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Step 1: Ask : What Is the Goal of the Project

The challenge that I was given by my niece was to create a lemonade stand/photo booth/bar top for her upcoming wedding. She had sent me some pictures of what she had in mind and I reviewed the photos and started to begin the Engineering Design Process Loop. The unit I was to build had to be portable and be easily assembled with little or just a few tools. The design had to use reclaimed lumber such as a pallet for the main portion and some type of material for the top surface that would be splinter free as people were going to be taking pictures from behind this stand.

The first step is to design what your project will look like by generating some thumbnail sketches or getting ideas from other sources such as Google or Pinterest. Once you select your design you can generate a rough sketch of how you want your project to come together.

Step 2: Brainstorm Possible Solutions (Materials, Assembly)

After viewing pictures my niece sent to me, I decided to go with laminate flooring for the bar top trimmed with a
base of pine 1"x 4" trim and a mitered rabbeted 1"x 2" picture frame nailed around the perimeter to secure the laminate flooring to the pine base trim which sat below the flooring. The bar top surface would slip over the top of the pallet and provide a stable surface free from splinters so the guests would not get snagged. The props for the photo booth were to sit on top of the bar surface.I made the marquee sign and the bar top with the exact same construction techniques. A Pine frame pocket hole screwed together and then layer of laminate flooring on top and then wrapped like a picture framed trim work nailed into the pine from underneath to allow for any laminate floor shifting.

Step 3: Plan/Draw a Sketch and Gather the Materials

After I had the rough idea mapped out in my head, I looked around for free pallets and bought the flooring to complete the project. I used one pallet , one case of laminate flooring, 8- 1"x4" x 8' #2 pine, 2- 2x6's 8 feet long, some 2x4 scraps for the base bracing. I also used exterior decking screws # 8 x 3" long(20), #8 x 1-1/4" fine Kreg pocket hole screws(40), 3/8" x 3 1/2" long galvanized carriage bolts, lock washers and nuts(4 each) to keep the two uprights locked into position.

Step 4: Create the Project

I planned how things were going to work and worked through the plan to generate the model/prototype. I had to correct some issues which revolved around keeping the pallet from falling over and keeping the swivel arms from coming down once the marquee sign was installed. I generated a few more ideas to keep the stand from tumbling and made a better plan to both secure both suppart arms for the marquee as well.

Step 5: Improve the Design.

The tipping and marquee issues had to be reworked as well to get this prototype to be stable and function properly. I was able to come up with a solution to both problems by beefing up the base support by creating an interlocking system at the base of the pallet and then creating bracing on both sides of the marquee sign to fit with more strength and support into the swivel arms. The swivel arms were fixed by using two carriage bolts on each arm with a wooden pin alignment lock which had to be removable during the breakdown of the unit.

Step 6: Final Product

It must be noted that all dimensions for the pieces of this project were obtained from the pallet size being used. A Bill of Materials or cutting list with all sizes and dimensions would not be of any help due to the different pallet sizes out there. All in all, this project was a challenge and eventually by utilizing and applying the Engineering Design Process, I was able to get the job done. The stand was a big hit and many people took multiple pictures at the photo booth. Oh yeah, just to let you know that it didn't move or budge during the entire evening and the swivel arms remained anchored to the base pallet as well.. There were decorations strung from the marquee instead of vinyl lettering which had been the initial plan.