We had our PC build class today and assembled the new PC for makerspace use. You can see the progress below. The PC is in the main room. We installed Autocad Fusion 360. What else would you like installed? Thanks to our instructor!

PLA filament absorbs moisture from the air and becomes brittle, or so I'm told. I know the black filament has been left out for several years and breaks under its own weight.

We now have a cooler with Desiccant! ​The desiccant is the orange stuff in the tub on the left. The instructions to recharge it are on the blue bag behind the tub. It is supposed to turn green when it is saturated. You can recharge it in the makerspace microwave or take it home and put it in the oven.

Please keep the filament in the cooler with the lid closed. Might as well keep the ABS in there as well.

The paper printer in the office is up and running. You can plug in the USB or use it through wireless. 

The race isn't until April 2021, but we did some more work. The rear axle bearing are here. Next is to cut holes to bolt them on and to thread the 3/4 inch axle ends. 
We also removed the old counter and opened the roll-up door to give us more space

I needed a boat cover for my 14 ft Sunfish, so I decided to make one. The old, blue sewing machine in the craft corner did a great job. It only does straight stitches, but went through the double layers of Sunbrella with no problems. My newer sewing machine at home didn't work so well!

Threading the machine is a little different, so here are some photos.

Loading the bobbin

I probably stitched at least 30 linear feet, no problems!

We think we can do this safely. If you want to remote in via facetime or zoom or something, we can probably help. 
Learn how to order and assemble parts for a gaming quality PC. It is more that just plugging things in! One of our board members will walk us through the build and answer any questions. The PC will then become the public use PC here in the makerspace!
Saturday July 11, 4 pm

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy! We have been patiently waiting out this virus situation, but would like to use our space - within safe guidelines.. 
The city of Columbia is now requiring masks in public buildings, including ours. If any member wants to use the space with no one else there, let us know and we can arrange it. Just email info@colamakerspace.com

I'll post some recent and upcoming activity next. Stay Safe!

Some things we may work on tonight:

• Paint the stairs
  
• Discuss fixing the floors
• Soap box derby car - the wheels may arrive soon. Fed Ex screwed up our shipment
  
• Finish hanging the doors. I got #12 self-tapping screws
  
• Test a new drill I got on cement
  
• And other stuff I'm sure!
  

Come join us from around 6-8 pm. This isn't our 'official' meeting night, but we all seem to show up on Wednesdays

We haven't posted lately because our web editor stopped working with our browser. Rest assured, much has been happening!

We met last night, Wednesday Feb 19, to talk about projects.
Projects

• Soap box derby car
  
  • Wheels and spindles should be in Friday 2/28. Plan to meet Saturday 2/29 2 pm to mess around with the parts
    
  • We may go to the steel scrap yard Saturday morning. Planning to make the frame from welded 1-inch tube with 1/4-inch wall thickness
    
• Parts for video game console
  
  • I will measure the screen area and order a raspberry pi 4
    
• Forge
  
  • Waiting for dimensions of available tanks. Also thinking about designs
    
• Clean up
  
  • We want to improve the aesthetics of our space. Talked about fixing the computer room/wood workshop floors and hallway walls first. On Saturday, I will try chiseling up some tiles and applying cement to the floor and to patch broken tiles. Depending on what works best, we will end up with new tile, carpet, or painted concrete. We plan to tile the halls with luan and then paint it.
    
• We had a potential new member who is interested in crafts. Welcome! We discussed turning the small room into a craft room. Possible equipment: cutting table, mat, rotary cutter, embroidery machine, etc. I hope we can attract some crafters to help round out our activities!
  

We will resume playing with the Python coding language Saturday Feb 8 at 6 pm. We are following an online video about automating tasks with Python. Beginner's welcome! We move at a very slow pace!