Mark 2 – Part 4 Turning

Today I finished turning the bin (started yesterday) so thats the basic shape finished now.
Quick video of me checking it was all level and smooth – is also quite trippy on the eyes.

I’m happy with the way it has turned out and I feel that the look of the contrasting woods works well and will give my final piece a strong visual identity.

The next step is to decide on exactly the size and shape of the slot then get it cut out of the bin. I also still need to decide on what information will be on the card below the slot – I’m now pretty much decided that it will be something that the user will be able to take out and keep once the bin has been used. So that makes it an even bigger decision as it will need to be something that the user would want to keep once the bin has gone.

Slight Rethink

After a chat with my tutors I’ve decided that rethinking the shape and design of the bin is the way to go. As I said in my last post, I wasn’t happy with it being such a literal translation of a post box – I was essentially going to make a mini wooden version of a post box.
So I’ve decided to make the overall shape of the object as simple as possible – I don’t want the design to become over complicated which I think it was becoming. The new shape will simply be a cylinder with the slot cut out.
One thing that really interested me that my tutors said was that the simple shape of a slot with a rectangle below displaying some sort of information instantly brings to mind a post box which kind of makes any other post box related elements of the design quite tacky and gimmicky.

Above are some sketches I’ve done playing with the idea of these two shapes instantly bringing to mind a post box. I was considering if changing the shape slightly from two standard rectangles but I think this would again just be over complicating things.

So the next big decision is what will be displayed in the rectangle below the slot? I’ve been considering a few things such as something which the user would be able to keep once they have filled the bin an disposed of it (what could this be?) or maybe simply a piece explaining the project and the concept behind it. I’ve not made any firm decisions yet but I will update when I have.

Mark 2 – Part 3

Today I’ve been clamping and cutting the base and top of the bin and joining it all together.

After this one of the technicians added that I should probably try and sand down some of the angles on the main body as they may catch whilst turning and gouge out chunks of wood.

So now that’s pretty much it ready to go onto the lathe and be turned.

However, I have been having some second thoughts on the overall design. I feel that having the domed top and wider base as well as the slot is taking inspiration too literally from a post box. It just feels a bit heavy handed and obvious so I’ve been doing some sketches and trying to rethink the design slightly.

I think keeping it as simple as possible is probably the way to go – the slot should be enough to evoke the idea of post box and communicate the same things. It may seem late in the day to be rethinking it but I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about my original plans and I’m glad I’ve decided this before I put it on the lathe!

Mark 2 – Part 2

After gluing each of the fifteen rings together I’ve started gluing the layers one on top of the other. This time, to try and minimise the small gaps between each layer I’ve sanded each of the rings individually and glued them in much smaller amounts (instead of gluing all 15 at once then clamping I’ve been doing it in groups of 3).

 

The next step was to join the two planks of Walnut together (the piece I bought isn’t wide enough to form the base and top without being cut and glued). After clamping and drawing on these two planks I was advised to use biscuit joints to make sure they were absolutely flush and wouldn’t come apart when I went to turn it on the lathe.

The biscuit joints are basically a small crescent shaped hole each of the bits of wood, a ‘biscuit’ (oval shaped piece of absorbent wood) is placed in one of the holes – when glued this biscuit expands and locks the two pieces together.

The next decision was about the best way to cut the slot where the food waste would enter. After advice from the workshop technicians I decided that it would be best to cut this after the bin has been turned so that the chisel doesn’t get stuck whilst turning.
I’ve also been thinking about wether or not to put a small surround on the slot to add to the overall aesthetic as well as preventing the food waste from spilling onto the outside.

Mark 2 – Part 1

So I’ve been to Brodies Timber in Dunkeld again and got the materials to start my mark 2 prototype. Same as last time, American Black Walnut and Scottish Sycamore, just in much bigger quantities as the mark 2 will be around 3 or 4 times the size of the mark 1.
The wood has been planed and cut, this time with much more accurate angles to make sure there are no gaps between each of the segments.
These are the plans along with a quick rendering I did of what I want the mark 2 prototype to look like.

             

Some of the cut segments along with a shot of four of the rings gluing in clamps.             

So that’s where the mark 2 is at the moment. This time there will be 15 layers each consisting of a ring of 8 segments of the alternating Walnut and Sycamore woods. There will also be a solid piece of Walnut at either end (roughly double the width of one of the layers – making the whole thing a lot taller and wider giving the object a much bigger physical presence.

Post box

I’ve decided that the final design for my food waste bin will take inspiration from post boxes. I feel that this is a good starting point as it’s something that pretty much everyone recognises. I feel it also quickly communicates the idea that you are allowed to put things in but not take them out – similar to my food waste bin.

The bin will still be made in the same style as my mark 1 prototype – using traditional woodworking techniques to give a sort of ‘beautifully crafted’ feel and look to the product. The bin will be sealed at both ends and have a slot near the top (similar to the post box slot) where plates can be scraped straight in. I like interaction that the user would have with this – semi inserting a plate and scraping their leftovers into the bin. I think this would again remind the user of the effort of producing the food since a meal would have just been cooked.

I’ve been doing some sketches and this is the sort of thing I’m thinking about. Trying to keep the form simple yet still communicate the post box idea as I feel adding too many details would detract from the crafted feel.

The lid

My main concern at the moment is deciding how people will use the bin. How will the user physically get their food waste into it? This interaction will be critical to the project so right now i’m focusing on that and what it could be. Not just from an engineering ‘how will this work’ point of view but from a designers’ point of view – how/what will it communicate to the user. The aim is to create something that will be able to instantly convey what the project is about to someone who has no background knowledge of it.
As per the advice given to me at my mark 1 presentation I’ve been taking my ideas to the extreme in search for inspiration. Looking into how you might seal something whilst simultaneously communicating this fact. A few thoughts I’ve been having on the very general ‘sealed things’ have been; welding, rivets, clasps, safes, combination locks, post boxes, plastic packaging and even ideas such as meshes or grills so that anything going into the bin would have to be cut into tiny pieces or liquidised. Whilst these are pretty ridiculous it’s a starting point from where more sane ideas could be worked out.
I quite like the comparison with a post box as it’s an object which almost everyone is familiar with and its also universally understood that you are able to put things in but nothing can be taken out.

Final Decisions

Since my last update I’ve made a firm decision that it is important to the project for the bin to be sealed and for people not to be able to empty/re-use it. I’ve also decided that it will definitely exist as some sort of a critical design piece – not necessarily an everyday practical object. 
I’would also like to somehow communicate this through the way it looks – so that a person looking at it for the first time would be able to understand immediately.

My mark 1 prototype presentation went reasonably well and I’ve decided to continue with the traditional woodworking techniques as I think these quickly and concisely communicate the amount of effort and craftsmanship involved in the process. The only negative feedback I received was due to the mark 1 not having a lid/top and this sending some mixed messages about the project. Also, being able to see inside  was again confusing as it still looks somewhat unfinished and rough. One suggestion on where to go next was to think about the lid – take it to extremes and come up with some completely unworkable designs then try to narrow that back down to something more pragmatic.

The size of the piece is the next big factor – right now I’m thinking roughly 3 times the size of my mark 1 prototype as I want it to be a tabletop/worktop sized object yet still stand out – so that it’s not easily hidden away.