October 2025 Newsletter

Leesburg Workday: 10/25/2025 9am - 2pm

Purcellville Workday: 11/01/2025 9am - 12pm

(There's something for everyone -get those volunteer hours in!)

Monthly Membership Meeting

Meetings are the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 PM. Log to:

http://meet.google.com/ubz-ykxr-kiu

or

Dial-in: (US) +1 304-609-2532

PIN: 114 333 983#

Announcements

President's Message

Diane Bollinger

This month I had the opportunity to take a number of classes I had been looking forward to taking. I absolutely love the classes and teaching aspect of our lovely Maker Space. We have a wonderful crew of volunteers with so many talents and knowledge to share. It really makes our space unique and valuable.

I took the Ceramics Wavy Plate Class with Kate Amstutz. This ends up being a 2 part class. In the official class we arrived to a prepared slab and we were walked through the specific steps needed to reform the slab into a plate. I brought some 3D printed rollers which I shared with the students near me. With a bit of cornstarch and some creativity we prepared our plates. I had a fantastic time chatting with newer member Cortney and another member I hadn’t had a chance to get to know, Erin. It was a very pleasant morning!

I met up with Kate a while later to glaze my piece. Kate worked with me to make sure the color scheme was something I would like and discussed a few glazing techniques. A few days later after the kiln was able to fire a second time, I had a finished plate! It’s a gorgeous teal color just like I was hoping for.

I was also able to take a highly anticipated end-grain cutting board skills class taught by Lyle Reger. Lyle makes some amazing projects and is always great to work with regardless of if I’m teaching him or asking him questions. In the class, Glenda, Nick, and I worked together on the steps to create a cutting board. They are typically time consuming steps that require dry time in between. Lyle figured out an awesome way to teach a ton of information, be able to use the machine and materials hands on, and see all the process steps. We were able to cut down, plane, and glue one cutting board, and then he magically had another cutting board that had just finished those exact steps! It felt like one of those cooking shows where they pull the almost finished dish fresh out of the oven! With that board we were able to cut it down to size and use the router table to finish it. I’m very excited to work on some cutting boards for Christmas gifts this year.

The third class I took this month was a Pen Turning class with Dave Hamrick. It was a blast. I have taken the lathe class previously, the bowl making class (twice!) and worked on a bowl on my own time. But the unique steps of turning a pen or similar kit item was just overwhelming enough that I hadn’t gotten around to trying. I’m a bit glad I didn’t try because there were a ton of little tips and tricks Dave taught myself and Glenda in this class that I wouldn’t have succeeded on my own. I saved a ton of time and research by hearing directly from an expert in the craft. I was able to ask lots of questions and feel confident that I will be able to make some pens as gifts for the holiday season.

While I haven’t had as much time for teaching this month, I have been enjoying taking a little time to take classes and learn new skills. I have been working really closely with the Ceramics department as the President and as someone excited to learn about a department I haven’t had much time to use yet. We’ve made some great steps to help push forward a number of the in-progress projects such as getting the hot water and heating/cooling figured out. As well as making the ceramics department more accessible to those who would like to learn and use the space who may not have had the opportunity to learn pottery skills elsewhere. With my research I’ve found that what we have is a really amazing and sought after opportunity to use this studio at a crazy low price, but it just needs a little push to really be the amazing space I know it can be.

I hope that my influence helps the department thrive and if anyone would like to hear more about this, let me know of your thoughts on it, or if you have any other areas you would like me to take a look at. Please know you can always send me an email or slack message and I am happy to chat it out with you.

Diane Bollinger

Makersmith President

A Word About Registering and Taking Classes at Makersmiths

Diane Painter

Not long ago, while I was at Makersmiths, I overheard a member mention to

another member that it was lucky he got into a class he wanted to take 

because they fill up so quickly. I stopped what I was doing, spoke with the 

members, and offered them some advice. I told them that if they are having 

trouble finding a class they need and/or really want to take, they should 

direct message (DM) Jennifer Chu or Diane Painter on Slack and let us 

know. Or, you can email us at Jennifer.chu@makersmiths.org or 

diane.painter@makersmiths.org.

Jennifer schedules classes at MS-Leesburg, and Diane schedules classes at MS-Purcellville. We will try to find an available instructor or talk to the instructor whose class just filled and ask if another class section can be offered.  But there are other things you can do as well.

