Over the next three weeks we will be creating a sculpture-like object using our knowledge of a variety of materials and techniques in the workshop.

Darren discussed how the previous years had been given a set task and instructions and so all design outcomes were the same (in appearance, size etc). This year however, they had changed the brief into being able to create your own design which enables you to use your creative flare.

For the first day we focused on plastic. I learnt how plastic could be tampered with in numerous ways. I was put into a group of 4 and we began buy picking too small rectangles of plastic. We cut each rectangles on the band saw into different sections. We decided to give some corners a curved shape instead of being ninety degrees and so used the basic belt sander to do so. Because the saw had sharp teeth it made the edges of the plastic rough. To overcome this we buffered them up and then polished them (remembering to add wax) using the bench grinder. I made sure my hair was tied back as to not get it caught in the rotating machine and I wore goggles in case something flew out. Certain care has to be taken whilst using this machine as the wheel can pull in the material if the material isn’t held in the correct place, just below the spindle centre. This was followed by using the strip heater to heat and then bend them into certain shapes. At the end of this session we had many differently shaped pieces of plastic. I made sure to leave the heating up plastic alone as it could get too hot and form into the line bender itself. Our end products for today were a series of interestingly shaped pieces of plastic.

Our plastic pieces we cut out using the band saw

filing down the rough edges

Using the belt sander

Buffering

Heating the plastic on the strip heater

Bending the plastic into shape

Our finished products

The second session was focused on metal – aluminium. We were each given a small sheet of metal to work with. I began by cutting it into two parts using the large guillotine. I placed the metal in between the blades and aligned it with where I wanted it cut. I then pressed down on the pedal using my weight and force which brought the blades together. The edges became rough due to this and so I smoothed them down using a file. I wanted a pattern on the surface of one of my sheets and so used the sand blaster to do so. This involved placing masking tape on to the metal over the areas I wanted to stay smooth.I wore thick rubber gloves for this as the particles and seriously damage skin. I then moved on to using the sand blaster – numerous small and fast pieces of sand would shoot out of a tube onto my piece of metal creating a rough surface. Once I had done this I moved onto bending one of my metal sheets into various shapes. For this I used the metal bender. I clamped it down and then lifted up the turntable using a counter-weighted handle. Avoid getting your finger’s anywhere near the clamp when in use and be careful the handle does not drop by itself as it is incredibly heavy. I finished the session by curling the third of my metal sheets using the metal roller. I wanted a steep curve and so fed the metal through the rollers at a lose, small angle to begin with and as it curved more and more I tightened the rollers. To finish off I drilled a few holes into each sheet so they could be attached at a later date.

Marking where we want to cut using a scribe

Cutting the metal

End product of the sand blaster

Bending the metal

Bending the metal. The metal did not fit in the large device so I had to create a smaller clamp that had vertical slots.

Bent product

Curling the metal sheet

End product of being curled

Drilling holes into the plastic and wood

Our third day consisted of using wood and plastic. We were briefed on the different types of wood – hardwoods, softwoods and man-made. He also discussed the different types joints that we could use in the future. This included dovetail, finger, dowel joints or just by nailing (but this is quite weak). We were given two pieces of wooden planks that had a butt joint cut out of them, they were MDF and plywood. MDF is a man-made board which consists of sawdust glued tightly together and plywood is layers of wood placed at ninety degrees which means it is reasonably strong as the grains are different directions. We then moved onto the vacuum former after discussing the different types of plastics, such as acrylic and PVC. We were given two half spheres to mould around. We left the plastic slightly longer than normal to heat up in the vacuum former and it deformed slightly when we placed it over the mould – but this turned out cooler! It left raised lines and intricate designs. We cut out around the mould using the band saw. By the end of today’s session we had produced vacuum formed spheres.

Separating our vacuum formed pieces using the band saw

End product of the vacuum former

Using yesterdays pieces of wood, we drilled large shapes (circular) into them using a forstner bit. The forstner bit can create a hole all the way through the wood or only partly to create different levels. We had to make sure the middle spike was secure in the wood to stop the teeth moving around and leaving an uneven circle. We then brought all of our materials together to create a sculpture. There wasn’t enough space to place a bolt when we joined the wood and plastic at the bottom and so used a strong glue. We did however, use a bolt to join the wood and plastic at the top. Next week we will continue to piece them all together.

Beginning to put the pieces together

Today’s final workshop session involved continuing bringing all of our design parts together. We experimenting by hold the pieces in different areas around the wooden base and picked which placements looked best. We worked out from the wooden base, attaching metal and plastic together. The final outcome is shown below. This workshop series will come in handy over the next few years as I am now more aware of how to use materials and techniques and how the SHU workshop system operates.

Our final product