Wood + Iron is a handcrafted serving board with magnets embedded in the wood to allow you to attach a metal knife or bowl to it.
Knowledge: Woodworking • Customer Research • Product Design • Manufacturing
Tools: Machine shop tools • Photoshop • 3D CAD • Pencil & Paper
Team: Rachel Moore • Emily Hsu
Status: Completed (Dec 2017) & Sold Out
THE PROBLEM
1. Make a product that can be used in the kitchen
2. Does the user need this in their kitchen?
3. Manufacture 50 of them and sell them
THE MOTIVATION
I've always wanted to learn wood working. Making something beautiful out of wood and with my hands was something that I not only wanted to learn but also get really good at. Making 50 of these serving boards definitely helps with that.
THE SOLUTION
The solution is a handcrafted magnetic serving board that combines high quality hardwoods and rare-earth magnets to create an entertaining experience that is both elegant and functional.
Each serving board is carefully selected from a stock of high grade, food safe walnut or cherry and prepared for a rigorous manual assembly process. Each serving tray is cut, drilled, routed, glued, sanded, finished and laser etched by hand to transform the stock of wood into a beautiful finished product. The serving board has powerful magnets embedded in the wood to provide the functional needs of a serving board by allowing you to seamlessly attach a spreading knife or metal bowl without fear of falling.
The following pictures show a bit of the prototyping process including some low fidelity looks like/works like prototypes.
The following pictures show the final product packaging, the variation between the walnut and cherry (no two pieces of wood were the same) and finally the method of putting the mangets into the groove.
Here are 3D CAD renders of the initial prototype, the final product and the placement of the magnets. The 3D CAD was great for visualizing the direction of the inlay and to figure out dimensions for cuts.
Back to Top
Knowledge: Woodworking • Customer Research • Product Design • Manufacturing
Tools: Machine shop tools • Photoshop • 3D CAD • Pencil & Paper
Team: Rachel Moore • Emily Hsu
Status: Completed (Dec 2017) & Sold Out
THE PROBLEM
1. Make a product that can be used in the kitchen
2. Does the user need this in their kitchen?
3. Manufacture 50 of them and sell them
THE MOTIVATION
I've always wanted to learn wood working. Making something beautiful out of wood and with my hands was something that I not only wanted to learn but also get really good at. Making 50 of these serving boards definitely helps with that.
THE SOLUTION
The solution is a handcrafted magnetic serving board that combines high quality hardwoods and rare-earth magnets to create an entertaining experience that is both elegant and functional.
Each serving board is carefully selected from a stock of high grade, food safe walnut or cherry and prepared for a rigorous manual assembly process. Each serving tray is cut, drilled, routed, glued, sanded, finished and laser etched by hand to transform the stock of wood into a beautiful finished product. The serving board has powerful magnets embedded in the wood to provide the functional needs of a serving board by allowing you to seamlessly attach a spreading knife or metal bowl without fear of falling.
The following pictures show a bit of the prototyping process including some low fidelity looks like/works like prototypes.
The following pictures show the final product packaging, the variation between the walnut and cherry (no two pieces of wood were the same) and finally the method of putting the mangets into the groove.
Here are 3D CAD renders of the initial prototype, the final product and the placement of the magnets. The 3D CAD was great for visualizing the direction of the inlay and to figure out dimensions for cuts.
Back to Top