industrial_designer

I started designing silverware and automobiles when I was in the eighth grade. I have been making things since I was five, first gluing my blocks and any junk I could fine together into a toy. Then I found model airplane kits. A box with plans, glue and balsa wood, along with a picture of what it would look like when built. I learned to read and understand plans very quickly and I was off putting together both stick and solid warbirds from those days on.

I also carved and built anything that met my fancy that I saw in magazines. In this way I learned how to read a three view drawings before I learned to add and subtract. My mom and dad did their best to keep me in glue, paint, brushes and kits or just balsa wood. I loved seeing how close I could come to the plans and drawings.

I remember going to the library and checking out books on how to make things for boys, light projectors, pedal cars and spring guns. A pal and I even worked on two steam engines that ran on alcohol to heat the water. I learned all about pipe sizes, soldering and how to braze. Each time I got into a new project I found someone to teach me some new skill.

I loved standing by the open doors of the war plants, looking to see how the machines worked

and what they were making. At times men would show me the finished piece that was going into the oily old wooden trays on their way to the next stage at another machine.

By the time I was eight or nine I could make a lot better toys and things to play with. And my airplanes were getting pretty good also. (to be continued)

Learning to be an

Industrial Designer