Post 9 – Top 5

The top 5 things that I want my project to look like are natural, professional, clean, seamless, as well as handcrafted. The natural look will come from the wood itself and the finish will look professionally done.  The finish will include the river in the middle which will be a metallic charcoal grey as well the top coat to protect the wood and give a glossy finish.  There will be minimal to no air bubbles in the epoxy in both realms.  This will be reduced by rubbing alcohol as these breaks up the surface tension of the bubbles.  The legs will be installed underneath and be flush with the wood anchoring at a depth deep enough to hold the legs in place but not poke through the top of the wood.  I hope that the handcrafted portion will be shown through the workmanship of the sanding and the finish of the epoxy.

I want to bring an essence of nature to the piece as the focal point will be the grains in the wood as well as the natural colors that come out during the sanding process.  With the black walnut, I’m seeing shades of purple bringing a hint of character to the not so common colors in wood such as more shades of brown.  I want this project to bring a warm and cozy vibrance as it will be the center piece of my living room.  As for functionality, I want it serve it’s purpose without spilling drinks and holding books and other objects that would sit on a coffee table.  I want the drawer to be removable without any points of friction through the process.

The main constraints that I will be facing are time, skills and ideas.  I have a friend that has a wood shop that she has kindly donated for my project so I will have all the necessary tools to finish my project as well as space.  There is also plenty of space for my work to be done.  Time will be an issue due to other classes that I have commitments for such as exams and senior design.  I tried to do a pour this past weekend and rushed the process a bit which led to leakage in the mold when I poured the epoxy.  I assumed I only needed it for one portion of the mold and didn’t consider how the fluid travels.  A common sense mistake that could have been avoided.  Because of this mishap, I believe that my skills will be the hardest obstacle to overcome but I know I will accomplish the project.

For the rest of this project, I will be prioritizing my time for prepping the mold and supplies I will use.  I need to prioritize how I utilize my supplies as epoxy is pretty costly and I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.

Works Cited:

https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image-film?phrase=beauty+in+nature