Train of Memory by R. Wade
My Maker
This book nook is a tribute to my Bedstefar (grandfather in Danish), Olaf Poulsen. He was a builder who used his skills for his family, his community, and his own enjoyment. Whether building bookshelves, a church for Danes abroad, or a community, he was always one for making every day count. Having lived through harsh times, he saw building and making as a necessary part of life. Although he undoubtedly was, I doubt that my Bedstefar would have considered himself to be a maker, certainly not part of a movement. I think that he would have been confused by the perceived hi-tech nature of making and disapproved of the exclusion that many people find in the modern concept of making. This project is intended to reflect him and the impact that he left on his family and his granddaughter.
The Book Nook
The Theme
My grandfather has always been interested in building models and especially trains. As such there was only ever one type of scene that I could have thought to make: something with a railroad. In his adult years, my bedstefar devoted much time to building 'Paper City'. This was an elaborate train set-up that took up most of my grandparents basement when fully laid out. It was an intricate city plan with a railroad running through the whole layout. I obviously could not recreate the model, but with this book nook scene I hoped to evoke the spirit of his endeavor.
The Materials
Most of 'Paper City' was made with objects found around the house and the structures were created by hand to serve whatever function he needed them to. Having lived through the frugality of World War II, my grandfather was of the mindset that nothing should be wasted. He used wood, paper, cardboard, and metal from household items like cans, as his most popular materials. Utilizing skills and materials already possessed while learning along the way was something that I kept in mind during the construction. As such, I used fabric and paper as my comfortable materials, and laser cut wood and 3D printed objects as my new mediums.
The Design
I knew that I would be limited by time, skills, and space in my project and so had no plans to imitate my maker's intricate construction techniques. However, I felt that my original design was an adequately simplified version. The original plan had been to lay wood train tracks running out of a 3D printed tunnel set toward the back of the nook. Over the tunnel, newsprint and felt would create a green hill from which a 3D printed train would be emerging. The side of the box would have flat hill shapes to depict terrain. I had all the components for this model but upon the first assembly attempts ran into sizing issues. Despite my Bedstefar's waste not philosophy, he was always tinkering with his designs to find ways to make them work better. As such I was comfortable changing my design. Ultimately I removed the tunnel component so as not to sacrifice functionality and added a paper cut train depot structure at the very front of the nook. This gave the train space to roll in the nook.
Functionality was very important to me for this project because I wanted it to do more than look nice. My grandfather used to make toys for my sister and I and so I wanted the train element to roll and be removable despite the nook itself being a display piece rather than a toy. Despite his views that making and building were necessary, my bedstefar also recognized the value of making as a leisure activity. I think this is what he would most appreciate about the modern movement: people designing, making, building, and tinkering for fun using amazing new technologies. Even so, I did not want my product to be too hi-tech and so I kept the design elements fairly simple in all my iterations. This acts as a nod to the inherent necessity and accessibility that should be present in making. Aside from the train design, this also meant that the tracks should be appropriately sized for the train.
Design and Construction Challenges
Although I did change my design slightly I am still satisfied with the original idea. However I had many challenges with this project. Before I could 3D print my elements I had to do my practice project in the makerspace. I attempted to print a small duck, who was mysteriously aborted from the printer when he had three minutes left to completion. Then my second duck attempt did not start for over an hour because the printer needed to be reset. In order to avoid another delay with printers not resetting, I sent both train pieces to the printers as one job. I then queued up my tunnel to start after those had been removed and the printer reset. Unfortunately there was another reset delay and so my tunnel was not ready. Luckily when the makerspace adjusted their hours to account for the confusion from the website, I was able to retrieve my tunnel, Of course all this drama was for naught since in the end I did not use the tunnel but I was glad to have had the option for it. The train tracks then needed to be resized twice before they were the correct size but finally fit excellently.
When I began constructing the nook, I realized that although I was happy with the size of the train the tunnel was a tad bit too small and there really was simply not enough room for both the train components and the tunnel. My maker constantly used to tinker with his designs and so I'm sure he would've resized the pieces, I was short on time and the Makerspaces were closed. Due to the circumstances I think he would have approved the pivot that I made.
Final Touches
The final decisions for the nook that I made were deciding the color of the train station structure and whether to include a cityscape in the background. I decided to make the structure red instead of blue, which was also prepared, since with the white window pane it looked like the Danish flag, and it seemed a bit more realistic. The sign on the structure denotes the birthplace of my bedstefar in Odense, Denmark; although I did use the modern spelling. Finally, although the nook looks perfectly fine without the cityscape, I added it in the end as a nod to 'Paper City'.
Conclusions & Maker Movement Reflection
As a whole, this project has enabled me to create a product that merges two very different conceptualizations of making. Given that my maker largely used everyday items as making and building materials, I was very aware of the privilege that I had to have access to such great machines and maker spaces. I experienced discomfort with the maker spaces throughout the process and felt on the periphery. Despite this, the end product has encouraged me to continue making more items in various mediums. Using the spaces also allowed me to feel marginally more comfortable in them. I think that in order for the modern maker movement to become more inclusive and accessible some separation from the supposed inherent technological aspects will need to occur as well as a restructuring of what is considered making. To both my maker and I, building, creating, and making, in general, are so inherent to humans that the thought of only some people being considered makers is absurd. This is a realization that the modern movement needs to rediscover.
Credits:
Created with an image by Greg Kelton - "An Antique Restored Steam Freight Train Approaching Head on Blowing Smoke and Steam"