INDN 341: Progress Update 1

Now we're well into the making phase. The design phase for our group though has a definite overlap, considering what our design is like. It's very much "just eyeball it", "add that shit on", "why the hell not" and "this will totally work". But I think that's what we love about the design that we're working on. The process is so fluid and so problem response, but that's what makes the whole thing so dynamic and fun to work on.

I managed to get two old bike wheels from a anarchist bike workshop as well as the corresponding forks to go with them. Well, when I say "corresponding", what I really mean is they just fit. *just* But they'll be just the ticket for sure. One of the problems we're looking at at present is the problem of suspending the wheels without actually having the confessions pass between the forks.

An idea that I had to resolve this was to attach the wheels to the forks with the forks on a central shaft that would run from end to end of the installation. By doing that, we would be able to circumvent the problem with the confessions passing between the forks and the wheels entirely.

To do that, we found a heavy steel rod that we could fit both of the forks into. We also were taught how to weld. This has so far proved to be an immense asset, and has led to some sweet decisions, especially since we then know that it will be strong enough to work. Welding is incredibly strong. We were able to attach the forks without much fuss.

We had to make a central point for the two halves of the shaft to be joined, so that the forks would be evenly balanced across the center.

Aaaaand then there's the hard worker of the group, Mishayla. Somehow she managed to squeeze in a selfie or two. Lots of metal work and testing how it would all fit together.

This is a small test piece we made to see how the cross-section of our design would work. The little legs had small drilled holes in the sides at roughly 60 degrees. The legs (steel bars) were then slotted into the holes and then welded around the edges. Keeping them straight was quite tricky, but in the end we managed to get it to the point we were satisfied.