Industrial Arts Design Part 5

(_c_) Translate the selected sketch into a scale or full size drawing and add additional views to complete the requirements of a working drawing. Add additional structural elements: legs, rails, etc.

(_d_) For shop purposes, enlarge a scale drawing to full size, dimension and otherwise prepare it for actual use. See Figure 102a, page 68, for character of this change.

(_e_) Construct the project.

SUGGESTED PROBLEMS

Design a fire screen with two horizontal and three vertical major subdivisions.

Design a bookcase 4 feet 2 inches high with three horizontal and two vertical major subdivisions.

SUMMARY OF RULES

Rule 3a. _If the primary ma.s.s is divided into two vertical divisions, the divisions should be equal in area and similar in form._

Rule 3b. _If the primary ma.s.s is divided into three vertical divisions, the center division should be the larger, with the remaining divisions of equal size._

Rule 3c. _In elementary problems, if more than three vertical divisions are required, they should be so grouped as to a.n.a.lyze into Rules 3a and 3b, or be exactly similar._

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. What is the nature and need of vertical s.p.a.ce divisions?

2. State the rule governing the use of two vertical s.p.a.ce divisions and give ill.u.s.trations in wood, clay, and metal.

3. Give the rule relating to the use of three vertical s.p.a.ce divisions and furnish ill.u.s.trations in wood, clay, and metal.

4. What is the treatment of more than three vertical divisions?

Why?

Chapter V

APPENDAGES AND RULES GOVERNING THEM

[Sidenote: Use of the Appendage]

An appendage is a member added to the primary ma.s.s for utilitarian purposes. In the industrial arts, when an appendage is added merely for the purpose of decoration, it is as useless and functionless as the human appendix and, as a source of discord, should be removed.

An appendage in industrial arts may be, among other things, a plate rail, bracket, spout, cover, or handle, all of which are capable of service either for or with the primary ma.s.s. In architecture it may be a wing or ell added to the ma.s.s of the building. Simple as its design may seem, it is often so placed in relation to the main or primary ma.s.s that it does not seem to "fit" or to be in unity with that ma.s.s.

[Sidenote: Designing an Appendage]

Rule 4a. _The appendage should be designed in unity with, and proportionately related to, the vertical or horizontal character of the primary ma.s.s, but subordinated to it._

Rule 4b. _The appendage should have the appearance of flowing smoothly and, if possible, tangentially from the primary ma.s.s._

Rule 4c. _The appendage should, if possible, echo or repeat some lines similar in character and direction to those of the primary ma.s.s._

[Sidenote: Violations of Appendage Design]

All of the foregoing rules are intended to promote the sense of unity between the primary ma.s.s and its appendages. If a mirror on a dresser looks top-heavy it is generally due to the fact that it has not been subordinated in size to the primary ma.s.s. Rule 4a. If the handle projects from the primary ma.s.s of an object similar to the handle on a pump, it has not been designed in accordance with Rules 4b and 4c.

Again, if the appendage projects from a primary ma.s.s like a tall chimney from a long flat building, it has violated Rule 4a and has not been proportionately related to the character of the vertical or horizontal proportions of the primary ma.s.s.

[Ill.u.s.tration: EXAMPLES OF APPENDAGES IN CLa.s.s 1 (WOOD) ADDED TO THE PRIMARY Ma.s.s FOR UTILITARIAN PURPOSES. THEY SHOULD ALWAYS BE RELATED TO THE PRIMARY Ma.s.s BY TANGENTS, PARALLELS OR BOTH.

PLATE 16]

It should be readily seen that if the primary ma.s.s has one dominant proportion while the appendage has another, there will be a serious clash and the final result will be the neutralization of both motives, resulting in either an insipid and characterless design or a downright lack of unity.

