April 2026 Newsletter

Leesburg Workday: 4/27/2026 9am-2pm

Purcellville Workday: 4/04/2026 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

Makersmiths President Message

Diane Bollinger

Spring is starting to be felt around Makersmiths! We are digging into some new projects and expansions as well as working hard on existing ones.
3D printing is getting expanded with four new printers thanks to our 3D printing steward Bryan Daniels! As well as the amazing donation from our member Jacqui Grant and Wiley Manufacturing. 3D Herndon has been working with us to get exactly what we need.
The Fume Room is making progress with a new budget and a new spray booth. John Carter and Mike Brady have been hard at work organizing it and making sure it will be a great new space.
Ceramics has had a lot happening though I haven't been able to drop by myself. I have been hearing great things about the red tools getting posted and a new instructor Amy Berringer. Glenda and Eleanor have been running the kiln now that the weather is improving and the space is getting busier again.
Printmaking has been making some progress and I'm looking forward to seeing a jump in progress I anticipate happening soon!
The Leesburg woodshop is looking great with the work being done and I'm sure everyone is excited to get the new dust collection set up going!
The website has also been getting some facelifts and I want to thank Mike Brady for heading that. The progress has been great. As well, the IT upgrades that have been happening thanks to Rob Donahue. Diane Painter and Meaghen Flynn have also been rocking the newsletters.
Congratulations to the Kidwind teams who won their divisions and are moving on to regionals!  Looking forward to all the upcoming projects and know that I appreciate all the work everyone is doing!

News from Stewards

Bryan Daniels, 3D co-steward: There are currently no operational 3D Printers at Purcellville. I am working on getting this fixed! More to follow soon (hopefully)! Also, just to clarify -- when there are Bambu Labs 3D Printers at Purcellville, this Red Tool does clear you to use those. The WIKI page now lists each of our printers as well as links to our WIKIs page on them, Bambu's WIKI page on them, and Bambu lab's academy page for each of them. The old and current Red Tool slides are on the Wiki for those who need a refresher.
http://wiki.makersmiths.org/display/MAK/Red+Tool+Training.

Bambu Lab Academy is a free online course catalog that you can use to learn more about the machines in question. It's an excellent tool for both new folks and 3D printing vets. Absolutely worth checking out.

The WIKI page for the AMS also includes step-by-step instructions on how to load filaments into the AMS.

The PowerPoint presentations will be placed on the wiki when possible. They are still undergoing edits. Check out http://wiki.makersmiths.org/display/MAK/Our+Printers+and+Equipment

Glenda Shortt Skelley, Ceramics co-steward: The ceramics studio is missing several wheel head throwing bats.  As a reminder, the tools & materials in the studio are to remain in the space so that others may have access to them while there. If you need bats for your work, please purchase what you need and please return the studio’s bats to the space.

Brad Hess, Metal Shop steward: Regarding the VCarve Pro Makerspace Edition update, Vectric will soon be releasing VCarve Pro Makerspace Edition 12. 508. Please note, that files saved in version 12.508 will NOT be compatible with earlier versions of the software. To help avoid any issues when opening or sharing files, Vectric strongly recommends updating your installation as soon as the new version becomes available. You can update your software by going to HELP> Check for Updates. Keeping all machines on the latest version will help ensure file compatibility across our maker space.

James Waldron, EBF co-steward: We've noticed some new scars on Big Blue's aluminum table. If you need a refresher on setting work and tool heights, please let me know and I'll be happy to accommodate you.

Jon White, Laser cutter, BoD member: New instructions (when using the CO2 laser) are that if you are doing a project that needs extra-long extraction, you can unplug the orange cord going into the back of the laser, and plug it directly into the wall for your project, please just remember to plug it back into the laser afterwards. The time that the extractor stays on is not something we can change.

Events Coming Up

Diane Painter, Mary Waldron and Tom Hill

Purcellville Music and Arts Festival, Art Organization

Displays and Demonstrations

The date is April 25, 2026 from noon to 7 p.m. at Dillon’s Woods and the Bush Tabernacle.

This is an opportunity for Makersmiths to share information about our organization during the annual Purcellville Music and Arts Festival! This festival features 4 stages, artists, vendors and activities inside the Bush Tabernacle and in Fireman’s Field Park from noon to 7 p.m.  Alex Rice volunteered to help set up and break down a Makersmiths table/booth. Diane Painter and Cricket Pagano will help meet and greet visitors to our table/booth. We need additional volunteers. Here is a chance to give your two hours of monthly volunteer service to the organization, but enjoy the event, listening to music and seeing what others in Loudoun County area are making and doing! Please contact diane.painter@makersmiths.org to volunteer your time. 

