Lab+3

=Home= =MORNING LAB= I constructed the rectangular base for the bike frame today and lashed it together using the techniques we explored at the beginning of the quarter.

=AFTERNOON LAB=

We came to lab and found Ethan's frame waiting for us. We were initially thrilled by how much he had accomplished and we were excited to start working the with the base. However, we spent a large part of the lab collaborating with the Bike Pump group to get a better idea of the direction that their project was going so that we could get better measurements and fittings for the stand. This was kind of a difficult lab because we found out that the Bike Pump group was also feeling a little lost in terms of their next steps. They had come across some issues with the placement and weight of the pump itself, which meant we had to make adjustments to the stand. We talked for quite a while and both groups came up with some ideas we wanted to try. The Bike Pump group decided to try and attach their pump towards the front of the bike, and we realized we needed to make the base frame of the stand narrower in order to reach the chain stays next to the back wheel.

First, we began with trying to determine the best way to orient the rectangular frame. We realized that a wider base would be better for supporting the weight and impact of a rider on the bike so we decided to place the frame horizontally (left image).

However, Ethan had not accounted for this when he constructed the frame and it was a little too wide. So we basically spent the rest of lab untying the lashes Ethan had made and shortening the frame.



Thoughts from Meghan:


 * I felt very discouraged, and I think we all were bored and done for the day. However, Mariah cheered us back up and we finished class with a better attitude (or at least I did).
 * When sliding the long pieces through the short pieces, we caused some splitting in the short pieces. We know now that we should have sanded down the notches to avoid the splitting.