D. Ugolini Project #1: Complete

I ran into three snags in construction.  First, I don't know how I got it in my head, but I designed everything for a material thickness of 1/8".  Yes, I could just change the parameter in Fusion, but for aesthetic consistency I had tied all the timbering widths to one or two times the thickness, and changing to 0.2 inch made it look too chunky.  So I used a piece of 1/8" hardboard instead, which turned out to be a blessing, because the color is perfect.

Next, I put tabs in the long walls to dovetail with the side walls, but forgot to put the tabs in the side walls!  I must have missed this in Fusion because it's hidden behind the timbering.  Rather than re-cut everything, I took the tabs off with a hacksaw.  Everything still holds together, but it's not as strong as it might have been.  Finally, super glue, my adhesive of choice for small models, doesn't work on hardboard, but wood glue did the job just fine.

The one really right thing I did was to spray paint the backing pieces white (a creamy off-white would have been even better, but I worked with what I had at home).  I protected the rastered door with masking tape.  It really makes the timbering pop.

Cost estimate for prototype:

• A 4'x8'x1/8" hardboard is $8.40 at Lowe's and makes four sheets, and the building fits on a single sheet, so ~$2 for the materials.
• 40 minutes to cut on the Zing = $20
• 6.5 hours of my time (5 hours for design, 40 minutes cutting, 50 minutes painting/gluing) = $65.
• Spray paint and wood glue are negligible (I used very little of each).

Total = $87

Cost estimate for mass production:

• $2 for wood
• $20 for Zing
• Round up to $7 for 40 minutes of my time (I can be painting/gluing others while the next one prints)

Total = $29