Popular Woodworking Magazine: In cleaning up the shop this past weekend, I came across the prototype for the Krenovian wall cabinet I built for the April issue and was reminded of how helpful it was in working out and hopefully improving the design – even though I failed to mention it in the article (I'm wordy as it is, so something has to be left on the cutting room floor). I build prototypes using a lot of different methods and for different reasons depending on the project at hand. And while I've ruined more than one decent board as a result of not building a prototype, I've never regretted any of the time spent working out the details on either offcuts of plywood, MDF, foamboard or whatever happens to be in the scrap bin (er, scrap corner) of my shop.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Prototypes Are Worth the Extra Work in the Shop
Popular Woodworking Magazine: In cleaning up the shop this past weekend, I came across the prototype for the Krenovian wall cabinet I built for the April issue and was reminded of how helpful it was in working out and hopefully improving the design – even though I failed to mention it in the article (I'm wordy as it is, so something has to be left on the cutting room floor). I build prototypes using a lot of different methods and for different reasons depending on the project at hand. And while I've ruined more than one decent board as a result of not building a prototype, I've never regretted any of the time spent working out the details on either offcuts of plywood, MDF, foamboard or whatever happens to be in the scrap bin (er, scrap corner) of my shop.
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3 comments:
I agree, prototypes are very important. If there is not some sort of scaled representation of how the overall machine, or at least certain parts of the machine, will function, how will one know that the final product will work? If it doesn't, much more time and money will have been wasted than would be wasted on the model-sized piece.
Beyond just the scene shop, prototypes are important in all aspects of theatre. Samples and renderings speak to shops and makers as to how the piece should be put together. Small sample pieces give an idea of how a certain treatment will effect the whole. A small amount of extra time now could save a huge amount of extra time, time that does not exist (because the show will still open.....), later.
Prototyping can be a very important and useful step during the design and build process for a show. The best example I can think of this was during Richard III when there was fair bit of discussion about the design of the gigantic staircase and it's proportions. By having a prototype of the staircase built, everyone was able to get a good look at the proportions and what exactly they were talking about building. Often times, by being able to see something in real space, as opposed to on a computer screen or paper, it provides a lot of clarity as to why you should or shouldn't design something a certain. This is as true in theater as it is true in engineering and other fields. It's an important part of the design process, and one that will likely be around for a long time
I agree too. You learn so much from a prototype. You learn even more from two prototypes, the catch is how much time and resources do you have and how often has the thing that you done before been done. If there are substantial examples of the design you are attempting, a prototype should not be necessary, it is called practice. Another issue that Kevin Hines referred to in TD 2 last year was, in the theatre, you often run out of lin time and then the prototype becomes the thing.
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