Maker Faire Build Night 2015-03-05

This is part of the Noisebridge Booth for Maker Fair 2015 project

The project continues.

This night we looked at some more lighting options, poured more resin test peices, and started ripping the wood for the tabletop and sub structure.

Jay uses the old hold it down with a finger as one quickly puts the lid on it technique

Jay brought in some more LED strip for us to look at. He suggested using two strips to line the logo channel which would distribute the light better.

nice and even.

Jay's strategy looks very good, but making the channel deep enough for the light and using 2x the LED strip may be an issue. I would be good to achieve this even light quality though.

clamped and ready to go

We started making another test piece out of scrap plywood. I had purchased some plain white pigment to try out and this time we made the test pieces deeper.

Jay eases the router into the plywood

Jay also got to have a refresher on how to use the router. There is going to be alot of routing and power tool fun in general, so it is nice to spread the fun around.

That's all

We used the last of the resin to make the two white test pieces. Dominique showed up and helped mix and work out the pigment ratios. Despite this I fear that I underestimated the strength of the pigment and we may have used too much. We'll see if this is the case on the next build night. Either way, we'll learn something.

The first table cuts!

To wrap up the evening we started ripping down the large sheets of plywood that will become the tabletop and sub-structure. Four cuts in and I have already made my first mistake... oh well it was bound to happen eventually. Everything is going to turn out fine.

Goals and Tasks

Tabletop and Sublayer Cut

This is the start of the table. We are going to make the top logo surface that will later be routed to for the resin Noisebridge logo, and the structural sublayer that will host the LEDs and the electronics. This sublayer will be the basis for the rest of the table as well. The entire table will be built with this sublayer as the 'top'. Once everything on the table is complete and working, the top logo surface will be installed.

expected process

 cut two 2' 6" x 5' 0" panels out of finish plywood
 cut two 2' 4.5" x 4' 10.5" panels out of finish plywood (3/4" smaller on all sides than the finish layer.
 The order of the cutting is important as we need to be left with long pieces of finish plywood.
 use a plate joiner to create the 5' x 5' panels.
 clamp so that the panels are flush and store on a flat surface for the next build night.

materials/notable tools needed

 3/4 finish and C grade plywood
 wood glue
 skill saw and cutting guide
 plate joiner
 Number 20 plate joiner biscuits

Table plans are here: https://noisebridge.net/images/a/a7/Noisebridge_MakerFaire_Table.pdf

Resin test part 2

Create two new resin test pieces to check out more lighting options. With enough people, this can happen while the table top is going on. Please wear long sleeves, and cover other skin while working with resins.

expected process

 route two 2" x 6" holes in 3/4" plywood
 place mylar under test piece and screw to backer board
 Make a batch of resin with a measured amount of white pigment
 Fill one test piece with ~1/2 the resin and add 50% more pigment then fill the other.
 set test aside for curing.

Materials/notable tools needed

 measuring spoons and cups - need
 gloves, mixing cups, and stir sticks - at NB
 acetone or paint thinner for emergency clean up - may need
 3/4" plywood - at NB
 resin and pigment - at NB