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Latest happenings, knife making

3/7/2023

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Lot's happening lately! Welcome to our new members, too! 
In the last couple weeks we have:
  • Received a donated radial arm saw
  • Collected an displayed safety information
  • Held a Saw-Stop demo and instruction
  • Moved in new couches, chairs, and tables. 
  • Repaired a fast 3D printer
Our next knife-making class is Sunday March 26 at 4 pm. This time we'll use the material removal technique rather than forging. 
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Knife Making and plans for future events!

1/30/2023

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A bunch of us gathered Sunday January 29 to learn forged knife making from our professional knife sharpener member! We fired up the propane forge and started bashing away on the anvil. We also used the plasma cutter to pre-cut the steel and got a little training in as well. Two members completed the forging process. They will grind and heat treat later. 
We discussed other tools we can buy to continue knife making. Looking at a mini mill, grinders, knife steel, and others. We're doing a leather class soon to make sheaths. 
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Art Class Saturday Dec 10, 1 pm

11/9/2022

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We are doing an art class Saturday December 10 at 1 pm at the makerspace.

One of our talented members will guide us through painting a nature scene. All materials are provided. We're thinking up other Christmas craft projects, too. Maybe we can make presents and ornaments this year!
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Silhouette Class Wednesday Oct 26, 6 pm

10/10/2022

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We'll be making Luminaries in the first Silhouette class on Oct 26! I'll have participants use Silhouette studio to customize this luminary pattern for their own (Halloween) Lanterns! We'll be learning things like "Make Compund Path" "Weld" "Trace" as well as how to set different cut actions using line color! I recommend bringing your own laptop with a copy of Silhouette Studio installed so we can all work at the same time and make own own lanterns, but it's not necessary. ^^ I'm very excited and can't wait to see who shows up

You can download the software here:
https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/software

Picture
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Electronics and Woodworking

7/21/2022

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We continued working through our electronics book in Falstad. Also got some info on creating electronic music instruments.
Below are examples of the book we use, and a picture of some of the chips one of our members uses for musical boards. He showed us how to use paste soldering with our new soldering iron/heat gun.
Turns out we have a couple of experienced jointer operators in our group! We ran some boards through the jointer and compared the output to a straightedge
Picture
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Blacksmithing class a Success

7/18/2022

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We gathered yesterday to try out our new forge and anvil by making bottle openers. We rigged a tarp for shade and set up a fan and water cooler to beat the heat. 
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Jointer, Drill Sharpener, Dust Collector

7/13/2022

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We got distracted by our new toys and played with them instead of electronics.

The new jointer is here! Also the new drill sharpener. Please get instruction before use. We will demo them next Wednesday.
I sharpened one drill bit and it worked great. 
We also hooked up the dust collector. We had to turn a few pieces of PVC on the lathe to make them fit. I have to get some sealant to keep the adapters together, but it works - we tested it with the planer. 
A two-inch hose drops from the ceiling over the work table. Bring the portable tools to the work table for use. Portable tools: planer, table saw, band saw, miter saw, belt sander. Plug the portable tools into the two inch hose. Turn on the dust collector. The two inch hose can also be used as a hand held vacuum. We will hook up the Maslow and joiner later. I think we'll have to to manual clean up with the lathe. 
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Electronics SIG

7/6/2022

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We met last night for our first electronics SIG (special interest group). It's not a class; just people learning together.
We began with kiCad, but switched to Falstad. It is much better for simple circuit building and simulation. We made a circuit to light an LED with a button press then tried out motors and other components.
Wokwi is a microcontroller simulator. You can build a circuit and program an arduino or Pi in the simulator. 
www.kicad.org/
​www.falstad.com/circuit/
​wokwi.com/
We will continue meeting every Tuesday at 6 pm. At first, we'll focus on getting to know the software and then move on to simple and complex circuits. Also looking for projects to work on. Come join us!
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Anvil Stand Completed

6/19/2022

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Yesterday a few hardy makers gathered to build a stand for our anvil. We bolted 4x4's together and strapped the anvil to the top. We will have a blacksmithing class soon.
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The finished stand
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Bolting the outside together. We added the four inner posts later
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Teamwork!
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Not sure how we got a square hole with a round bit, but whatever, it works
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Strapping it down
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Upcoming events, etc.

6/10/2022

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We meet every other Wednesday at 6 pm to talk about projects and work on stuff. You can contact us at info@colamakerspace.com or just show up! Come to the Sumter St. side of the building and go to the door inside the fence and under the old drive through canopy. We have a doorbell mounted on the door. 
Other stuff:
A bottle opener blacksmithing class will be held in a month or so. We need to build a platform for the anvil.
We plan to buy a jointer for woodworking.
Many other plans in the works!
We are always interested in new members!
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Location

Cola Makerspace is an organization designed to foster a collaborative and educational environment in which people can explore, share and MAKE!

Visit us at

1225 Laurel Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Members' website

https://colamakerspace.wildapricot.org/

Contact Us

You can also join our public Discord channel.
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