For HW #3 I hand built the soda bottle carrier I had designed previously. The final product came out fairly well:
Starting with the original fusion designs, I first organized the cuts based on each piece's dimension. I made sure not to rush this process since I wanted to have a complete picture of the cuts I needed to make on the chop saw and band saw. I mainly organized pieces which had the same height on a single piece of wood; for instance, I put the sides (A) and the internal dividers (B) on the same piece. I then computed the total lengths each set of similar cuts. I used 6" slabs for the dividers and side pieces, since their height was below 6" and used 8" slabs for everything else. During the course of measuring these pieces for cuts I discovered the center piece (C) of the carrier, had height and length which both exceeded 8", so I had to decrease the height of the carrier to make the cut. I had no issue fitting the remaining pieces, D and E on their own slabs. While computing the total lengths of slabs I needed for each set of cuts, I made sure to add 1/8" for any cut made by the chop saw and 1/32" for any cut made by the band saw. Because a lot of the cuts had dimensions not easily converted to fractions, I had to convert those to the nearest 1/16", since this was the resolution of the ruler on the chop saw.
I first cut the slabs into their corresponding lengths using the chop saw. For the slab containing A and B pieces I made sure to cut the 6" slab to the correct width so that each of the pieces would have the same height. Once the pieces were cut to the correct widths, I used the chop saw to make the final cuts. In the end I had:
2-A (sides)
4-B (internal dividers)
1-C (middle divider w/ handle)
2-D (ends)
1-E (bottom)
I then proceeded to make the handle. I drilled the holes out and used a jigsaw to cut a rough notch for the handle. I then laser cut the outline of the handle in 0.2" plywood and after taping it down, used the router to remove the remaining wood. I had to increase the handle's length after I removed a little too much wood at one end of the handle, but the modification is hardly noticeable. I then used the jigsaw to cut out one of the end pieces after I had used a compass and straightedge to draw the outline of the cut I needed to make. I sanded down the edge and made a rough cut on the second end piece.
Once the handle and end pieces were cut, I used the router to remove the rest of the wood on this other end piece, using the first end piece as a guide. Before I assembled the carrier, I used the 1/8" rounding bit and the router to round out all the edges which would be on a corner in the finished product, along with the inside of the handle.
I then used a series of clamps to assemble the carrier to ensure the correct fit of all the parts. As it turns out, my planning payed off and I only had to sand the internal dividers and middle divider to make the carrier fit together without overhangs over loose parts.
With the carrier placed together with clamps, I then connected the end and sides together. I used a combination of 1.5" wood screws and wood glue to make a tight connection. With the clamps in place I made sure the sides were all aligned with no sort of overhand or edges where pieces connected to each other. Taking my time, I predilled wood screw holes and inserted the screws one at a time, checking to make sure the sides hadn't shifted between drills. After inserting the first screw I decided to use a larger drill bit at the surface so each screw would be flush with the surface. It made a huge difference in the quality of the work. Once the sides were done, the rest of the carrier fell into place, I attached the center piece and the bottom, before inserting the internal dividers. The dividers themselves are just held by glue, since they won't be exposed to a lot of force.
In the end, I was quite surprised by how close my constructed carrier came to my design. If I had to do this again I would want to give the edges a larger round, maybe a 1/4". I was limited by the bits we had for the router and I wasn't completely satisfied with how much rounding the 1/8" bit provided to the edges. If you want to make this particular design the drawings can be found here, while the fusion model can be found here.
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