Can I tell you a secret? I'm not *always* winging it. Really, I think with most of my projects, if you tried hard enough you could pull out these steps:
The Idea
I realize it sounds stupid to say that, it all starts with an idea, but these things don't just fold out. Somehow, someway, usually entirely at random, an idea pops into my head. Sometimes these are fairly concrete things. For example, I might get the idea that it would be funny to make a stained glass window that was a picture of an ass.
On occasions like this, it was a fairly abstract start. I had been talking to longtime mikey k associate andy veerman and he had thrown out the idea that I make some furniture for my apartment. I actually wrote that off at the time. I was still decompressing from the move and the idea of making something I had no use for seemed silly. Why would I make a table? Where's the value? First few weeks I was down here I was perfectly content to use upturned boxes. It seemed silly to make something that was just functional and anything bigger than a table that I might need seemed outside the scope of what I knew how to do.
That happens sometimes. Especially with something that abstract, it might be shelved forever. Or five minutes. Or like two weeks. After finally setting up (so to speak) my apartment I posted an album on the facebook and when my sister commented that I needed a couch or something, it all of a sudden clicked in my head and I decided in that instant I would make a couch.
Concept Design
Concept design is all about figuring out how to make the thing. I'll usually start by setting out the major requirements of the project as those will often dictate how the thing needs to be made. I had been of the mind that I personally had no use for a couch. I bought a somewhat nice office chair and it had worked just fine for all my seating needs. Of course, that only worked because I don't have any friends. Pre-couch, I had a grand total of two seats in the apartment, which really hurt my ability to throw lavish dinner parties. The point is, if I was going to make a couch, it really wouldn't be for me. That certainly changes things, because while I have a pretty high threshold for dealing with discomfort, I don't expect that of other people.
1) The couch had to be comfortable.
I don't have much of a system for picking what goes in my apartment, so while there wasn't any specific aesthetic it had to have, it couldn't be an eyesore.
2) The couch had to be better looking than a breadbox.
While there certainly were more design requirements than those two, they were the only ones likely to determine how it could be made. Comfort didn't concern me too much as I assumed that was mainly a function of the cushions. Looks on the other hand were tricky. I suspect I could make a comfortable couch by stapling enough pillows to a crate, but man would that look awful. The traditional couch model of fabric wrapped around a wooden frame would work, but that would be boring and I didn't really have the desire to teach myself how to upholster like that.
Exposed frame couch then. It didn't seem like it would be possible to make it out of wood as I lack the equipment to really do that right (and I didn't really want to buy it). The project floundered for awhile at this point. I don't actually remember how I got the idea that I could build a frame out of steel pipe, but one day it just clicked.
Feasibility Analysis
This is often done hand in hand with concept design. I touched on that a little bit with the exposed wood frame thought above. A fine idea, but wasn't really feasible. With regards to a steel pipe frame there were a couple things I had to prove out to be able to start on this:
First, given that it would be made out of hundreds of smaller fittings, I needed to be sure that they could be assembled in a way that would provide for consistency. To that end I went down to Lowe's, grabbed a selection of the ones I thought I'd use and assembled some test modules. Doing that showed me that I could make this in a way that would give me the look I wanted.
Next I had to be sure this could be done within a reasonable budget. Even if Lowe's stocked enough fittings at any given time to build this, the markup is so high that it would just be ridiculous. After spending enough time googling, I was able to find a place that I could buy the bulk quantities at a good enough price.
Initial Design
I say initial design because I don't think I've ever started a project with a perfect design. Things come up that just won't work how I planned. Sometimes there will be aspects of the design that I have trouble figuring out, but if I know I'll figure it out eventually and it's not immediately relevant, I'll just start.
Initial design here centered around just making the frame. Using the modules I'd made in the last section, I took measurements and figured out how many of each type of fitting I would need. I didn't really design it specifically to look a specific way, rather I came up with an idea that I was sure would be structurally sound. As is usually the case, design was done almost entirely in my head, with some very abstract concepts sketched out to help me visualize.
