As with any crafts
project, I started off with a goal of making a specific item, and expanded it
after ideation. The opportunities that come with vacuum-forming and mold making
allow for mass production on a very convenient scale. Because of this, I wanted
to focus on a small piece of furniture, such as a lampshade, flowerpot, or
shelf.
The shelf was the all-around
most self-reliant out of these choices. The Design I chose was based off of
paper in a typewriter. Wrapping around spools and bars from point A to point B.
This design was not the most simplistic, as it required multiple people to pin
down. The five curves asked a lot for one form, however with enough hands it
worked out.
As far as production
goes- I started by making a quarter scale model, to allow any issues to be
resolved. After modeling, the full-scale mold was created using half inch MDF,
spaced out with ribs, and surfaced with two quarter-inch sheets of bending
birch. The mold would hold up under the
pressure of the vacuum, and allow me to pull as many shelves as I desire.
Now for the
appealing part. To make a shelf, I took four 1/8th” sheets of bending
birch cut to length, and rolled urethane glue on the inside joining faces. With
my mold in the bag, I set these four layers inside, and with assistance lined
them up with the mold. Turning on the vacuum, we had 2 minutes to assure the
form was tight, and the bag did the rest. The glue would dry, forcing the bent
layers to remain.
Of course, after
removing the fresh shelf from the mold, It had to be refined, gaps filled,
sides cut with a ban saw, sanded, (optionally veneered) and drilled for
hardware bracketing. The best part? Start to finish each shelf takes less than
4 hours of work! (Plus 3 hours of watching glue dry)
If you are
interested in more, or in ordering a shelf for yourself, either leave a comment
here, or contact me on my Facebook page! http://bit.ly/19P5sh2
Incredible!
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