When trying to register for a class, look for this in the class description: If 

the class is full, click here to request additional classes. We have a 

member on the Scheduling Committee who informs us each month about 

the classes people want to take.

I also shared with that same group of members that we have a Class 

Catalog site. It is called the Makersmiths Class Catalog. It contains 

information about classes we have previously offered. If you see something 

that interests you, please contact Jennifer Chu or Diane Painter and let us 

see what we can schedule.

One of the most challenging aspects of our jobs as schedulers is 

determining what members want or need to take. Another hard part is 

finding instructors willing to share their knowledge and skills. We would 

like to hear from you about your willingness to serve as an instructor for 

Makersmiths. So, if you can help us with that, we thank you in advance for 

your interest!

Makersmiths Board Report

Jim Waldron

The Makersmiths Board of Directors met on September 24th at 7pm in the lower classroom at Leesburg. It was a quick meeting with a short agenda. We are in good shape financially, running a little ahead on income and not quite spending as projected on expenses, leaving a small profit. Membership is at 322 members.

Old Business item 1. A new table 14.1 was adopted for the Standing Rules. The big news here is that there will no longer be machine time suggested donation fees for the UV, BN2-20, or Sublimation printer.

New Business item 1. The Board approved a gift certificate for the winner of the Purcellville Stamp Game. Diane Painter is providing a free Soap Making class for the winner (and Diane is donating the materials).

The November Board Meeting will be moved to November 19th to avoid a conflict with Thanksgiving, and the December Board Meeting will be moved to December 17th to avoid a conflict with Christmas.

2025 Makers' Market Fundraising Auction is LIVE!

Thanks to the effort of some dedicated Volunteers, our fundraising auction is now live!  Click on this link to see what Members like you have donated for the event.

 This isn’t just about raising money, we really want to show off the amazing things we can do here at Makersmiths.  So, as the auction grows, please share the auction link on your social media to garner the attention of bidders and other Makers who could join our space!

 The auction will be running until 3pm, October 11th, the day of the Makers’ Market at our Purcellville location.  For those who’d like to contribute or have donations at the ready, please DM John Carter to make arrangements.

New Fees

Mary Waldron

Changes have been made to the fees for the BN2-20, sublimation printer, and UV printer. New fees have been added for frame shop mats and Bambu 3-D filament. You can find the fees on the Wiki under Our Organization then select Bylaws, Standing Rules, and Guidelines, page 13 of the Standing Rules.

Frame shop mat board $1.00 per sheet

• Bambu 3-D Printer Filament $0.03 per gram
• UV printer $3.00 per mL (1 mL minimum)

For sublimation select one of the two options:

• Sublimation printer BYO (bring your own) paper $1.00 per sheet or roll-ft
• Sublimation printer using MS paper $2.00 per sheet or roll-ft

For BN2-20 select the option that fits what you are using:

• Printed using MS media and MS laminate $5.00/ft
• Printed using MS media but no MS laminate was used $4.00/ft
• Printed using your own media (BYO) and Makersmiths (MS) laminate $3.00/ft
• Printed using BYO media and BYO laminate $2.00/ft
• No printing, no media, just used MS laminate $1.00/ft

Which Red Tool Basic Woodworking Class at MSP is Right for You?

Diane Painter, MSP Scheduler

You heard about Makersmiths, toured the facilities and then joined 

Makersmiths because you want to use the woodworking shop at 

Makersmiths Purcellville. You have woodworking experience and just need 

to be oriented to the industrial, professional tools in that woodshop. First 

you will take the Basic Red Tool class is known as WWP-R100: 

Woodworking Basics Red Tool. It is taught by John Borden on the second 

Thursday of each month.

You will also then follow-up by taking the advanced woodworking red tool class known as WWP-R200: Woodworking Advanced Red Tool class that John Borden also teaches on a Sunday afternoon of each month. Once you satisfactorily complete those two red tool woodworking classes at Makersmiths Purcellville, you are good to go to use the equipment.

But what if you are an inexperienced woodworker or not quite comfortable 

using the industrial, professional tools on your own and would like to be 

guided through a first project in that woodshop? Then soon to be offered 

WWL-R101: Woodworking Basics with Make and Take - Red Tool 

Purcellville followed by WWP-R200: Woodworking Advanced Red Tool 

class may be a better way for you to be red tool trained to use the 

woodshop at Makersmiths Purcellville.

