Building the Table // Maddy Harrison & Ben Schiffler

After finding our table, we then had to create a place for our planter by cutting an opening in the top back of the surface. We measured it and printed out a pattern to trace onto the center of the desk towards the back.

Before cutting, we tested another piece of wood to see which technique would work best. Once the edges of the planter are rounded, we had to drill circular holes in each corner. 

After this, we used a jigsaw to cut away the straight edges. Once the piece was removed, we used a flat and circular rasp to smooth the edges to perfectly fit the box.

This proved particularly tricky, as we didn't account for small handles extruding from the planter box, which threw off our original plans - so we filed indents into the cut.It took us about an extra 3 hours to file it down, but once we were done, the plater fit perfectly!

We then went over the table with furniture polish to hide any damage. Then we reinserted the sensors, taped up the cords, and put the Arduino in the desk drawer. It took us a lot of time, but the end product looks beautiful.