Initial Build
Once I have a solid idea of how it will be made and have parts in hand, I jump into it. Construction of the frame was pretty simple, sort of like a giant erector set.
Re-Design/Problem Solving
It's pretty inevitable that something comes up that I need to fix. With the couch, the first of things was the pieces of straight pipe. I had started this with the idea that I would make it using only standard size pipe, to make it build-able out of off the shelf parts. Unfortunately given some of the sizes I ended up using, I kept running into places where I needed custom cut pipe. This meant tweaking some of my original design ideas as well as figuring out how to get the pipe.
Fix Implementation
The process of fixing a problem and then going back to the build might happen twice during a project, or maybe twenty times. I will keep tweaking things until they're right, however long that takes. During construction of the frame I think I went through that cycle four times. Twice I needed to get a new tool and learn a new technique and then another two times required me ordering more fittings due to slight structure tweaks.
Secondary Design
This will only come up on a project like this. I started with an idea of how everything would be done, but since the frame would need to be built before I could be sure how some other parts of this would go, I didn't think about the other aspects too much. I viewed the project as having four distinct parts: Frame, support web, cushions and arm rests. With the frame done I was able to go through and get everything else figured out.
Secondary Build/Re-Design/Problem Solving/Fix Implementation
These parts are no different than the initial build and design. Despite having so much more time to think about how they would be done, there were still a number of things that didn't go how I thought.
Pictures
Of course, once finished, I gotta document it (mike added for scale)
Post Construction Analysis
As I always say, success is all in how you define your goals, so lets check it out:
1) is it comfortable?
It is! I kind of wish the back cushions were a little softer (I may re-do them) but other than that, I would be perfectly content to sit on that.
2) is it an eyesore?
As is often the case with things I make, I would say that the appearance of it does not have universal appeal. It is definitely very industrial looking, which while I think looks good, your mileage may very. Considering that I'm the one who looks at it the most, I suppose that was a success as well.
This had the added bonus of being giant, so it almost seems like I'm using my space well!
Bonus shots!
On occasions like this, it was a fairly abstract start. I had been talking to longtime mikey k associate andy veerman and he had thrown out the idea that I make some furniture for my apartment. I actually wrote that off at the time. I was still decompressing from the move and the idea of making something I had no use for seemed silly. Why would I make a table? Where's the value? First few weeks I was down here I was perfectly content to use upturned boxes. It seemed silly to make something that was just functional and anything bigger than a table that I might need seemed outside the scope of what I knew how to do.
That happens sometimes. Especially with something that abstract, it might be shelved forever. Or five minutes. Or like two weeks. After finally setting up (so to speak) my apartment I posted an album on the facebook and when my sister commented that I needed a couch or something, it all of a sudden clicked in my head and I decided in that instant I would make a couch.
Concept Design
Concept design is all about figuring out how to make the thing. I'll usually start by setting out the major requirements of the project as those will often dictate how the thing needs to be made. I had been of the mind that I personally had no use for a couch. I bought a somewhat nice office chair and it had worked just fine for all my seating needs. Of course, that only worked because I don't have any friends. Pre-couch, I had a grand total of two seats in the apartment, which really hurt my ability to throw lavish dinner parties. The point is, if I was going to make a couch, it really wouldn't be for me. That certainly changes things, because while I have a pretty high threshold for dealing with discomfort, I don't expect that of other people.
1) The couch had to be comfortable.
I don't have much of a system for picking what goes in my apartment, so while there wasn't any specific aesthetic it had to have, it couldn't be an eyesore.
2) The couch had to be better looking than a breadbox.
While there certainly were more design requirements than those two, they were the only ones likely to determine how it could be made. Comfort didn't concern me too much as I assumed that was mainly a function of the cushions. Looks on the other hand were tricky. I suspect I could make a comfortable couch by stapling enough pillows to a crate, but man would that look awful. The traditional couch model of fabric wrapped around a wooden frame would work, but that would be boring and I didn't really have the desire to teach myself how to upholster like that.