WWL-R101: Woodworking Basics with Make and Take - Red Tool 

Purcellville will soon be offered toward the end of October by Blair 

Marendt. We are in the process of figuring out material costs. This two-

session workshop is for beginning woodworkers wanting to learn how to 

use Makersmiths Purcellville woodworking tools safely. The schedule is 

designed to allow sufficient time for reviewing proper tool usage and 

completing a beginner’s woodworking project. No prior woodworking 

experience necessary.

Participants in this make and learn red tool basic woodworking workshop 

will be signed off on these tools (Table Saw, Miter Saw, Band Saw, Drill 

Press, 12” Disk Sander, Router Table, 16” Drum Sander, Downdraft Sanding

Table, Dust Collector) and be approved for taking the MSP wood shop 

advanced class, WWP-R200: Woodworking Advanced Red Tool class 

with John Borden that covers other tools in the woodshop.

Participants in this two-day session will also create a basic cutting board, 

encompassing the glue-up process and finishing techniques. All materials 

will be provided, and the registration fee for this class includes the cost of 

materials.

Please do not hesitate to ask questions. Contact John Borden at 

borden.john@gmail.com or Blair Marendt at bmarendt@gmail.com

Making for the Holidays

Diane Painter

On Sept. 30, Nine Makersmiths members met to plan Making for the 

Holidays classes at both Makersmiths locations. Check your email and the 

calendar for these classes that will be built for October, November, and 

December. As the classes are announced, they may fill up quickly! Already 

for enrollment are the following classes:

October 6 at MSP

9:30 AM-11:00 AM

CRP-T109: Ceramic Gingerbread Cookie Ornaments

https://makersmiths.org/event-6350954

October 18 at MSP

9:30AM-12PM:

ACP-T114: Miniature Halloween House Build

https://makersmiths.org/event-6371674

November 21 at MLS

6PM-8PM: -ACL-T107 

Cricut Holiday Card Making Workshop

https://makersmiths.org/event-6375484

December 5 at MSL

6PM-9PM:

ACL-T115: Create a Photo Ornament for the Holidays

https://makersmiths.org/event-6375582

December 6 at MSP

2PM-4:30 PM:

WWP-T105-Wooden Snowflake Workshop

https://makersmiths.org/event-6375479

Mini-Halloween House Build

Diane Painter

A few years ago, I came across Lucy Foxcroft’s PaperGlitterGlue.com 

website. Fascinated by all kinds of wonderful craft ideas for the holidays, I 

dove deeply into the website and came across her annual Miniature 

Halloween House Contest. As Lucy states, it is “where you can showcase 

your creativity by designing and submitting your own handcrafted miniature

house inspired by Halloween! Whether you love candy corn cottages, 

whimsical witch mansions or spooky forest retreats, this is your chance to 

share your artistry and win some fun prizes!”

This is the third year we are offering this miniature Halloween House build 

workshop as a family-friendly event. For the past two years, members have 

won Amazon gift cards $50 or more when they entered the contest! 

However, entering the contest is up to you!

For every registered adult, feel free to bring a child or two as helpers. A 

variety of paper and glue craft resources will be available to help you design

and build your haunted house. We will also have two Cricuts available to use

to find and print out objects and house templates. Feel free to bring items 

such as fairy lights, and Halloween-themed objects from the Dollar Store. 

For those who want to enter their completed projects on Lucy Foxcroft's 

contest website, please see this year’s list of prizes to be won! Visit: https://paperglitterglue.com/2025-mini-halloween-house-contest/ to 

learn more!

We will meet in the lower classroom at Makersmiths Purcellville, Saturday 

morning Oct. 18 from 9:30AM-12PM. Please register for the Halloween House Build Workshop at: https://makersmiths.org/event-6371674

Education Initiatives

Education News

Diane Painter

A two-day workshop for youth and their parents was held September 6-7 in 

the Electronics Lab at Makersmiths-Leesburg. Four adults and three middle

school youth learned from Makersmiths member, Alex Rice, about circuits 

and programming micro:bits, a device as small as a credit card. They 

learned that there are three ways to program a micro:bit using 

MicroPython, Scratch or JavaScript.  Developed in the UK, the micro:bit was

designed to actively involve youth in hands-on learning as they write 

software code that is sent to the Micro:bit to make something happen such 

as make lights blink, or make a red heart appear on the micro:bit screen.

