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Jour-nal Diane Guo

Nov 15, 2012

I finally started on my project. My first step was to measure and mark out the top and bottom circles for my lamp. I used a compass to do that.

This was the first time I’ve ever used the bend saw, it is an incredi-ble tool, because I finished cutting those two circles in 5 minutes!!

In the past, they would take me at least a week to use a coping saw to cut them out. One thing is that I should be more careful of the angle I am cutting from, because the

saw cannot bend itself, so I need to line up straight.

After using the bend saw I used the disc sander to smooth the edges and to make it round.

Next step is to measure and mark out the legs. I started in class to draw the outline of the legs onto a piece of pa-per, so when I cut out the shape from the paper I can

just use that shape to mark out on the wood.

Nov 19, 2012

This is how my two circles end up looking like, they are perfectly round and are the same size. I really enjoy using the bend saw because I only took around 15 minutes to make these two cir-cles. If I use other tools that has to be controlled manually, it will take me around 2 weeks.

I drew the shape of the legs on a paper first, and then I traced the shape onto the piece of plywood I got. And after I make one perfect leg, I can then use that piece to trace all the rest

Today I used the bend saw again to cut out the legs. It was a little difficult because the shape has a curve, and I am not that familiar with the ma-chine yet. Sometimes the blade will get really close to the pencil line, because of the curve. I had to really concentrate on cutting it because if I

don’t, the blade will cut into the line and I might also cut myself. 22

I used the drilling machine to sand the inside of the leg where disc sander couldn’t reach. It is a very cool tool and this was the first time I used it.

Next, I will be continue making the legs, I have already completed 3, I have 5 more to make :D

Nov 20, 2012

This is a picture of me using the bend saw cutting out the legs. It is quite dangerous when I get to the edge, because the pencil line is really close to the edge. I was afraid to cut my hand. When I sand the inside of the leg, I added another piece of wood un-der my piece, so the sander doesn’t create an edge.

I have already cut 5 pieces out, and I smoothed all the edges. I just got three more pieces of wood, and I have marked them all. I used the very first piece I cut to trace it over.

However, when I tried to cut it, the bend saw machine broke down, so I couldn’t cut it anymore. I tried to use another machine that also cuts quite efficiently, but it doesn’t cut as fast as the bend saw. I was planning to finish cutting 6 pieces to-day, but because of the technical problem, the plan has been changed. So the next pe-riod I will continue to cut out the legs.

Nov 27, 2012

Because the bend saw was broken, therefore I used a jig saw to cut out the legs. I didn’t want to use a hand saw because it has curves, and coping saw is too hard to use too. I needed to use both hands to control the jig saw, because when it was first turned on and start 33

cutting into the wood, it will start to shake, if I don’t control it well enough the saw might cut my hand.

I used the paper model I made to mark out on the real piece. This picture shows the size and position of the slots that I will cut. There are 8 slots on each pieces, so for the top and bottom pieces I need to cut 16 slots. I will use the bend saw to cut them.

For every piece of ‘leg’ I cut, I need to use the disc sander to around the outer edge, to make it perfectly round so that when I put cloth around it, the shape can maintain round.

I am a head of my plans, because in my gantt chart I would finish cutting the legs next week. Next step for me is to cut out all the slots on both top and bottom pieces and on all the legs.

Nov 29, 2012

The bend machine is still not been fixed yet, so I will skip to make the bulb holder. The bulb holder has a dimension of 90mm (height) x 110mm (diameter), but we don’t have pine that is that thick, so I cut 3 pieces of 30mm wood and I will use PVA glue to stick them together to make the thickness 90mm.

I spread the glue on to the entire piece of wood, because I want every gap to be filled with wood. I also need to put glue near the edge, because once the edge starts to split open, the rest will also start to split. It

doesn’t matter if the glue spill out from the crack, because I used a wet cloth to wipe it up. After gluing all three pieces of pine wood together, I used a G-clamp to clamp them together. After the glue is fried, the three pieces will 4455

be very strongly glued together. I put a small piece of wood under the clamp to avoid the clamp to leave marks on the wood.

I am not following my schedule, because I jumped ahead of the plan. Next I will mark out the circle, and hopefully the bend saw will be fixed by then.Dec 3, 2012

Today my plan was to finish making the bulb holder. Last time I glued three pieces together, today I used a compass to mark out the circle, and used a disc

sander to make it round.

This is the finished out look of the holder. It is very round and smooth, because I used the disc sander to sand it very carefully. I won’t paint it, I will leave it as its natural wood color. I think it looks nice this way, and it won’t be seen from

the outside. I used the coping saw to cut the slot on the leg. Mr. Cut-ting helped me to mark the out line for me to cut, because it has to be very accurate, and Mr. Cutting has better skills than I do. I then used a flat file to file the not smooth part. I was trying to make the slot as tight as possible to slot in, so at first it doesn’t fit together. I also cut a slot on the top circle, so that I can test if the two slots can join together, and whether the slots are cut on the right place. Next step is just to continue cutting out all the slots, that will take me probably 1 week to fin-ish. Dec 4, 2012

After using the coping saw to cut out the slot, I used files to file it. It is because I didn’t cut the insides completely flat, if I don’t make it flat the other piece of wood won’t be able to slide in. I finished cutting one slot on all eight pieces, I need to cut slots on the other end.

