides and edges. Additionally, I believe the rounded edges which I added increased the visual appeal of the container.

          Next, I added the shelf that would separate the space for eyeshadow palettes from the open air area for larger items. I did this because I noticed that most of the area where I would attach the shelf would be covered once I added the side container. I attached the shelf on the viewer’s right side, followed immediately by attaching the side container and the opposing side. At this stage, the box resembled an ‘H’ with the side container attached.

          When analyzing how I would design this, I noticed that the points where I would screw in the tray would be difficult to access if I attached the top first, so I made the tray next. I created a rectangle with thin pieces of wood. I sanded one side of the rectangle to be mostly flat while all the other sides were smoothly rounded out for visual and tactile appeal. Then, I screwed the flat side onto the top. To finish up the box, I screwed on the top and bottom pieces and sanded the entire container. When attaching the bottom, I realized that my cut was slightly too big for the gap of wood. In order to size it down, I sanded the bottom piece down until it fit well within the sides.

          The final piece was fairly reminiscent of my initial design, excluding the divider and back that I disregarded. The divider would not only be difficult to fit into the box, but it would also limit the size of the items that I could place within the open air space. After seeing the mock assembly of the box, I realized that the divider would contradict the purpose of an open air space, so I chose to not attempt this addition. For the back, I decided not to include this cut at the end of the project while I was adding the top and bottom pieces. While handling the box, I realized that it was quite hefty. I do not want to deal with a heavy box later on while moving, and I wanted to worry less about whether a table or desk would be able to hold the box. By choosing not to add the back piece, I reduced the weight of the box.

Throughout this process, I found that what works best is to think big and focus small. When thinking big, it is important to consider how the small pieces should end up becoming the big piece so that everything will fit together and the most straightforward path can be taken. When focusing small, I found that I should solve problems on the local level to be able to fit into the big picture and that the details are what create or dissipate the problems.