This workshop as well as the Basic Electronics for Kids workshop held in 

August at Makersmiths-Leesburg offered by three Makersmiths members, 

Gary Dufour, Jeffrey Weiss and Robert Johnson, are designed to interest our 

youth in learning about basic electronic components, tools and circuits.

We cannot offer these opportunities without the support and interest of our 

members. A huge thank you to the workshop instructors who spent time 

creating and giving the workshops! But we also need to hear from our 

members. What do our youth want to learn that we can offer at 

Makersmiths? What members are interested in working with our youth? What skills set can they offer that will inspire our youth to design, make and test out?

Kidwind is another example of initiatives we have offered to our youth since 

2018. To continue this hands-on, science-based inquiry program that 

teaches youth about renewable energy as they design, build and test wind 

turbines and solar projects, we need Makersmiths members who will serve 

as coaches. This school year (2025-2026), Makersmiths member, Oliver 

Arend, states that he wants to continue to work with his daughter and other

students at her high school to learn design, build and test out a wind 

turbine and enter the open-design wind division of a KidWind Challenge. If 

you live east of Leesburg and your high schooler is interested in working 

with his team, they will meet in the Great Falls area. Contact him at 

oarend@gmail.com.

(Oliver Arend and his wind team and Diane Painter’s wind team in March 2025)

I will work with grade 4 and 5 students at Lincoln ES in Purcellville to begin

their journey in the design, development, and testing of basic KidWind wind 

turbines. Makersmiths member Blair Marendt will be coaching an 

elementary wind power team. If your child is in grades 3, 4 or 5, please 

contact him of your interest at bmarendt@gmail.com.

If you are a Makersmiths member and have children interested in learning 

about either wind or solar KidWind initiatives, I am interested in hearing 

from you. However, we need a middle school wind and all levels of solar 

coaches, Makersmiths members willing to work with our KidWind youth. I 

am offering a training session on Saturday, November 15 at the Northern 

Virginia KidWind training at Shenandoah University in Winchester. We will 

focus on wind in the morning and solar in the afternoon. Please contact me 

at diane.painter@makersmiths.org and let’s talk about it, or just register for

the training at https://tinyurl.com/59m7n73p.

Stories

What are our Members Making?

Diane Painter

3-D Map of Narragansett Bay

The University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, M.S. 

1992 alum Russell C. Kelz, presented to the university’s president, Dr. Marc 

Parlange, a 3-D map of Narragansett Bay and surrounding waters. Russell 

created the map with eight layers of medium-density fiberboard, a plywood 

top, and an aluminum floating frame. The project was laser-cut with 

Makersmiths’ CNC 100 W CO2 laser, then carefully hand-assembled, glued, 

and painted. Russell purchased the materials to make this map from Crusty 

Materials, LLC, Subsidiaries, Phat Bottoms Maps, Phat Glass Masters, and 

Big Country Hardwoods.

Challenge Coins and Tokens

Ian Sitek is now a new den leader. He laser-cut “Do Your Best” tokens for 

his Den 4. Diane Painter fiber-lasered brass coins to make challenge coins 

for Christmas 2025. Sometimes it is a challenge to get to a holiday family 

reunion!

Commemorating the Sound of Blood Flowing

Nick Carr-Voigt’s friend has an LVAD to keep blood flowing while he's on the

transplant list. He discovered that the device in his chest produces a sound 

when he holds guitar pickups against his heart, so the natural next step was

to record a hardcore album centered around that sound. Nick states that 

this is a good excuse to honor his friend, and to get familiar with the laser 

cutter, so he made this plaque.

Front Entrance of Shutters Restaurant

Ian Poole just finished and installed a new pair of doors on the entrance of 

the Shutters Restaurant in Leesburg. You will often find Ian at MSP using 

the industrial-grade machines to do much of his work!

Mastering the Zipper

Mike Brady made these pouches to store his chess pieces. Perhaps he is 

willing to teach members his zipper installation secret at the next Sewing 

Circle?

The Rover

Charles Makai

During retirement a project of interest has been the design and fabrication of an off road, remote control, ground vehicle nicknamed Rover. An initial prototype was tested in 2024.

Based on its performance; a second-generation design was developed that included:

• Independent steering and vehicle speed control
• An elevated chassis and motors to reduce drag and allow for driving through shallow water and snow
• Flexibility within the frame to better maintain tire traction on rough surfaces.

