Spatial Dynamics, Spring 2015, Instructor: Deb Coolidge
Wooden Egg Tool
A tool invented to break an egg, remove its shells, and beat it.
Prompt | Timeline: 2 Weeks
Create a tool entirely out of wood that can pick up an egg from a table surface, crack it, and beat it (break the yolk). All parts of your tool must be initially connected in some way, in that there cannot be two physically separate devices to complete different functions. All requirements must be completed without the egg ever being touched directly by a hand.
Process
I decided that I wanted my tool to be able to fit into a box for easy transportation and storage. My first model (shown below) shared similar features with my second model, in that the cracking mechanism worked around a pivot point, and that some parts of the tool served dual purposes. In my first tool, the O-shaped handles were unable to fit in the box.
I changed the proportions of my second model so that all parts of the tool were able to fit into the box container. I also changed one of the sides of the outer container to be rounded, so as to provide a more ergonomic handle for the beating step. I also added custom-shaped spaces for my O-shaped handles (the rectangular negative space) in the center of the inner box in order to break the egg with more ease.
All parts of my tool are able to fit into the inner box compartment. Holes are drilled in the outer compartment to serve functionally for the beating step.
Below are all the parts necessary to complete the required steps. All parts are fashioned by hand, except for the gears. The gears were first designed on Adobe Illustrator, then cut out on a laser cutter. All parts are finished with a wax coat in order to make the tool water-resistant, and therefore egg-resistant.
I found that using a pivot system allowed for a clean break of the egg, as I did not want to have any shells in my egg white/egg yolk mixture. I tapered and shaped the handles so that they would be able to hold universal sizes of eggs.
The dowel that connects the inner compartment serves as a pivot point, as well as a means for extending the space between the two halves of the compartment in order to pick up and enclose the egg.
After the egg has been captured, the user can then push the two halves together and twist them in opposite directions to break the egg. The shells are trapped in the O-shaped handles, and the yolk can be additionally separated from the egg whites if desired.
The parts can be repositioned and repurposed to complete the third action – beating the egg.
The O-shaped handles now act as a beating device, capable of breaking the yolk and mixing the whites and yolk together. Furthermore, the outer compartment now serves as the main structure for the beater.
