First experience of Matel workshop

Sketch

To experience metal and woodworkshop, I was going to make a small box with metal for the body and wood for the lid.

I had originally envisaged using pieces of iron rolled up to make the box body, and when I got to metalworkshop, I realised that it would be much more efficient to just use a piece of steel pipe of the right size to intercept a section.

The instructor at metalworkshop helped me digitally cut the bottom of the box as well as the handles. I attempted to weld the bottom of the box to the body of the box using the soldering technique. I originally envisioned using a mortise and tenon construction to hold the metal handle to the wooden lid, but in practice I found that a simple shaped handle nestled into the wood could also work.

So as I have learnt from fast making, it is often possible to identify problems and better ways of realising ideas during the actual making process, so getting stuck in as early as possible is a highly effective way of designing and making. It is also important to get to know and try out various materials to improve my familiarity with them.