Randy Wallace_Making a Tool Tote: Assignment 1

Our first assignment required us to render an orthographic and isometric rendering of a tote box. Upon completion of the dimensioned plans, students were provided with material and tooling options to fabricate the boxes by hand.

To design the tote, I followed the procedures to execute a sketch in the Fusion 360 program. I’d managed to run into some difficulty pulling measurements off of the front face while working on a side view. Starting a new sketch from scratch boosted my confidence. Zooming in on active areas during the process minimized the troubles with the dimension call out applications. Following completion of the sketch, the processes of extruding, combining, and exporting a drawing were followed incrementally.

When working with the actual material, I found that some adjustments to proportion of some components and scale needed to be made. The end compartments were too narrow to offer much utility. The handle needed to be higher and the slot opening needed to be larger to be more accessible. As such, I made some alterations to the composition. Normally, I’d simply make a cut sheet for the components and proceed to cut the panels. In this instance, drawing the panels on the board helped provide a visual reference to measure against my hand. 

The drawings on the board actually came in handy during the sizing and shaping of each component. Considering many of the cut applications employed sighting cut lines as opposed to using guides / fences in accordance with a rule. Despite having experience with the tools employed, it takes some getting used to the varying models and set ups of an unfamiliar shop. Therefore, I approached the cutting applications attentively to allow myself to acclimate to shop procedures and layouts.

The assembly of the tote was straight forward. Everything went together as expected – except on screw that didn’t counter sink properly. I came back another day and exchanged the screw for a longer one; it had more threads which could grab at fresh depths to pull the screw into the surface of the wood. 

I was a bit more aggressive with the finishing applications than I’d usually prefer. The belt/disc sander removed too much of the surface veneer and/or scorched areas. 

I decided to add some decorative elements by introducing some cut-outs in the two long (front face in sketch) boards. In a recent trip to New Orleans, I’d noted some diamond cut-outs in wooden shutters. There were three variations of the diamonds that I saw: 1. Pilot holes visible and extended out from the diamond opening 2. Pilot holes at the points of the diamond opening 3. Pilot holes cut away. I liked the first of the three. 

However, I rushed through the process of drilling the pilot holes. The plywood blew out in the back; I wish that I’d taken the time to clamp a temporary backing board to minimize the blowout. Additionally, I ran into a screw in one of the lower points causing some additional run out. All of this could have been avoided if I’d been more patient in my approach.

The final product is a sturdy utility tote that might be useful in storing rugged and/or gnarly supplies. The thickness of the material makes for a heavy box. The plywood does not have a finish on it; therefore, I might prefer it if it were painted. This isn't a show piece by any means -- more like something that would be found in the back of a cabinet, under the sink. Am, sincerely, disappointed that I rushed through some applications especially since the flaws can not be minimized through the magic of lighting or other means of redirection.

The true outcome of the task was to become familiar and perform basic functions within the design software. Ultimately, I enjoyed the process. With assistance from my peer group of students and faculty, I managed to execute the chore successfully. More importantly, I feel I have a working understanding of the operations.