Purcellville 4^th of July Parade

Tom Hill was contacted by the Town of Purcellville about the town’s 4^th of July parade this year. The parade will be on June 27, 2026 because of other big events that will be happening in our region. Each year Makersmiths builds a float to show what makers do! The theme for the 2026 celebration is "Celebrating 250 Years of Freedom," marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Please contact Tom Hill at hillkid@earthlink.net to indicate an interest in adopting a cart that reflects the theme and shows what we can make at Makersmiths! Here is an image from our 2022 entry.

Purcellville Art and Wine Festival

The date is July 18, 2026 from 2-8 pm. at Fireman’s Field Park in Purcellville. If we want a booth there, we need volunteers to commit to this date. We also need a coordinator. Can someone volunteer to coordinate the event? Please contact Diane.Painter@makersmiths.org if you are willing to coordinate the event, help set up and break down the event, and man our table/booth. 

News from the Leesburg Woodshop

Some good news and some frustrating news

Mike DeWan

Frustrating News first – Member cleanup and care of the shop tools continue to be a major issue. This week I found the table saw guard removed and laying on the floor, the screw holding the throat plate in place is missing, lots of sawdust around and under the Miter saw, table saw, band saw and sanding machines. It takes minimal effort to clean up after you finish your work in the shop. Please clean up after yourself so somebody coming in to use the shop does not have to do your work.

GOOD NEWS

1. The project to remove the old bookcases has been completed. Many hands have been involved in completing this project and you all have my gratitude for the many hours you have donated to make this happen. There are two additional workbenches that have been inserted into the space of these bookcases. If you use any of the workbenches for glue-ups, please place a paper to cover the wood workbench surface. 
2. The vertical belt/disc sander resides between the workbenches and is on wheels so you can move it out for more space. Please remember that dust collection for this sander is done by connection the red shop vac. Hoses and adapters are with the sander (unless someone has removed them and in that case, you will have to search for them). Please read the instruction manual attached to the sander before starting you use of the machine.
3. The Dewalt scroll saw that previously was on a mobile stand has been placed on a shelf under the workbench. If you want to use the scroll saw, you can set it on the workbench and clamp it down. Please return it to the under-bench shelf when finished. 
4. The three portable downdraft sanding tables have been equipped with a magnetic hose connector to the room’s dust collector. This will make it easier to connect either of these to the room dust collector.
5. The biscuit joiner and a large supply of biscuits is in the white bin on a shelf under one bench. 
6. A retractable compressor hose reel is in the process of installation. When it is completed and ready for use, I’ll post the necessary information for its operation.

Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you.

Special Announcements

At the April 1, 2026 Member Meeting, nominations will be opened for the election of two Directors at the June Members meeting.  Nominations will run through May 6th. The nomination form may be found at
http://wiki.makersmiths.org/display/MAK/Election+Nomination+Form%2C+Board+of+Directors

The Leesburg NOVA 51 has experienced another burned out lens. Jon White states that this is the 3rd or 4th time this has happened in just the last three months. At $65 a piece, this is getting frustrating for the stewards, for other users, and expensive for Makersmiths. Users MUST make sure the compressor is on and providing air to the table before running a project. If we can determine who isn't using turning on the compressor when running their projects, their red tool authorization can and will be rescinded. There is a camera, with audio, facing the laser, and the compressor noise, or lack thereof, is pretty conspicuous. Another thing, be sure to use the checklists - they specify the pressures required and how to check them. The class slides include extra slides on how to setup the compressors. There are labels on the Leesburg compressor guiding you. If you are still unsure about how to setup properly, Jon White will be more than happy to meet you and run through them, and how to setup the compressors for air assist. Contact him directly on SLACK for help or email him at justonecube@makersmiths.org. 

Miah Ullah states in response to the burned out lens problem we are experiencing on the Leesburg NOVA 51: I have run hundreds of projects in my 100w Aeon, and I am still with my first lens for 2 years.  It's a quick magnetic lens on mine, super easy to clean the lens.  I clean it every time before a project, no dust or debris.  I only use external high-pressure air on cutting but internal low pressure on engraving.  I noticed on mine after several runs without cleaning, it shows small fogging on the lens that may disperse the ray and can heat up the surface and can cause damage.  That is why I clean it every time.

