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As a 16-year-old high school student in the International Baccalaureate
program, I am required to complete a 'personal
project' on a non-academic topic that is of
interest to me. I have always enjoyed woodworking
and design, so I decided to build a functional
wooden bicycle. There was to be no metal used
in its construction, only wood and glue. I
wanted a project that would be a challenge.
This project came to mind as I was reflecting
on the many stories my opa, Case Vandersluis,
told me about his |
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Marco Facciola, a 16-year-old high
school student, constructed this wooden bicycle
to fulfill a class requirement. |
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in Holland during World War II. Opa was roughly
the age I am now when he had to build wooden wheels
for his bicycle, as rubber was scarce during the
war.
I wasn't sure my wooden bicycle would actually
work. I quickly realized the first pieces of the
puzzle I needed to figure out were the chain and
the sprockets (gears), since the design of all
the other components depended on these.
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Designing and building a wooden chain that would actually work without breaking proved the greatest challenge. |
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I was mostly concerned that the wooden chain would
break. I researched the strength of different types
of wood and built jigs to test the stresses that
each of the chain's components would undergo during
use. First, I used my weight (150 lbs) to see if
the wood could endure this amount of force. Then,
my father would stand on the jig. I calculated that
my dad's weight would be twice the force each chain
component would need to withstand. I made the specs
high to ensure the chain and sprockets would work
even if the wood had imperfections. During testing,
I made adjustments to the chain's components, and
once I had it figured out, I realized that completing
the project was within my grasp. |
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