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At first it was quite hard for me to cut the rectangle piece out with a coping saw, because I didn’t know how to make the blade cut horizontally. I fist cut out a triangle from one side, and then the blade can go from that side and cut hori-zontally. Also, I needed to file the slots so that it joins to the legs. This is a picture that shows all the legs joined together with the top. I realized that I forgot to plan out time to cut a whole in the middle on the top. Because first without the whole I won’t be able to change the bulb; second, the light will be blocked by the wood. I think maybe if I add one more piece of wood on the very top (with

hole) it will be easier for me to put cloth over it, and it will look nicer. Next I will finish cutting out slots ont eh other side of the legs.

Dec 10, 2012

This is how my lamp looks like when every legs are assembled together. I am glad that each piece join together nicely, or else it will be hard for me to fix. I used a file to

send the edges that were not smooth, so that the slots slide in together. When putting them to-gether, I need more people to help me to hold on to the top and the legs, so while I join the other legs they don’t fall apart. Mr. Cutting helped me cut out a hole in the middle of the top piece, because I realized that if I don’t make a hole I won’t be able to take the bulb in and out, or change the bulb. He used a jig saw to cut out the shape, but before that he drilled a hole in the middle

first, so that the blade can go in and start cutting. Mr. Cutting cut it really nicely, his hands were steady so that the jig saw didn’t move and shake. 7788

It was a really perfect circle in the middle. Although it is quite a per-fect circle, but I still used sand paper to smooth the inside edge.

Dec 14, 2012

I couldn’t finish everything at school, so I brought the PVA glue back home using a wa-ter bottle. I used a chopstick to get the glue out from the bottle and stick spread onto the bottom piece, as well as the bulb holder. I put a chopstick through the hole to make sure the

two pieces won’t move around. The glue is very slippery, so there is a chance for the two pieces of wood to slide around, and the hole would be blocked by glue. I waited for around 4 hours be-fore I moved it again, to make sure it was glued tightly.

After the base was well glued, I used two wood screws and a screw driver to join the socket onto the holder. Before screwing, I had to first attach the wire to the socket, and lead it though the hole first.

Dec 15, 2012

After putting the socket onto the base, I can then put the bulb into the socket. I was glad that this socket work, because some market sells broken sockets.

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It took me about an hour to join all the legs all together onto the top and bottom. I had numbers labeled on the materials so I know their

matches. It was very important that I marked out the numbers, because not every leg fit into any slot. I first joined them all together without using any glue, to make it into a standing position. After that, I used chopstick to put just a little glue on the gap of each end, because the glue will slowly sink into the gap.

Finally after the glue is dried up, I put some cotton into the glue, and used them to fill up any large gap I had. Those gaps were formed because the slot didn’t fit perfectly.

Dec 16, 2012

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After the entire lamp is well dried, I started to cover the lamp with flax. I started from the bottom, because later I can flip back the lamp and do it up-

ward. I put some glue on each leg, to make sure the flax stays strong enough and won’t fall apart. I had to be very careful, because there can’t be gaps between each row. If there is gap, people can see the inside though the gap.

This is the hardest and

the most tiring step throughout the whole process, because it requires patience and carefulness, to make sure every row of flax are neatly lined up, and no gaps between. Also, applying glue to the flax is very impor-tant, glue helps it grab onto the plywood.

Dec 17, 2012

In this picture, it shows how the lamp looks like when its light up. I think it looks very good, but I don’t like the fact that I

can see the legs. When twining the flax, I had to be careful that it is parallel, if not then it will be hard to finish on top. I always put glue on the legs, to make sure all the flax stays onto them.

When it was nearly done, I had to be actual careful, and work slowly. Because the edges are getting smaller that it was starting to form a circle on top. The flax didn’t have any edge to hold on, so I

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had to use glue to glue it on to each leg, and wait until it was fully dried before starting the next leg.

It was a very long process, from cutting the materials, to twining the flax. The last step was the most tiring step, because I sat on the floor for around 3 hours, and my back and neck hurt so much after finishing it. During the process I thought I couldn’t finish it, but I took it back home, so I have more time and more comfort-able space to work on it. I think the final prod-uct is worth all the work I put into it.

Jan 7th, 2013

In this picture we can see the there is big gap under one of the legs, and also other smaller gaps under the other legs. That is the reason why my lamp wasn’t stable. I use a fiel and garnet pa-per to sand the longer legs, so that they can be at the same length.

This is the felt self adhesive I will use for my lamp, the thickness is perfect for the gap. But this is too big, so I need to mark out the shape I need and cut it out with a scissors. The shaped ones are all too thick for the gap, so I chose this one.

In this picture we can see that if I put it under the lamp, all the legs will have the same height, therefore my lamp will be stable.

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Fin-ished!