Subtraction Final Project
Inspiration
For my final project I made a series of lanterns inspired by this project from justthewoods.com [1]. I added to their original project by creating interchangeable inserts that allow you to change the cutouts on each side of the lantern. My process from prototype to final project is detailed below.
Materials
Plywood
Shaper Origin
Wood Glue
Magnets
Adobe Illustrator
Orbital Sander
Sandpaper
Process
While inspired by the Just the Woods tutorial I didn’t want to recreate their exact design so I started off by prototyping some cardboard lanterns in order to figure out what dimensions I wanted mine to be and placing them in the settings I imagined the lantern living. I tried a couple different sizes and a couple different ratios before settling on a 7” x 8” lantern with a 5.5” diameter opening. I sketched out this design so I wouldn’t forget this choice and could start figuring out depth cuts for joining the different sides and the center cutout.
I used illustrator to create the design files for this project. Initially I made three different designs that would utilize different joinery techniques: Basic Butt, Box Joint, and a Double Rabbet Joint.
I’m using a sheet of 36” x 24” ply that I bought earlier in the semester and the Shaper Origin to cutout these designs. I started off cutting out the double rabbet joint with the Shaper and actually found that I preferred this design. Rather than cutting out the other two patterns I moved into the process of improving the double rabbet joint design, deepening the cutout 30 thou and adjusting my workflow on the shaper.
I was really enjoying the shaper initially as it allowed me to make minor corrections to my design without needing to create a whole new file since I can adjust whether the cuts are inside, outside, or on line from the tool itself. However, I did start to run into issues with the shaper on my third attempt. I ended up with some really crooked edges on one corners. I thought the piece was just a bit jagged and attempted to sand down that side but actually this created a HUGE gap. While the shaper does a good job of making micro adjustments to stay on track it is not perfect and there a little nicks throughout all the pieces.
I needed a break from the shaper so I worked on prototyping the cut outs that would be swapped in and out of the lantern. I used illustrator to alter four Adinkra symbols so that they’d fit into hoops and laser cut them out of cardboard. I used a flashlight to see how the shadow casting would appear.
I ended up getting sick and was not able to come to the floor to complete this project in advance of class. I will finish it up and update this blog before the Winter Show.
Sources
[1] “How to Make an Awesome Scroll Saw DIY Lantern” https://www.justthewoods.com/scroll-saw-diy-lantern/
