Last week, @CO and I participated in SLUGME8 - (the SOLIDWORKS Largest User Group Meeting Ever) and helped build a Little Lending Library. There were a ton of talented people involved in the event, and everyone lent a hand to bring the build to life.
The design team made up of @JT, @AB, @JP, and @SV came up with a whimsical design that the build team (@LD, @KD, @CO, and me @.S ) could build.
They used SOLIDWORKS and xShape to design a lending library that sits atop an old tree trunk.
I cut out the layers of the tree trunk on a CNC machine, and then we glued and clamped them together with threaded rod.
I also designed and built a pedestal to show an alternative way to support the lending library that could be made using more traditional woodworking tools.
The layered plywood was transformed into a lifelike tree by Luke. He guided the team to wrap the wood in burlap (held in place by spray adhesive) and then painted on several layers of Jesmonite to build up the texture of the bark.
A dark base coat of paint, followed by a lighter, dry-brushed layer brought the tree to life!
Kirby was in charge of molding all of the little details that add a ton of charm to the build. He made silicone molds around 3D prints of rocks, door knobs, and a furnace, and then used those molds to repeatedly cast sets for a total of three Little Lending Libraries.
Chinloo focused on building the remarkable stained glass for the doors. She extracted DXF files of the artwork from SOLIDWORKS and used a laser cutter to make the pieces out of 1/8 inch (3mm) acrylic. Check out the full video links below to see an alternative way to make stained glass without a laser cutter.
In the end, we built 3 different Lending Libraries, one of which is on its way to a new home in front of a school.
Check out these videos to learn more about building a lending library:
https://youtu.be/uihVhYzu7qY?si=wajvi9eHBC-fZBmB
...and check out the full SLUGME8 event to see the whole story in great detail!
https://www.youtube.com/live/l4crpHvv_68?si=lZAgq7xUj_CEbv1k
Download this design in SOLIDWORKS, STEP, and DXF formats.
...and the DXF and AI files for all of the laser cut parts.