Exposed frame couch then. It didn't seem like it would be possible to make it out of wood as I lack the equipment to really do that right (and I didn't really want to buy it). The project floundered for awhile at this point. I don't actually remember how I got the idea that I could build a frame out of steel pipe, but one day it just clicked.
Feasibility Analysis
This is often done hand in hand with concept design. I touched on that a little bit with the exposed wood frame thought above. A fine idea, but wasn't really feasible. With regards to a steel pipe frame there were a couple things I had to prove out to be able to start on this:
First, given that it would be made out of hundreds of smaller fittings, I needed to be sure that they could be assembled in a way that would provide for consistency. To that end I went down to Lowe's, grabbed a selection of the ones I thought I'd use and assembled some test modules. Doing that showed me that I could make this in a way that would give me the look I wanted.
Next I had to be sure this could be done within a reasonable budget. Even if Lowe's stocked enough fittings at any given time to build this, the markup is so high that it would just be ridiculous. After spending enough time googling, I was able to find a place that I could buy the bulk quantities at a good enough price.
Initial Design
I say initial design because I don't think I've ever started a project with a perfect design. Things come up that just won't work how I planned. Sometimes there will be aspects of the design that I have trouble figuring out, but if I know I'll figure it out eventually and it's not immediately relevant, I'll just start.
Initial design here centered around just making the frame. Using the modules I'd made in the last section, I took measurements and figured out how many of each type of fitting I would need. I didn't really design it specifically to look a specific way, rather I came up with an idea that I was sure would be structurally sound. As is usually the case, design was done almost entirely in my head, with some very abstract concepts sketched out to help me visualize.
Initial Build
Once I have a solid idea of how it will be made and have parts in hand, I jump into it. Construction of the frame was pretty simple, sort of like a giant erector set.
Re-Design/Problem Solving
It's pretty inevitable that something comes up that I need to fix. With the couch, the first of things was the pieces of straight pipe. I had started this with the idea that I would make it using only standard size pipe, to make it build-able out of off the shelf parts. Unfortunately given some of the sizes I ended up using, I kept running into places where I needed custom cut pipe. This meant tweaking some of my original design ideas as well as figuring out how to get the pipe.
Fix Implementation
The process of fixing a problem and then going back to the build might happen twice during a project, or maybe twenty times. I will keep tweaking things until they're right, however long that takes. During construction of the frame I think I went through that cycle four times. Twice I needed to get a new tool and learn a new technique and then another two times required me ordering more fittings due to slight structure tweaks.
Secondary Design
This will only come up on a project like this. I started with an idea of how everything would be done, but since the frame would need to be built before I could be sure how some other parts of this would go, I didn't think about the other aspects too much. I viewed the project as having four distinct parts: Frame, support web, cushions and arm rests. With the frame done I was able to go through and get everything else figured out.
Secondary Build/Re-Design/Problem Solving/Fix Implementation
These parts are no different than the initial build and design. Despite having so much more time to think about how they would be done, there were still a number of things that didn't go how I thought.
Pictures
Of course, once finished, I gotta document it (mike added for scale)
Post Construction Analysis
As I always say, success is all in how you define your goals, so lets check it out:
1) is it comfortable?
It is! I kind of wish the back cushions were a little softer (I may re-do them) but other than that, I would be perfectly content to sit on that.
2) is it an eyesore?
As is often the case with things I make, I would say that the appearance of it does not have universal appeal. It is definitely very industrial looking, which while I think looks good, your mileage may very. Considering that I'm the one who looks at it the most, I suppose that was a success as well.
This had the added bonus of being giant, so it almost seems like I'm using my space well!
Bonus shots!
1 comment:
Stellar! Looks amazing. Nicely done.
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