Dare to Create! If you want to make some money and possibly a free printer from the models you already created, Creality has started a Dare to Create program. Use the link below and start uloading models.
https://www.crealitycloud.com/flowprint/3d-model-creator-support-program?code=CPDJDD&acId=20260129
Michael James found the easiest way to do it was to download the Creality Print slicer, load his models into it, and then he exported and uploaded. Aside from adding photos of the models, he found this process quick and easy.  

Mike DeWan asks, does anyone have 1 cubic feet of road gravel/stone to donate for the front of Leesburg facility?  What is needed is 1-2" rough edge rock/stone, NOT pebbles, or smooth pea gravel.

Nick Leshock and John Carter thank everyone for coming out to the March workday at MSL. We made good progress on the future Fume Room, got some of the big equipment in the Main Room cleaned up, patched up the trash bin area outside, weeded, planted, took a shop vac to the Woodshop walls and camera, and got plans nailed down for further dust mitigation.  Just sorry some of you didn't get to partake in the lunch that Squirrl prepared!

2026 Nonprofit Professional Development Grant Cohort

Loudoun County continues to offer free professional development opportunities for nonprofits serving Loudoun County residents with new trainings scheduled from May to July 2026. The series of trainings are a part of a six-week cohort focused on increasing the capacity of nonprofits to strengthen their funding strategy. This will be the third cohort of this training series.

Applications are now available for Loudoun County’s 2026 Nonprofit Professional Development Grant Cohort. Nonprofit organizations that serve Loudoun County residents are encouraged to apply for the training series, which will explore the various facets of grant seeking and proposal development, including federal, state, foundation and corporate grant opportunities. 

Participants will develop proposals in response to relevant funding opportunities over a series of five fast-paced training sessions in a six-week period from May to July. At the end of the six weeks, organizations will have a complete set of standard proposal components and a tailored application package for their organization. 

The training is free, but space is limited to five organizations. Nonprofits working to create a systematic development program are encouraged to apply. This opportunity is best suited for participants with entry-to-intermediate-level experience in grant proposal writing and development, along with a general familiarity with grant application components. Experienced or seasoned grant writers may find this training introductory in nature. The 2026 Nonprofit Professional Development Grant Cohort application is open March 9 – April 10, 2026.  Descriptions of the individual sessions, a link to the cohort series application, and application guidance may be found at loudoun.gov/GrantTraining.

TurtleBot Status Update

Jeff Irland

Back in February, I wrote an newsletter title "ROS Simulation Environment for the TurtleBot 3" about my plans to revival a TurtleBot 3 autonomous robot that Makersmiths has on it shelf. To the best of my knowledge, this little robot hasn't moved since April 2023, when Oliver Arend got it moving, evidenced by the Makersmiths wiki. Frankly, prior to Oliver telling me about his wiki posting, I wasn't sure the robot ever moved! So this is good news!

Oliver's wiki posting does give a link where it tells you how to get the robot going, and this will be an important test to perform. but frankly, I'm more ambitious than that, and here are some of my objectives:

1. I want to refresh the TurtleBot with the latest software and add some new features/capabilities. I want to make full use of ROS2 primary simulation tool Gazebo and visualizer tool RViz2, which are powerful tools for testing and to understand what the robot is doing on the outside & inside.
2. I want to split the ROS2 infrastructure such that the only software running on the robot are ROS2 nodes requiring physical access to the robot hardware. Things like SLAM, NAV, etc. can reside on a separate processor connected via WiFi. This will lighten the computation load on the Raspberry Pi 4.
3. I also want to use a gamepad to do teleop, which is robotics speak for manual moving/controlling your robot. Handy thing to do when testing or when the robot blindly heads for the stairwell.
4. Lastly, but the first thing I'm doing, is moving all ROS2 functionality into Docker containers. Use of Docker containers is a well establish practice in the ROS community, and it will help me better manage the ROS2 complexity and avoid many pitfalls.

But the most radical thing I'm doing, at least for me, is using Claude Code. Like many, I have experiment with some of the LLMs, but only recently I have invested time into trying to master Claude Code, and I think its paying off. Claude Code has been a big help in wrangling the complexity of ROS2 robotic framework. The ROS2 community have created Claude Code plugin/skills/MCP which has been helpful and I expect to get even more value out of Claude Code in the future.

