Mend and Make Do/Make Something Medium Sized

A rocking horse that became a small table

The goal for this week: Make something big

The Plan: To make a giant rocking horse which 'clip clop's when you ride it, and 'whinney's when you stop.

Casting is classically used to create many identical pieces, but what if you could create a mold that produced hundreds of different designs, or variations from one mold? For example a person with a head in different positions, or a tree with branches in different orientations.

Drawings and Models

I made some sketches and models, mainly deliberating between how hard it would be to assemble, what kind of assembly would be best to create and how realistic a horse I wanted to make. I went for an angular design, as the character of the horse will come from the sound effects. I learned a lot about rocker designs: 1. the angle of tilt should be about 5 degrees. 2. Be wary of how far out the rocker reaches so as not to trip anyone up. 3. If the ends of the rocker are too short, then the chair/horse can tilt over.

Disaster Strikes

All my drawings were ready to go and my time booked with the CNC machine when Hurricane Sandy hit the US and MIT along with all the public services and businesses of Massachusetts closed down. I deliberated how to make something big without a workshop. As the storm raged outside my house I realized I'd need to find materials that I already had with me. (img: telegraph.co.uk)

Mend and Make Do

The press-fit kit that I made for our first assignment with the laser cutter came from a rectangular piece of card. I had designed the pieces to tesselate so there wouldn't be much waste, but what if I could go back and use all the material from my press-fit-kit to make something big?

Something (Almost) Big

There were enough press fit pieces in the kit to make three medium sized pillars, and when the 'waste' cardboard was placed on top it created a surprisingly elegant coffee table.
I then went through some of the scrap papers that had not yet been recycled and found some maps and patterns to decorate the gaps in the table.
Result: A smallish coffee table that can carry the weight of two remote controls, but probably not much more!

To be continued....

The original plan for a rocking horse will be completed this week, so please check back