Initial Prototype Findings
The completed prototype revealed both successes and areas for improvement:
Table top showed slight tilt due to uneven rods
Movement was satisfactory but produced squeaking sounds from metal-wood friction
Moderate resistance in movement - neither too tight nor too smooth
Overall successful prototype that clearly showed necessary improvements
To overcome these issues, I was suggested to use bearings instead of folding the rod. For the final piece, the rod would be divided into 3 parts: the upper part attached to the top of lower table, the middle part that would be attached to the upper part and lower part, and the lower part.
Construction Process
Making of Upper and Lower Parts
I cut two rods of equal length and 4 rods of equal length which were shorter than the two bigger rods. I threaded each end of all the rods so that I could fix them with nylon nuts. I first decided to make all the individual parts and then assemble them together. I figured out all the measurements by referencing my scale prototype.
Threading the rods went quite smoothly. I held the rods straight in vice, applied metal working paste on top and used the threading kit tools to slowly thread each end of all the rods. I discovered that the paste was quite important as it was making the threading process smoother.
Making of Middle Part
I made the middle part with wood. It was quite a challenge to get the precise drills. All 4 wooden pieces were of the same size. I marked where I wanted to drill on all 4 wooden pieces. Then I clamped the base holder in a way where the drill bit would drill at the centre of the wooden piece. I used the same guide to drill case for the bearing to sit in at the centre of each wooden piece. Then I went ahead and drilled a hole in middle that went through out so that the rod could easily go in.
Initially because the hole was only 0.5mm bigger than rod it wasn't centered on all the wooden pieces. I asked the technicians because even a millimetre difference was making it difficult to assemble everything. I then used a bigger drill bit for hole so that there's enough space even if it is a little off centre.
Then it was time to test it by placing the bearings and rods in place. It was quite satisfying as bearings were sitting in quite perfectly. Although it was off for two pieces. I tried remaking it and this time it was perfect. Later I remade one piece again when I was assembling the whole structure together because the rod was somehow not as straight as the other rods.
After a point I got a bit frustrated and blamed the wood - it just wasn't cooperating with me and being as precise as I wanted it to be. Later when I assembled the whole structure, I had to remove two bearings as they weren't fitting perfectly with the whole structure. I substituted those with metal pipe and added a nut to keep it in place.
Making of Metal Body
I used a premade metal base which was quite strong. I welded the top. Welding wasn't that bad - I tried it on a rough piece first and then welded on the main structure. It was just difficult to see from that protective mask. What I found helpful was that I would touch the device to my structure first to make sure it's at the right position and then slightly pull it back to start welding.
At the beginning I also moved a lot because I thought that would make it stronger but I just needed to do spotting instead of moving. The gloves were also very big for my hand so cutting the excess wire in between was a little difficult. Initially I also welded at the wrong place and it didn't quite stick so I had to sand it off before continuing. Sanding was easy but again the protective mask was quite big for my head and it kept falling even after resizing.
After a few times I got hang of welding and welded the two metal rods on the metal base.
First Assembly
I assembled the four wooden bearings pieces to my metal structure. That's when I realised one of the rod wasn't sitting as straight as others. Now I wasn't sure how that would affect the position of table top and I didn't want to take any risks so I decided to clamp together the wooden structure and kept it on the metal structure.
I marked where each rod needs to go in order for the table top to sit straight. I first put the pencil through the hole instead of rod and marked the path it will go through. Pencil markings were a little confusing so I then applied some glue at the end of the pencil and just pressed it against the wood so that I know exactly where to drill. That worked quite well as I drilled where the glue marks were and the top sat straight after assembling the whole structure together.
Using nuts was quite easy to fix everything together. For spacers I used wood. I drilled a hole in wooden rod and placed it as spacers so that the structure stays in place. I cut off the excess metal rod with angle grinder and hand saw. With the hand saw I learned that you need to move less at the beginning and once you see a clear dent made you can move more to cut. Angle grinder was really easy and quick.
Table Top Construction
After asking the workshop technicians and looking at a few wood pieces myself I had 3 options to select from:
MDF coloured with wood grain pattern veneer
MDF with plain yellow veneer
Light solid wood
I felt like solid wood was a better option since I didn't have to worry about the edges and marquetry would also be easier. For the legs I went back and forth with what would be the best method to attach them to the table top. I finally went ahead with dominos. Using that was easy since I had a lot of practice with it in unit 2.
Final Results
Everything came together beautifully and what didn't sit well I just substituted it with something else to fit. It was quite satisfying to move the table. The movement felt butter smooth. I wanted to test how much weight it could take so I asked a friend of mine to sit on it. I was really afraid and praying for it to not break or get damaged. To my surprise nothing happened. The structure is quite strong. She did the quality control for me.
For marquetry I decided to go ahead with ahimsa symbol. It was much more universal. I had an option of going with the cow and lion symbol but that looked quite complicated and could be interpreted in many ways.
Beneficial Decisions
Making the table bigger so that people don't sit on it
Using metal base for strength
Using bearings for smoothness in movement
The table looks really beautiful.
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