Iterating…

Six iterations, from initial to final, of slip-fit stove knob lockouts. Even for a few-hour project, I find it interesting to look back at the various iterations of developing something. In this case it’s six different versions of a slip-fit shim that latches on to our stove’s knob shafts, preventing them from being pressed in turning the gas on or igniting. Kristen wanted these to help avoid accidental knob turns (from people, dogs, etc) and being stuck inside by extremely poor quality air from wildfires, it was today’s after-work pass-time. I’m happy with where the idea ended up. My original idea was for something that pushed in from the bottom and clipped in place, but because of the D shaped knob shaft I ended up with something that’s slipped in horizontally, and as it falls/is turned to a natural position with the tab down, it sticks in place. Along the way I screwed up the thickness, tried making things smaller, then smaller still, then had to nudge the thickness, and then…