1) Cost
I’d like to get nice hard wood like oak or cherry to cut my lamp heads out of, but getting high quality chunks of wood in the size I need presents a challenge. I will need to shop discounts and comparisons to get the size of wood I need within my budget. I would also ideally have color changing lights in the lamps, which can be rather expensive. The clock should be relatively inexpensive as I will be using thin sheets of wood.
2) Tools
The majority of the work to be on for my lamps requires a lathe. I would like to achieve a nice rounded shape that can only be created with a lathe. However, I have no experience with a lathe and lathe usage may be somewhat tight scheduled-wise at the ITLL. Ideally soon I will be trained with the lathe, but it can take a long time to become proficient with that kind of tool.
3) Aesthetic
I specifically chose the modernist aesthetic because of it’s limitations. The limitation to simple geometric shapes and dark tones help create the clean, timeless designs that I will be hoping to emulate in my project. I will only be using two stains of wood throughout my project, and hope to keep my forms simple. I view these constraints as a positive.
4) Time
It’s entirely possible that a three part final project is over ambitious. The clock shouldn’t take a ridiculous amount of time, as I am only looking to use the laser cutter for it, but my two lighting fixtures will each take a good chunk of time. If I want to finish this project in it’s entirety before the end of the semester I’ll need to get into the woodshop and start prototyping as soon as possible.
5) Available Materials
I’m worried that some of the materials I’ll be able to find will be subpar. For example, I am worried about finding a power cord for my lamp that matches my aesthetic, as that isn’t something I can make. I’m also worried about finding high quality wood that is thin enough to be lasercut
2 Comments. Leave new
This will be a difficult project but I believe it will be doable in the time frame. Like you mentioned in the constraints above, I think time will be your worst enemy but anything can be done if there is enough motivation behind it.
I think you are ambitious for this project, however I think if you can try to use the max amount of your time to complete the three parts on time. I think using the lathe may have some challenges with learning it, and becoming good at it in such a quick amount of time. I think using the ITLL and Idea Forge there will be enough time to use the machine, possibly using work trade may work to your advantage to get someone experienced with the lathe to help. Good luck!