Outcome

Chuck keys are tools that are commonly used in machine shops. They are inserted into grooves, bolts, or squares to lock or unlock machinery. They come in an assortment of shapes and sizes. 

Gripping them due to their shape can be challenging and uncomfortable. Often times, holding them involves the key from protruding from the gap between some fingers and the other fingers wrapping it uncomfortably with the other fingers This forces a user to also twist with the muscles in their forearms, which is not the best source of leverage when unlocking or locking a part.

The goal of this project was to increase the comfortability and use of a chuck key by using clay to create a new gripper. The above sketches are ideas of the potential grip. The group would have grooves. Fingers would be placed in the grooves to have a more comfortable grip. Also, the gripper would be longer and placed at the end of the T-bar, so it improve leverage when turning. 

I also wanted to add artistic detail with this project. I decide to make the grooves in the grip the back of Yoshi's neck. I would create Yoshi's face and stick it at the end of the grip for extra detail.

To construct the face, I would take several approaches. Knowing that Yoshi's head is big in some places and small in others, I would use thin gauge wire to help rigidly attach the eyes. I would use thin aluminum tubing to secure the large nose. I spent time molding the right shapes of eyes, nose, and face and constructed it all together to a Yoshi's head.

To create the handle, I simply rolled out some clay the length of the T-bar. I then molded the clay onto the bar to create the shape I wanted. To create the grooves, I took two smaller pieces of clay and placed it on the rolled piece of clay and shaped by hand until I got a comfortable grip.

I then knew that the head would take a lot of weight, so I decided to take some more aluminum tubing and put it at the back of the head to merge the gripper (Yoshi's neck) with the decorative head.

After joining the two pieces into one assembly, I took the time to smooth out the surfaces and make finishing touches. 

The result was a finished gripper that helped improved leverage and was a decorative piece. 

This project gave me the opportunity to see the difficulty of making intricate details on clay. With obscure shapes that Yoshi's head features, it was difficult to get the exact shape to make it look atheistically pleasing. The gripper in itself was not hard, but the artistic detail has given me appreciation for those who can make much more complex features.