Tuesday 12 June 2012


 This blog will teach you how to create 


your very own pen holder. 


Project duration: 4 hours approximately (if worked on continuously).

Project cost: Approximately $35 for a MDF sheet of wood, $8 for  PVA glue and about $2 for a small bottle of paint.

Level of difficulty: This project is quite simple if you have all the equipment available to you. If your design is complicated it may be harder and may take longer.

The quality of this project is average as if you take more care in
making it, it may last longer.

Historical Research
An important part of any project is getting started. To get started you need to know what you are doing, and part of this is knowing the historical background of the object you are making. There are some important facts about pen holders that will help you get a better understanding of them. 





Types of Pens


Your Activity:

Listen to the youtube video and Complete the pen types quiz below.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWvRYx7X4VY


Note: iPad users will need to download 'rover' free from the app store so that the iPad can handle the flash. 

Historical Activity 3

Pen holders come in different shapes and sizes. Some can be just simple, while other can be ancient looking, digital, reused or unique.

Have a look at this video as a example and create your on video.
Include:
·      Pictures you have taken of different types of pen holders you can find.
·      Explain what each picture is of. 


     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCMFqT5sC2A


IMovie is recommended to create and edit your video .


Concepts
Most people think that why do we need to have concepts or that they can make their pen holder without even having a concept. But if you start making your pen holder without a concept you may end up with uneven sides to your pen holder or it may not turn out the way you had planned  it in your head. If, you had done a concept in it you would have planned out exactly what your design will be, what the measurement will be of the pen holder and you would have come up with a design that was presentable.

When starting your concepts it is important to draw a couple of designs so after you can choose the best one. In each design you will need to have the measurements, what material you will be making it out of and what colour you will have it.

Here is an example of what a design should have:




The Endangered Pen Holder
Technology is advancing rapidly in today's modern society, and convention items are being replaced by newer, flasher, better, multi-capable objects. The faithful pen holder is now at risk from this advancement.

Right from the invention of the typewriter pen holders became at risk. Why write out something that could instead be typed in even, neat handwriting? Thankfully these typewriters were expensive, and in most cases it was faster and easier just to write it, so the penholder was full of plenty of pens.

Then the coloured pencils started being sold in packets that were perfect for holding the pencils, and even came with a pencil sharpener slot. After this idea, many pen holders became filled with only plain pencils and pens.  

The computer made a big difference as people could type everything easily and print it quickly. With the typed craze sweeping through, the poor pencils and pens were demoted.

Then came the internet. The life changing, era starting world-wide web where anybody can send a message to anybody else and have them receive it in under a second. Everything went online, and pens and pencils were used even less.

The newest addition to the anti-pen holder technology is the invention of iPads, iPod touches and other touch devices where people can just write with their bare hands, not needing pencils or pens. Applications were created with plenty of different pencils, pens, crayons, highlighters and many other writing tools perfectly sorted and ready at the touch. Suddenly writing tools were available in so many different colours, and some apps even enable mixing the colours like real paints.

So with all these technologies available, what will become of the pen holder? Will the next invention completely eradicate the need for pens and pencils, and so make the pen holder useless?

Have a look at these YouTube videos below:



Concept task 1- Shapes
Shapes come in all different types of sizes, for example some are round while others are square. There are lots of shapes that you can use to make your pen holder, such as circle, cylinder, square, cube, star or even a heart. When you create your design you can use more than one shape you do not just have to stick with on shape.

Here are two examples of pen holders that are different shaped:






Download some of these following apps and try design a pen holder of your own.
We recommend these following apps for iPad users:
Drawing notepad
Easy photo doodle drawing
IDraw HD
For laptop users we recommend:
Paint 

Concept task 2- Colour
The best colour to start off with is white. But before that, what are colours? Colours are the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, green, blue and others. Colour derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light power versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Colour categories and physical specifications of colour are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra. By defining colour space, colours can be identified numerically by their coordinates. All the colours you really need are red, blue, yellow and white.  Making a mixture of colours are simple and you can get different types of the same colour. How well do you know about colours? 

























Go onto this link and complete the quiz about colours:

Concepts task 3-
Possible Uses of a Pen Holder

Modern advancements in technology have meant that we can now make very small electronic devices that can easily be attached to things. Maybe you want to combine your pen holder with an alarm clock? Or maybe if you are interested in music you could combine it with a speaker for your iPod. Or you could attach a metronome to it. The possibilities are endless.

You will need to get thinking about whether you want to make your pen holder a modern, bi-useful handy item in your room/work. Below are some examples of pen holders that have been combined with other things.


Below is a picture of a calculator with 4 inbuilt pen slots. If you enjoy a fun challenge then try it as a jigsaw. For iPad users, download the 'jigsaw party' app free from the app store. Then save the photo below, and go onto the app. You can choose to do a puzzle of that photo, simply by selecting from your photo library. 

For laptop users, simply follow the link below and you will be able to solve it online.

Latest Pen Holders
There are many creative types of pen holders today. Below are four different types of images of pen holders, you task is to search them on the web and note down the website. 
For example: 







      






Safety
For your own safety, always have your hair tied up in the workshop. Also you should be wearing good protected covered shoes at all times to make sure if you drop something sharp it won't damage you. You should be wearing safety glasses at all time using machinery and saws. Do not bump or touch  and stay at least a meter away from people using dangerous machines.

  

Materials Case Study
When making a penholder you will be using different types of materials to produce it, for example wood.  The type if wood that you use is very important as if your wood is too weak your pen holder will break. The type of wood that we use is MDF ( medium density fibreboard ). MDF is a denser wood than plywood and is made up of separated fibres. This makes it more stronger than normal particle wood.

You will need PVA (Polyvinyl acetates) for gluing your project together. PVA is a water based substance which is only toxic when ingested, and is not harmful if touched. 

A scroll saw is a small machine which can be either electric or pedal operated. The scroll saw has a blade which operates quickly in a up and down motion. The blade of a scroll saw can be replaced if damaged, it also allows you to be able to cut the interior of your wood. 



http://www.quia.com/jw/461764.html

Steps for making a pen holder



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJWzp1BAV-I