The making of the installation was very fun processes to undergo because I had never built something like this before! At first, it was a challenge to find the correct building sources to work with. After speaking to the University technicians Paul and Craig, they advised me the best thing to use was MDF board, purely because it would be slightly lighter and not as cost effective. The MDF board needed to have some substance to it, so it can stand and support itself. The best type of MDF to go with was the MDF caberlite panel, which measured up to be 18 x 2440 x 1220. This was thick enough to hold itself up and large enough to have my installation cut out on one large sheet. This was ordered from Travis Perkins in Epsom that was ordered into my University with their delivery as well. Once the MDF was ordered, I had to send off the measurements for each part of my installation. This was so the pieces could be cut out ready for me to fit it all together. Reason why I wasn’t aloud to cut the pieces out myself was because the machine used to do this was only to be used by a member to staff who was trained to use the equipment.
At the beginning, I had some troubles trying to get the MDF cut out because this would have to be done in the Foundation workshop by one of the two technicians. However at the time the technicians told me that there was nothing they could do for a couple of weeks, and that I would have to wait until then as the foundation students were their priority. A couple of weeks wasn’t good enough as I needed it to be cut out as soon as possible so I can get cracking with the building. After some nagging and persuading, that day my pieces for the installation were cut out and the following day I was able to start fixing it all together!
24th March 2015
LET THE MAKING COMMENCE!
At first, I had one of the technicians come and help me and to show me what to do. Paul, explained a few simple things to me, for example how to use the drill correctly, lining up the MDF sheets equally, which has a technical term called ‘flush’ and so forth. First of all, as I was going to drill into the MDF to fit the base together, I needed to apply planks of wood to the side of the MDF boards and drill into the planks of wood. This is because MDF is compressed wood fibres, and when you drill into it, it may split or crack the board. Once the planks of wood were applied to each side of the MDF boards, it was time to drill the base together. Using a drill for the first time properly was slightly challenging. You had to make sure you angle was dead straight or else the screw will go in wonky and not sit and hold together properly.
Once the base was drilled together, I then have to mark up where the shelf inside was going to sit. I had to get my measurements on point because this is where the acrylic sheets will be resting on as well. As I will be having A3 Acrylic sheets, the only visible part of the sheet would be 29.7cm x 29.7cm, which means the remaining length of 12.3cm will be inside the installation. This is how far down from the top the inside shelf will go, which the LED strips and Arduino will be attached onto. Once this was measured out, I placed the shelf inside and screwed it into place with the drill. This step took two people as one person needed to hold and support the shelf whilst the other person screwed it into place. Once the inside shelf was securely attached to the base, I then had to measure out accurately the distance between the separate planks of MDF sections which would be where the acrylic sheets slide into.
As the thickness of the MDF is 18mm I had to measure 18mm down from the top of the base so I can then apply the support for the planks to rest on. I then applied thin bits of wooden strips either side of the installation for the planks to sit on which were screwed into place. I used my A3 acrylic sheets as a guide for measuring the distance which will be between the planks. The sheets are 5mm thick, so the distance between each plank was 6mm, as I allowed some space for the sheets to slide in and out. A problem occurred when doing this because when I screwed the planks into place, the base tightened and the planks slightly moved. To guaranty some leeway for the sheets to slide in and out, I sanded down the support strips inside so the acrylic sheets have some more leeway to slide in and out. At one end of the installation, I didn’t screw the plank into place because I wanted to have access to the Arduino without unscrewing the top. Another problem, which occurred was when I screwed all of the top planks into place, I then realised I had to get into the installation and glue the LED, strips into their position. However, this wasn’t so much of an issue because I could simply unscrew the separate planks and this would be a guide as to where the LED strips would sit.
Once the installation all came together and everything was screwed into place and secured, I then had to polly fill over the screws, which would give a nice finish to the installation when painting over it. At first, I found it rather tricky to simply polly fill! I never knew how hard it actually could be to get that perfect finish. However, once the polly fill was dry, I would then be able to sand over it, which would create a smooth finish.
After sanding down the polly filled areas, this left a matte effect on the MDF. As the MDF is combined with wax or a resin to bind the wood fibres, this leaves a gloss effect on the MDF. I then has to sand the whole installation to guarantee it had no gloss effect left on it, because when it comes to painting it, parts of the MDF board will soak up the paint in areas where it had been sanded and will look patchy. By sanding down the whole installation, I was able to guarantee myself that all the edges and sides were perfectly in line as I would be able to sand any ‘sticky out’ bits. The process of making the base of the installation took two full days. It took two full days for all the pieces of the installation to be assembled together. This was finished on the 25th March.
On Thursday 26th March, I took my installation up to my classroom so I can paint it and fit the LED lights and sensors inside. I didn’t want to paint it in the workshop because it will get very dusty and stick onto the paint, plus I didn’t want to leave it lying around the workshop with loads of other students. Once I took the installation up to the class, I realised that I forgot to drill the two holes either side of the installation where the sensors will be fitted. This was a simple procedure, as I just needed a drill and a twist step drill part, which allows me to drill holes with large diameters.
Once the installation was taken upstairs in the classroom, it was time to get the LED strips and sensors fitted. This was a two man job, as one person had to hold the LED strips down and in place, whilst the other person glue guns over the strips to secure them. Tom Lynch, one of my tutors helped me do this. This job took was quicker than I expected because the planks of wood which sat onto were a quid of where the acrylic sheets would sit on. We drew lines on the shelf, which indicated where the LED strips would lie. Once all the lines were drawn on, it was time to glue them into place! A touch of glue from the glue gun was assembled onto the top, middle and bottom of each strip to ensure it was securely attached, holding the strip down whilst the glue dried.
After this, it was time to fit the sensors in. As there was a sensor at each end of the installation, we fitted these in from the bottom and threaded them up to the top, then pushed them in the hole that which was made. The hole was a tiny bit small, so a bit of strength and wiggling around had to go into pushing the sensors in. However, this ensured that they had a stable fit and wouldn’t come out. As this was a quick process, it only took the day to do. So the following day I decided to come in on my own and start painting!
![IMG_7540](https://mariadcd.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/img_7540.jpg?w=529)
![INSTALLATION COLOURS (1)](https://mariadcd.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/installation-colours-1.jpg?w=529)
27th March
When getting round to paint the installation, I initially set out to paint it white, so it can fit in with the other plinths at the exhibition. However, from my own judgement, I though the white will look too much like a plinth. I wanted something a bit different and unique so I experimented with different colours before painting. I bough wood two tones of wood varnish because, one medium shade and one lighter ‘satin’ shade. I really liked these two vanishes because I think it would have given the installation a ‘vintage’ look however, the MDF isn’t a nice type of wood, compared to other real planks of wood which had nice grains on which the varnish will emphasise. So I decided to scrap this idea. I think experimented with some black matte paint. The whole theory behind my installation is that it will be placed in the dark, so that all is shown are the acrylic sheets being light up. As the installation is being placed in the dark, the best idea was to paint the installation black so it will fit in, and the main focus will be on what is actually being represented on the acrylic sheets and not the actual base of the installation.