The design was developed in Fusion 360 with commercial hardware and fabricated component models, which were combined into subassemblies and then subassemblies were combined into a single general assembly. The final assembly is comprised of several hundred component models. Components include modified commercial, CNC milled, CNC turned, 3D printed, and laser cut material. CNC CAM programs were prepared in Fusion 360.

The steering action and flexibility added to the frame are depicted here.

The tires are driven in pairs connected to a common keyed shaft and powered through a chain drive by 250W gearmotors. Steering is also controlled by a 250W gearmotor with chain drive and an encoder for position feedback. A segmented 3D printed shell covers the bottom half of the chain drive to prevent debris catching on the drive chain and sprockets.

Flexibility to the frame is added with a linear bearing mounted on the four-tire assembly that rotates on a shaft fixed to the top frame assembly. A shaft mounted on the four-tire frame can be moved up or down to control the degree of rotation.

A RadioLink RC4GS surface vehicle controller is used for driving, where the side wheel controls steering, and the trigger controls the vehicle forward and reverse speed. One programmable switch remotely turns the LED headlights off and on.

I explained to my 8-yr old grandson, Graham, the forward direction was toward the two-tire steering wheel side, he insisted this was incorrect and forward steering should be toward the four-tire side. In practice he was proved correct with better terrain handling and grade climbing with no loss of steering sensitivity. I had envisioned it as how a tricycle is steered, and he imagined it as a rudder steers a boat.

Here is Rover ready for field trials.

Red Tool Classes are an important step in your Maker journey!

MS-L

FDM 3D Printing Basic (Bambu) Red Tool

10/06/2025 6:00pm - 8:00pm

BN2-20 Advanced Red Tool - Additional Media

10/13/2025 6:00pm - 8:00pm

FDM 3D Printing Basic (Bambu) Red Tool

10/16/2025 1:00pm - 3:00pm

CO2 Laser Red Tool

10/18/2025 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Sublimation Printer Red Tool

10/20/2025 6:00pm - 8:00pm

FDM 3D Printing Basic (Bambu) Red Tool

10/21/2025 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Vinyl Stickers Red Tool

10/27/2025 6:00pm - 9:00pm

FDM 3D Printing Basic (Bambu) Red Tool

10/29/2025 10:00am - 12:00pm

MS-P

Woodworking Basics Red Tool 10/09/2025 6:30pm - 9:00pm

Metalworking Basics Red Tool

10/15/2025 6:00pm - 8:30pm

Woodworking Advanced Red Tool 10/12/2025 1:00pm - 3:30pm

Makersmiths runs on volunteers!

Consider teaching a class or holding a workshop! check out the #class_planning_and_requests channel on Slack and join a meeting to get some help with your idea!

Tool Authorization Groups

Dean Williamson

Makersmiths has lots of cool and useful tools, machines, and equipment.  Many of them require training or authorization before you can use the equipment.  The training can be as simple as an orientation, to a more formal “red tool” class, to demonstrating proficiency to the tool steward. Such mandatory training helps ensure that all users understand how to use the equipment properly and safely, thus helping to keep the equipment running smoothly and minimize maintenance downtime as well as ensuring the safety of our members.

Below is a link to the list of tools which require training and authorization from a Steward. Please contact the steward for more information about each tool. This list is not exhaustive of the tools available at Makersmiths and is updated regularly as we get new equipment or as needed:

By clicking above, you can view the most current list posted on the Makersmiths wiki. Consider checking it out, you might discover a new tool that you didn’t realize Makersmiths had.

Makersmith Board Officers

Board Name/Officer | Position | Term

Brad Hess | Board Member | 2022 - 2025

Bo Wernick | Board Member| 2024 - 2027

Scott Silvers | Board Member | 2023 - 2026

Evin Grano | Board Member/Chairperson | 2023 - 2026

Jennifer Chu | Board Member | 2024 - 2027

Diane Bollinger | President | 2025 - 2026

Mary Waldron | Treasurer | 2025 - 2026

Jim Waldron | Board Member/Secretary | 2025 - 2026

Mike Brady | Webmaster | 2025

Rob Donahue | IT Steward | 2025

Did You Know...

You can find the newsletters from the last several years archived on our website?

Makersmiths also has a Blog, Instagram, and YouTube!

The Newsletter could always use some new blood - share your projects, pitch some article ideas, tell us about something cool you've seen in your Maker travels!

Makersmiths Leesburg: 106 Royal St SW, Leesburg, VA 20175

Makersmiths Purcellville: 785 S. 20th St, Purcellville, VA 20132