My youth travel team had our first baseball game of the season last night and it was the perfect opportunity to put the Glowforge to use.
The problem: like many coaches I have a magnet board that we hang up on a fence. It shows the lineup for our team and which position the players will be playing that inning. It’s great - except for the fact that the magnets get lost or fall off in my backpack, the papers with the names fall out, and it can cause more problems than it solves! (like searching in the dirt mid-game for a lost magnet)
Yesterday I woke up and had an idea to solve the problem. Within two hours, I had a prototype built and ready for the game, using draftboard and baltic birch. At last night’s game, it held up perfectly! No lost pieces, no headaches! The simple locking mechanism kept every piece in place even when the kids bumped into the board.
version 2 of the lineup board is already in the works - I may try a clear acrylic board, and use block print on the names so the kids can read it from farther away.
Nice work! Looking at the magnets with the slots for text and a board gave me the shivers. Reminds me when I used to schedule classes for a high school. Many a late night getting all the permutations set for days off, classrooms, grades. Don’t miss it at all.
The the way you made the field as the board just brings it to a whole different level of information.
However, I frequently think of how useful the Glowforge would be if I were still teaching. Still wouldn’t get me back.
!
