We now have a twitter account for when checking email or facebook is just too taxing, ha ha. Our account is @ColaMakerspace. 

On the other hand, it might not be working yet, stay tuned

1/24/20 - Ok, now twitter is working. We will cross post our blogs to facebook and twitter. 

Meet at 6 pm this Sunday Jan 26. This is group learning, not a class, per se. We can follow Lynda courses, youtube, etc. My first goal is to learn to automate boring stuff, like renaming files. Should be fun!

Who wants to race a soap box derby car? Everyone!
West Columbia is having a race soon. Anyone interested in building a car? 
https://www.kineticderbyday.com/
Tires:
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_tires-wheels+spoked-wheels+pneumatic-spoked-wheels

We are going to meet up and hang out at the space this Wednesday 6 pm to around 8. Lots of fun last time, thanks to the new people! We can also do some training - bring any files you want to try out on our laser cutter, etc.
Shopsmith - we have a donated shopsmith in need of some parts. On Wednesday I'd like get the model number and identify the parts we need. See this link:
 https://shopsmith.com/service/index.htm

We now have first aid kits! Hope you don't ever need them. One is in the metal shop, and one is in the woodshop on top of the lockers. Also, familiarize yourself with the locations of the fire extinguishers. Thanks!

Here are the notes from our 2020-01-18 meeting.

We finished and sanded the outside of the bowl last night. Then we took it off the lathe and mounted it from the bottom. This lets us begin to carve out the inside. We will probably finish it next week.

Some projects to fix up our space. Let us know if you want to take one on. info@colamakerspace.com

• Done - Fan exhaust in 3D printer/laser cutter room. We installed the new 6-inch fan last night. It works great and pushes the louvers open. Run it on high speed and don't forget to open the damper to the enclosure you are using.
• Find the SF micro card used with the Ender 3D printer, or order a new one. Or figure out how to connect it via USB cable to the desktop computer in the room, or by wifi or whatever. 
• Finish welding the table in the metal shop. Design and build a hood to capture fumes and direct them to the existing exhaust fan.
• Find/design/create posters with safety tips. Also to remind people to clean and make sure the doors are locked when they leave. 
• Find the RFID gear from the old space. Then design an RFID system for the new space. We will start with our doors, and then progress to individual tools.
• Post PDF copies of the manuals for our power tools. I took pictures of the tools and paper copies we have (see the gallery below). Just search the manufacturer's site for PDF copies. Zip them up and send them to info@colamakerspace.com and our web master will post them

To turn a blank on the lathe, it needs to fit in the swing space. It can be helpful to trim the blank with the band saw before turning. I measured our lathe and band saw last night to get the dimensions.
Lathe: The distance from the center of rotation to the bed is 6 inches. That means you can make a bowl that is 12 inches in diameter (probably a little less for safety). When you buy a blank, the distance from the center to the farthest corner must be 6 inches or less.
Band saw: Turning a square blank to a round bowl is tedious. If your blank is thin enough to fit in the band saw, you can trim off the corners. Our band saw will cut pieces up to 3 1/2 inches thick.
Conclusion: Buy/make a blank that is 12 inches or less max width and under 3 1/2 inches thick.

We will be turning tonight if you want to come check it out!

Two of our members have agreed to be at the space Thursdays 6-8 pm to do wood turning on the lathe. Come join us if you want training on the lathe. You can get a good turning blank at Mann Tools for about $10. I'll post the recommended dimensions, but about 10x10x3 inches should work.