This month, as it is every summer, things were a little slower than usual at WoodMarvels.com. It’s a good time to reflect, get some work out of the door and begin plans for the September to December holiday rush. Our video views kept growing as aggressively as before and as expected, got us some additional attention.
Over the month of June, 2009 we:
got some press from a big blog out of Japan and another portal site called Ohdeedoh out of the United States regarding our always popular family dinosaur collection.
We released some safari animals, available in both blueprint and laser cut form, our Elephant and Rhinoceros.
Released new PDF plans and laser cut kits for our Pen and Pencil holder -C- and -D-.
Showed a preview and ideas behind my latest model, Mobile Crane B.
I am expecting to have the mobile crane all finished and ready in both laser cut kits and PDF blueprints sometime next week depending on rendering times at WoodMarvels.com. I really enjoyed doing a major update to that model and look forward to designing a few things from my science fiction book which I am more than half way done writing.
Random 3D assembly animation: 2847AD Zulu Main Battle Tank
It just goes to show how fast or slow a project can go from idea to completion. Yesterday, I wrote about the crane update I was working on and while working on a few new panel ideas, I thought to myself… that would make a great pen and pencil holder design!
About an hour later, the design was done and rendering occurred overnight, laser cutting files uploaded and it’s now launched for sale on WoodMarvels.com!
This pen and pencil design is very simple, features clean lines and doubles as a great paper weight. It’s about 9cm square and has a hole in it that’s about 4cm in diameter.
To go along with the theme of customization, you can decide to make this project without the panels (they are included in the kit) or substitute another item inside of your choice.
You can purchase the physical laser cut kit which will be delivered right to your door or the blueprints right now at WoodMarvels.com. You can find them under Category / Office / Organizers.
As much as I hate going back on past work, I feel that I have enough major changes to do a complete refresh of my original Mobile Crane model (animation below). The design isn’t anywhere near complete but I thought I would share some of the mental processes that go along with making things here at WoodMarvels.com.
This is a work undergoing heavy progress...
I have many ideas what I would like to implement in this refresh, one of the things that always bugged me about the original crane was that the arm couldn’t extend further, I found a solution to this and I think it’s rather innovative. Why extend when you can unfold!
The wheels are far more tough looking that the original, I am still playing with their placement and with their symmetry relative to the rest of the model, as you can see, a few things don’t match-up between the floor of the model, the sides and the axle holders.
I find the top part of the crane rather boring, will be working on something better that uses a paneling system instead. The front of the model needs a small hole somewhere so string can be attached to it, I already have a slight bumper there, so adding a few more details there should do the trick wonderfully.
The bed, which doubles as a storage area also needs to be made better, originally, I used thick wood but after converting the design to be laser cut (without the square dowel conversion), this whole area needs to be rethought to be more functional and cool looking.
I am also playing around with the idea of having support struts come out on both sides to help further stabilize the model when a child is trying to pick things up, I doubled-up the wheels in the back for this purpose as well as adding some extra weight. The top of the model with the folding arm won’t be light and I don’t want things to tip over.
Already, this refresh is slightly longer and wider than the original, overall, it’s coming together nicely and it will probably be a few more days until I have something closer to what I have in mind followed by at least a week of rendering the final assembly animation, making the laser cutting, assembly instructions and finally, releasing it out into the wild for children all around the world to enjoy.
Sometimes, I am able to design things within a few hours but other times, I know enough to stop and go do other things. These models, with all their interlocking parts which can all go to crap very fast, becoming very mentally taxing and taking a breather is a must in order to make something unique while giving your mind enough time to think of some nice little additions or design changes.
The major advantage of laser cut models is their precision, which is also their biggest drawback, ESPECIALLY when you are dealing with interlocking and moving parts!
Original Crane Assembly Animation:
The Bottom Line
Rushing a design isn’t a good idea when a lot of complexity is involved.
I really enjoy pushing what I think is possible for wooden toys, having the freedom to create something that is truely unique and in that “I wish I had that when I was young” category takes quite a bit of work and research. Research whose beginings I thought I would share with WoodMarvels.com visitors.
I am truely fascinated by military equipment, sure, over a trillion dollars is spent annually for making machines that are a few steps ahead than a bullet but at the end of the day, this amont of investment leads to some fascinating discoveries and technologies. For instance, the Zulu Main Battle Tank, a design based on an upcoming book I am writing, got lots of inspiration from this youtube video about how the Russians designed every kind of tank conceivable, from jet powered to some that actually dig underground to get to their destination!
While the idea for a retractable gun came from watching videos like the Sweedish Archer Artillery System.
I really enjoy watching machinery of all kinds, seeing how it works and the ideas or people behind them. For instance, this very fascinating snow vehicle concept from the early 20th century that seems way ahead of its time and makes me wonder why the heck it never made it into serious production!
Essentially, machines of all kinds can provide a small glimpse that help me in developing unique designs not available elsewhere. I enjoy the research as much as designing the projects and the more complex the machine, the more enjoyable the challenge.
I also enjoy diversifying and challenging myself in areas that I have never built things in before, such as board games, paper weights and even rather simple looking business card holders.
The Bottom Line
If I can think of something neat, I build it and share it with the world.
Pens and pencils keep getting lost and misplaced because they are so small and roll all too well off a desk. This is where the true mighty powerof a well designed pen and pencil holder really shines, hence why I have designed another one that is now available at WoodMarvels.com. I also realize that people like to personalize the look of their products so this one features two interesting designs depending on whether you decide to add the optional caps on it or not.
You can purchase the physical laser cut kit which will be delivered right to your door or the blueprints right now at WoodMarvels.com. You can find them under Category / Office / Organizers.
All about instilling a sense of pride in not only yourself but in those around you while creating a carbon neutral impact on the environment! Each of our projects include a free 3D animation to see what you are about to purchase.