So at this point, I have not focused on the TurtleBot's hardware, only building its software and testing the robot with in the Gazebo simulator. The software of the Turtlebot is well document on the web with purchase sites, quick start guides, user manuals, ROS 2 wiki, and even ROS 2 workshops. If you want to inspect what I have developed so far, check out my GitHub site jeffskinnerbox/makersmiths-turtlebot3.

Board of Directors News
Jim Waldron

The Makersmiths Board of Directors met March 25th both on-line and in person in Leesburg. The meeting was called to order by Brad Hess (acting chair) at 7:07pm.

The proposal to put a copier owned by Makersmiths into Leesburg was withdrawn. We are locked into a 5-year non-revocable lease on the existing copier. Sense of the Board is that we never again enter into a lease without a cancellation clause.

Mike Brady was appointed as the Leesburg Fume Room Steward. Received Committee reports are on the Wiki under the Board agenda.

Money was approved to upgrade the Dust collection in the Leesburg Wood shop, authorization was given to purchase 3 new Bambu 3D printers, and money was authorized to build a test Raspberry Pi Kiln Controller for the Skutt inoperative kiln. In addition, authorization was given to provide a new electrical circuit for the Powder Coating Oven at Purcellville, and to provide verticillation for the Fume Room.

There was some discussion about providing Emergency Call Buttons in the space.

Nominations will be opened at the next Member Meeting (April 1st) for 2 new Directors. Election will be held at the Member Meeting stating in May and closing just before the June Member meeting. Please contact the Secretary (Secretary@makersmiths.org) for more information or the nomination form.

What Are Our Members Making?

Herb Regensburger made a wooden cross for his mother. This cross is 8” tall and made of walnut and hickory. What a great son you are, Herb!

Mike DeWan finished a coffee table he was working on. It has a walnut natural edge slab, powder-coated legs, and a resin river top made of liquid glass resin and black diamond mica powder.

Ian Poole created this wooden bench to go with this dining table. 

Dana Eddy created 3D ambulances for the Purcellville Vol. Rescue Squad. Bryan Daniels helped her with the initial file and John Carter assisted with the snap in wheels. She opted to UV print the colors on the ambulances.

Alex Rice has been very busy with his newborn son, but he was able to squeeze in the time to finish up a gate with a steel frame backing.

Greg Carter created a multi-color bowl he calls “another take on the Bowl-From-A-Board approach.” It is made from maple (spalted, silver, curly), bocote, ebony, yellowheart, purpleheart, redheart, padauk, poplar, walnut and other kinds. Amazing!

Ray Beard was asked by a friend to make acrylic signs for a new office suite that was being set up. Amazing how this really pops out on a wall and looks so inviting.

Miah Ullah created this amazing wall hanging using the CNC!  

Madelaine (Lane) Waldron and her friends created this winged headdress, and Lane added a faux stained glass rose window. She wore the outfit to a Heaven and Hell themed ball. She looks amazing!

Sheryl Dufour, in her first attempt, created orchid pots and a very short bud vase. She is particularly happy with the coffee mug that she also made in ceramics.

Tammi Scannell and Jim Waldron learned to use the Plasma cutter and an enameling process to make metal butterfly stakes for the garden.

MS-L

April 3 3DL-R200: Resin 3D Printing Red Tool

April 6 LCL-R201: CO2 Laser Rotary Red Tool

April 7 LCL-R100: CO2 Laser Basic Red Tool

April 12 FTL-R10:Tormach Red Tool - Titans of CNC 

April 13 MSL-R100:New Member Orientation 

April 14 WWL-R100: Woodworking Red Tool

April 19 FTL-R10: Tormach Red Tool - Titans of CNC

April 27 MSL-R100:New Member Orientation 

MS-P

April 4 CRP-R100: Ceramics Studio Introduction and Sign-off

April 9 WWP-R100: Woodworking Basics Red Tool

April 12 WWP-R200: Woodworking Advanced Red Tool

April 18 CRP-T111:Build a Ceramic Mug

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!

MONTHLY OPEN HOUSES

Every Tuesday In Purcellville from 6pm-8pm

785 South 20th Street Purcellville, Va 20132

Every Thursday In Leesburg from 6pm-8pm

106 South Royal Street SW Leesburg, Va 20175

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

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