The Tray

The Tray

The tray saw individuals find a partner within the course and look to work in tandem in coordinating two similar pieces. The aim of this assignment was to make the shape of the pieces to be as similar as possible.

The process began with measurement and setting out of the shape on the aluminium sheet. Generally with all assignments if this was done well then it would pay dividends during the later stages. Utilising the template cut from wood, a rough outline was created on the aluminium sheet. This should be completed with as much care and accuracy as possible as this will greatly affect the end result.

Once the outline was set, the shape was cut using the guillotine, snips and levered cutters. After this was completed the sheet was slowly moulded around the form. It helped having the form and sheet clamped in the vice and focusing on one corner and edge at a time. We slowly worked around the form until all edges were snug to the form. Only when the piece was taken off the form could we assess the success of the project. In all honesty my partner and I struggled to marry the two shapes together. See below for areas where we went wrong.

The first step which hindered our project was that the planning stage was done on different days. Unfortunately we did not have the availability to do the whole project at the same time so we made do with what was possible. The biggest error I ran into throughout the whole process was not rounding the edges of the cut out sheet prior to hitting it around the form. By hitting the square corners around the form instead of circular ones there was too much material to properly hug the form. If I had rounded the corners there would have been less material and would have rounded the curved corners more appropriately. The final issue we faced was the aluminium biting into the wood and not coming off. This required us to work the edges off the form with plyers and other tools. As shown in the following photos this affected the final shape of the trays.

In conclusion my partner and I were somewhat disappointed with how the project finished. This was a result of limited availability to get to the workshop due to opening hours and work commitments as well as poor planning and cutting in the initial stages. If I were to complete the tray again I would pay closer attention to the planning, outlining and cutting stage.