Smiski Park Bench

Overview

We were looking for a tiny park bench to match our daughter's Smiski figurines. We could not find anything that we liked, so I went on a quest for images of vintage park benches to find my inspiration. I ended up creating a simple SVG for the sides using LightBurn (super simple and I've been using it for my laser for some time!), next imported into TinkerCad, scaled as needed to fit both guitar-playing Smiski and the skinny craft sticks I had found in a drawer. Thos craft sticks (skinny popsicle sticks) are 6mm x 120mm x 2mm but ended up measuring around 6.3mm across. I did not realize how thick those skinny sticks are when compared to the scale of a Smiski, so I had to be frugal with the accent cutouts. I'm still learning other software so I could not figure out how to bevel the edges, maybe one of these days…

Two Build Options

1. If you have some of those mini wooden craft sticks (~6.3mm x 2mm cross section), you could skip printing the slats and cut four of those to your desired bench width (I used 60mm long slats for the “wooden” version). Because the craft sticks might vary in size, you might need to add a bit of glue into the slots. Our wooden version did not require any glue; it is held by friction. (Guitar Smiski is sitting on the hybrid wooden bench.)
2. If you do not have craft sticks to match, just print the model as is. I used different colors for the sides (black) and the slats (peanut). The slats are a snug fit, as I did not want to use glue. I did not have to sand or trim the ends to make them fit, but I gently tapped the assembly into place using a small mallet. (Kodama, with the big eyes, is sitting on the model as is.)

Assembly Notes

Assembly steps are the same for other option. I oriented the printed slats with their top surface facing up/forward (the top concentric pattern gives a hint of woodgrain; the prints are too small to get overly fancy and try to add a real texture). Carefully press them into one side; if needed, tap them gently until fully seated. Next is the trickier step, aligning the four slats against the slots on the other side. If needed, gently tap a pair midway (back or seat) into the second side, then align carefully and tap the other two. Make sure all four are fully lined up before you finish tapping them into place (gentle tapping works best). Given the overall size of the print, and depending on your printer tolerances, if you still cannot get them to fit, you could always try smoothing/tapering the ends of the slats with some sandpaper or hobby knife to help them slide into place (wood has more give than PLA).