Journal Week Two By Lachlan Hine #640 990
Summary of activity: In this weeks tutorial we attempted to construct tall structural frames out of balsa wood which we had obtained the previous week. The aim was to observe structural processes in place.
First we brainstormed what the best ideas for frames were. After debating the merits of a rectangular design we realised that this form of design would use too much of the limited supply of balsa wood which we had. We soon realised that the best option was to incorporate triangles into the design, as they not only used little amounts of balsa, but they were also a very strong and structurally sound shape (Figure A). The next decision we made was to build upwards in a prism like shape (Figure B), as it was a quick way to get height quickly in a reasonably strongly structured way. As a way to preserve the supply of wood we joined two pieces together so that the sides of the prisms was two lengths long (Figures C & D). In hindsight this was most likely the best option, however it worked and held the weight of the structure above it. B C
A
D
Overall the balsa wood was a surprisingly good material, as it was lightweight whilst also being able to support the weight of other pieces above it. However, if any pressure was placed upon the piece of wood it was very likely that it would snap, which is definitely a flaw in its capabiliBes. However, during this acBvity we did not have to place any weights onto our structure; as such the briDleness of the balsa was not an issue for us. As can be seen in Figure E (Things, 2011), Balsa Wood can be rather flexible, which we found out as a group throughout the course of the acBvity. In turn, this also helped us to assess Balsa E Wood as a very efficient material when building to scale models of designs.
Bibliography Things 2011, Bending Balsa Wood, photograph, viewed 19 August 2013, < http://www.dollshouseforum.com/building-dolls-houses/13722-bendingbalsa-wood.html>
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