The music box is coming along, in fact it’s fairly close except for final assembly. I realized I’ll need to mount each key to the octagon and then mount that entire structure to the base board. I could have chosen some alternate mounting method, though I wanted to keep the mounting hardware hidden, so that’s…

Final Music Box After everything, the macro music box turned out pretty well. While the tune doesn’t play as well as its micro counterpart, but aesthetically it turned out almost exactly as I was hoping. I think the theme was captured very well actually, everything is in either dark woods or gold coloring, matching the…

It’s been a good and bad few weeks for this project; I’ll start with what went well. I was successful in making 20 keys to be used in the final deliverable, which turned out be be a very time consuming process. I wanted to avoid using a router to give them a handmade appearance, which…

I now have everything I need for successful completion of this project. I’ve been buying (and returning) lots of random components but now have all the parts I need. I’d found a large variety of different colored bike chain and bought many different ones to see which one fits my aesthetic best, and I’ve decided…

My project is on the surface fairly straightforward (in my mind at least), although there are definitely some hurdles that I will need to overcome in order to get this finished on time. Quantity of Keys: I have a lot of single string assemblies to make and tune, around 30-40 of them (depending on which…

My final project is based on the concept of a children’s music box, the wind up kind that have been played for centuries (see below). I have a fascination with old school mechanical movement, anything from clocks to watches even to old pinball machines that don’t use electronics at all, but instead rely on complex…

My idea for my final project is to make a very large scale music box; these little trinkets were always beautiful to me as a kid. http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/x/small-music-box-5643196.jpg http://cf.ltkcdn.net/antiques/images/std/128210-400×265-jsw_inside_of_a_music_box.jpg   My idea is to make a wall art version of these, mounting it on a canvas or something similar. One of the neat things about these…

A large part of me going to grad school was me attempting to duck the permanence of employment. One year later, though, and I’m right back where I was, with nowhere to hide and the working world on the horizon. I’m much more excited about it now than I was last year, though. I have…

I have a similar ME background as many of our class (and both of my teammates), so I won’t dwell on those. I’ve done more than my fair share of manufacturing drawings and CAD, so I can expedite that process if you need. I also have access to two (half broken) makerbots to print on…

Did any of you ever watch Jimmy Neutron as a kid? Do you remember his dog, Goddard? http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/movie/jimmy_neutron/13.jpg   I’m making something a little similar. He can’t fly ,or talk, or think, or light up or even move, but it still has the feel of somewhat of an industrial themed animal. Basically, the inspiration came…

The log cabin aesthetic brings a certain type of homey-ness to a structure. Its a fairly engrained imagine in our heads at this point: the minimalist but cozy interior, dim lighting, warm atmosphere. http://www.everything-log-homes.com/images/log-home-interiors.jpg It’d be hard to date the origin of this aesthetic, but it is an old one. Back in the day (way back),…