Greetings fellow Makers!

#1

Afternoon all - I attended the Open Evening last Wednesday with @smjmaker as a fact-finding exercise about the MakerSpace. I have been following posts on the Discourse for over a month now and thought a visit was the next step to take.

I have been involved in woodworking for about 25 years now; having moved house I needed some bookcases, so decided to enrol on an adult education course to make them. I attended for about 16 years gradually improving my skills over that time, making many items. My tool of choice is definitely a router as it is so versatile, so I try to use the many jigs that I possess to make unusual items as a learning exercise for myself in addition to making functional items for family and friends. I have recently branched out to using my new scroll saw to make wooden jigsaws as Christmas presents and also for 3D cuts for candlesticks which has been fun !

I share a workshop with my father and have access to a wide selection of tools (including bandsaw, lathe) a combination of his and mine ! I see a logical progression on to CNC machining for me and am spending what spare time I have investigating and learning about that when I can. I would love to possess my own machine, but space is an issue that prevents that at this time. I already have a number of projects in mind for when I am able to be able to proceed with that and will use those projects to try and learn to use Vectric V-Carve from their trial version…just wish I didn’t have to go to work !

I am not in a position to join the MakerSpace just yet, but wanted to participate having attended the Open Evening. I was interested in the facilities available and those still to come in the new arch when it is finished. Hopefully I’ll be able to join in a little more fully in a short while and look forward to when that might be.

Sally
crafty_creator

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#2

reading what you wrote about seeing what’s up with the space of over a month and getting in for an open evening got me thinking about the first time i ever went to a hackspace. it took me well over a year before i built up enough courage to go and the feeling of finally being around people i could relate to was intoxicating and i stayed all night.

which is pretty funny because anyone that knows me would never in a million years think im shy. lol.

these days, like yourself i have all of the tools i could need for the majority of my projects and so going to slms has always about the people there and not the actual tools. however recently my partner’s wheelchair broke and we were able to visit the space and even though covid restrictions meant no one was really there… the few people that were there were awesome to be around and the support we received was wonderful. i had been away for a couple of years and had forgotten what it was like to be around people that genuinely and actively take on the role of helping other people. ive helped a lot of people over the years, but in the ‘real world’, that doesn’t usefully come back. so getting technical support and being able to use the drill press was really wonderful. made me fall in love with the space all over again.

anyway, i dont know why but im in a particularly waffly mood so i’ll leave it there but wanted to welcome you.

welcome

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#3

Thank you for the welcome - I did take my time about plucking up courage to make the visit last week. I was waaay outside my comfort zone meeting new people. We’ll see how the future pans out !!

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