Balsa Wood Bridge Competition

In Rich Dionne’s Structural Analysis for the Stage course, we were tasked with designing and building a balsa wood bridge that would fail at under the largest load, and then accurately predict that load and the type of failure. After selecting I-beams based on a weighted decision matrix, I created a spreadsheet to predict at what load a bridge made of two balsa wood I-beams would break, then calculated how much drama I could generate per dollar I was willing to spend on raw material. I settled on two 2-7/8” I-beams, predicting a bending failure underneath one of the center joists at 797lb. The bridge failed in bending at 801lb, making it both the strongest bridge by over 300lb and the most accurate failure prediction. That was sufficient to win the competition. The analysis paperwork is available here.

Custom Drafting Table Made from Cross Laminated Timber

I designed this drafting table both as an exercise in CAD/CAM for CNC Routers and as a demonstration of the utility of custom made cross laminated timber panels in furniture design and construction. This table is built out of poplar CLT panels and has a white oak drawing surface. Before cutting my handmade poplar panels, I made scale prototypes on a 3D printer and CNC router. This was made for a class on furniture design for CNC router fabrication at Purdue University.

Art Deco Inspired End Table

I designed this end table to give myself ample opportunity to experiment with creating joints for furniture made using a CNC router. The art deco “Purdue P” was something I drew up and engraved using a laser engraver. This was made for a class on furniture design for CNC router fabrication at Purdue University.

Picture Frames from S3S Lumber with Splined Corners

I wanted to pick up some familiarity with making jigs and creating moulding, so I designed and built these picture frames out of S3S knotty alder. I put walnut splines in the corners to improve their strength and add extra detail to the sides.