[Sidenote: Appendages in Wood]

The design of the small dressing table, Figure 37, Plate 16, with the mirror cla.s.sing as an appendage, is an excellent ill.u.s.tration of Rule 4a. The main ma.s.s of the table is vertical in character and the mirror carries out or repeats the character of the primary ma.s.s by having a similar but subordinate vertical ma.s.s. In this instance it is so large that it has nearly the effect of a second primary ma.s.s.

As tangential junctions are difficult to arrange in wood construction and particularly in furniture, the break between the table top and the mirror has been softened by the introduction of a bracket or connecting link. The curves of the link cause the eye to move freely from the primary ma.s.s to the appendage and thus there is a sense of oneness or unity between the two ma.s.ses.

The lantern in Figure 38 becomes an appendage and is subordinated to the large pedestal or support. The tangential junction has in this case been fully possible and the eye moves freely from the vertical lines of the base to the similar vertical ma.s.s of the lantern without noticeable break.

[Sidenote: Unifying Appendage and Primary Ma.s.s]

The service of the dressing table, Figure 39, with its three-division mirror makes the problem of adaptation of the appendage to the ma.s.s of the table, in accordance with the rules, much more difficult. Under the circ.u.mstances, about the best that can be done, at the same time keeping within the limitations of desired service, is to plan the mirrors in accordance with Rule 3b, with the dominant section in the center. To secure an approach to unity, each section of the mirror should echo the vertical proportion of the primary ma.s.s of the table.

The top of the writing stand, in Figure 40, is an example of a horizontal appendage which repeats the horizontal character of the front or typical face of the primary ma.s.s of the table. The small drawers and divisions again take up and repeat the horizontal motive of the table, while the entire appendage may be subdivided under Rule 3b, giving the dominance to the center portion. The short curves in the appendage all tend to lead the eye in a satisfactory and smooth transition from one ma.s.s to the other or from the table top to the appendage. The proportions of the small drawers are similar to the proportions of the table drawers. Rule 4c. All of these points of similarity bring the ma.s.ses into close unity or oneness of appearance.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Courtesy of Berkey and Gay_

FIGURE 41a]

The table legs, in Figure 41, are more difficult to adjust satisfactorily. The idea of the designer is, however, apparent. The legs leave the column of the table with a tangential curve and, sweeping out with a strong curve, repeat the horizontal line of the table top in the horizontal lines of their bottom surfaces.

[Sidenote: Industrial Applications]

Figure 41a, a modification of Figure 39, shows close unity between the three divisions of the mirror due to the pleasing curve of the center section with its tendency to bind the other sections to it. Again, the echoing of the s.p.a.cings of the three drawers in the similar s.p.a.cings of the three mirrors, makes the bond of unity still closer to the ideal arrangement. Rule 4c.

Figures 41b and 41c are, in a way, parallel to Figure 41. The eye moves freely from the feet (appendages) along the smooth and graceful curves to the tall shaft or column of the primary ma.s.s. The turned fillets, introduced at the junction of the appendage and the primary ma.s.s, in Figure 41c, have a tendency to check this smooth pa.s.sage making the arrangement in Figure 41b preferable. The hardware for the costumers is well chosen and in sympathy with the vertical proportions of the design.

[Sidenote: Appendages in Clay]

With the word "clay" all difficulties in the treatment of appendages vanish. It is by far the easiest medium for the adaptation of the appendage to the primary ma.s.s. Covers, handles, and spouts are a few of the more prominent parts falling under this cla.s.sification.

The process of the designer is to create the primary rectangle, subdivide it into two horizontal subdivisions in accordance with Rule 2a, and proceed to add the desired number of appendages. The result may be suggested by the following ill.u.s.trations. In Figure 43, Plate 17, the cover is a continuation of the curve of the top of the bowl, Rule 4a; the tops of the handles are continuations of the horizontal line in the top contour of the bowl, while the lower portions of the handles seem to spring or grow from the lower part of the bowl with a tangential curve.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Courtesy of Berkey and Gay_