A Toy Car, Among Other Things
The post consists of multiple projects completed for my Wood I course taught by Will Wells at the Rhode Island School of Design. The projects completed for this course covered the basics of woodworking including using a variety of hand tools and wood shop machines, working on the lathe, hand planing, carving, wood shaving and bent laminations.
The design of the toy car was derived from numerous sketches of a pair of curves. I noticed that I favored pairs of curves that were somewhat parallel but one being more drastic then the other. Once I picked a pair of curve that I liked, I designed the toy car around it; where the wheels will be, how the top would look like...etc.
All the project being shown here were aimed to familiarize myself with basic wood working techniques. A lot of the projects utilized a combination of hand tools and wood shop machines. Each project leading up to the toy car project were aimed to develop one specific skill which is later used all together in the final Toy Car project. The toy car involved a combination of wood shaving, planing, bent lamination and using the lathe to make wheels.
Having no prior experience with wood working, these projects introduced me to the endless possibilities of working with wood. I am very proud of the results of my work in terms of craftsmanship and design. Whilst the projects other than the toy car didn't involve much design, the craftsmanship and execution were well received. Many people enjoyed the design of the toy car, noting the simplicity and beauty of the curves.
