After several weeks at the office, Phil the prototype
went back to the workshop for an extensive update. The new version at left has a number of improvements over what Phil looked like Friday (see right), although he still only got three of the five changes as a result of use at the office checked off- the rest deal with the upper "easel" portion of the piece.
New base
First, the base was completely rebuilt, this time using Hub lumber. It is larger and has an enclosed back, and the base is trimmed with a half inch piece of molding (I need to add a few more strips to cover some screws). It is significantly more stable with the extra depth and weight, and no longer minds rolling on and off carpets.
Picking the right pieces from the old shoe store shelves was a bit of a challenge, since the shelves max out at 11 1/2" wide, and I really needed the depth to be 12". Long story. But I finally set the right dimensions, started cutting pieces for this and subsequent units, and got the first set cut, rabbetted as needed (a new skill I learned over the weekend), clamped and screwed together. (Don't worry about the paint still on the shelves - where it needs to be removed I'll do that before final staining - I did do initial sanding before the parts were assembled, but staining and finishing is still a ways off).
The existing (temporary) wood post and easel was removed from the old base, as were the wheels and gun safe, and transferred to their new permanent base after their location was recorded on templates to make drilling the necessary countersunk holes quicker on the next couple of units.
I didn't get the briefcase shelf "deck" built - just the plywood base that the final decking will be screwed to, but I did cut a couple of the boards that will eventually make up the deck. I can't really build the deck until I get the final aluminum posts fabricated and know what those dimensions will be. And I'm still playing around with some different idea about what it should look like.
Easel
The temporary easel got a few modifications to try out before it's replaced in a few weeks with a Hub lumber version, which I can already tell will have slightly larger dimensions, principally to accommodate the larger iPad I got over the holidays. First, it got two additional cord holes, so that devices on the sides can sit upright while charging, and leave the center clear.
Then the center got the traditional Hub "card holder" - and while I had the table saw and chop saw set up I cut the pieces for about five more.
The card holder detail comes from the shoe store's old shoe repair bench, which is made up of three of the original 1897 storage bins (see below with Mose Weisman).
The paper cards with a listing of the contents of the drawer are held in place by three strips of wood chiseled out on the back.
This is a detail I used on the first three pieces of furniture I made from Hub lumber - two book racks and a small set of bookshelves. I resized the holder for a business card, and am in fact using the same template I made for the racks and bookshelf (shown in use below). Here it has pride of place on the easel, with the charging outlets to either side, and has the office wifi and wireless printer info. I will likely resize it for 3x5 cards on the final version.
As the attached drawing from the '337 patent shows, the unit has always been intended to have some sort of central information display with the charging locations to the side - this just provides it with a Hub-appropriate one.