Shumyla Lopez Project 1: Building with Hand Tools

 Shumyla Lopez Project 1: Building with Hand Tools


Process:

The introductory "tutorial" task in creating a birdhouse allowed me to develop a basic understanding of the hand tools around the makerpace (drill, saw, laser cutter, etc). At first there was a little bit oif a learning curve in using the hand tools, however I began to gain more confidence in using larger tools, such as the wood saw. 
                                     
                                     

After completeing the tutorial, I was tasked with the first project, creating a tool box. In starting this process, we created a sketch to build a tote box, laying out the dimensions and specifying cuts. Initially, I created a Fusion sketch that was much too small, therefore I decided to upscale the dimensions. In doing so, I managed to create an overly (even comically) large toolbox sketch.



 After finalizing the sketch, I transferred the dimensions and measurements to a slab of plywood (.75in thick).

                                     

After transferring the sketch I went on to make cuts on the plywood using the saw with Laurel's assistance.
                                     

After cutting the pieces, I went on to use the other saw to make intricate cuts of my toolbox, I frogot the name of the machine, however the cutting required the strange orange finger gun looking tools. After having the pieces cut and laid out, I frankestiened (just kidding) the wood pieces together to get a general idea ofd what the box would look like. In realizing the sixe of the tote, I decided to reduce the lengths of the walls to make the box slightly smaller. Elizabeth provided wonderful insight in possible ways to also approach this issue!


During the building process, I realized that I had forgotten to make cut outs in some of the tool box faces that would allow me to add a paintbrush holding design. I then unmade some of the walls, then reconstructed them once I made the 2 in cuts across three walls of the toolbox. 


After adding the walls, I also realzied that it would be difficult to screw the handles and minature walls (since I initially had four pieces of wood rather than two long walls). I problem solved this issue by cutting two long walls to better improve the structural integrity of the box, and I decided to "chicken roast" style a 12x1x1 in of plywood. In order to do so, I had to remove the separating walls once again (image below, colorized, 2026).



Ultimately, I ended ep with a tool box that had mostly flushed walls, a paintbrush holder, and many separating walls to contain various paints and crafting materials. I sanded the entire toolbox down to ensure that the handles and the edges were smooth. I did not want any splinters around the box!



The handle is super smooth too!

Result

I experienced many issues in creating the box, such as understanding the dimensions and visualizing what that will look like on a real life scale. Because of this I was struggling to create pieces that would match eachother in length and height. I decided the take the smallest piece of the walls that were mismeasured, and trimmed the larger piece to scale, which did end up altering most of the overall size of the tote. I also ran into issues in figuring out how to drill certain pieces accurately, such as the mounts for the handle and blindly drilling them in from the bottom of the tool box. Overall, it was a learning curve, but a productive one nonetheless. One of the unique alterations that I decided to do for my box was to create a larger center space of the tote as well as a painbrush holding section. As shown in the image above, I was able to laser cut somne plywood to be fitted to the mouth of the box (on the right). I then had drilled some holes of various sizes in order to add variety to the kinds of paintbrushes that could be stored.

Reflection

I overall had a very good time in creating the tool tote, however for next time I will ensure to resize the dimensions to be a smaller size for convenience. Another thing that I would change is potentially stain the wood of my tote to add greater detail. I like the color that it is now, however I believe it may do some good to use a light stain to add a nice rich finish. Similarly, I would have liked to reshape the handle so that it could be completely round, rather than an awkwardly square round handle. Who knows, it may be better for grip? Another thing is the different sizes of holes for the painbrush, drilling them to be consistently straight was very difficult especially across a whole section. I would try and add more accurately sketched/distanced grids for next time. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this project and am excited to use this for my art supplies!









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