Design was definitely the most difficult part of this project. As stated in step 1, I wanted to create a mobile work station that could be useful for a variety of different tasks and and useful to a variety of different artisans/makers, so there was a great deal of consideration put into things like the height of the work station and the ability to switch out the middle section of the table so that the work space can be customized to the needs of the maker and the job at hand. I also spent a good bit of time on considerations like how to incorporate lighting, which we all know is one of the most important parts of any good work space, (you can't make if you can't see what you're making right?) Lastly, once I had figured out how to incorporate all the necessary attributes, and how to make it customizable I had the task of making it collapse into a nice neat package so that it would be easy to transport whether you're moving it around the house, or loading it into a car to take to an arts festival or demonstration.



To work through the design issues listed above, as well as some others such as how the front and back would fold and join to create the floor so that your body weight will hold the table firmly in place, I created a series of drawings and doodles which I then turned into 3D models via Google Sketchup. Creating models of the maker station was very beneficial as it allowed me to see my finished product and to make adjustments before I ever started actually building the thing. By creating the models I was able trouble shoot errors before they were made so that I wouldn't waste time and materials needlessly. As an added bonus I built the models to scale meaning that I was able to pull all of my part measurements directly from them.



Check out the Google Sketch Up model here:

SketchUp: Maker Station



As an added bonus, once I had the finished models I was then able to arrange the parts in such a way that the entire maker station could be cut from a single sheet of 3/4" plywood and three 2 by 4's leaving very little scrap material, check out the parts diagrams in the next step.