January 2024 Newsletter

Monthly Membership Meeting

    Feb 7, 7:30pm to 8:30pm

7pm for social and goofing off

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Leesburg Workday  9am - 2pm

check the white board in the main room for additional tasks

Purcellville Workday Feb 2  9am - 2pm

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

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New Member Orientation

MS-P Feb 12 6:30-8:00 pm

MS-L Feb 26 6:30-8:00 pm

register online

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Artist and educator Corita Kent had a set of rules she often shared with her students. One of them read, "There is no win and no fail. There is only make."

What are you making today?

Makersmiths Education Initiatives

When we won the Google grant, it provided us with funding to purchase resources to support STEM/Engineering projects. Member Diane Painter is mentoring two Oakton HS students who are studying how the pitch of blades on a turbine makes a difference in energy production. Here they are using the wind tunnel we were able to purchase from the Google grant. Data is being collected using a Go- Direct energy Sensor and Graphical Analysis software. You can see a short video here

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Have you ever considered Beekeeping?Spring is the time when beekeepers build up their colonies in anticipation of the honey harvest. On January 20th, in Purcellville's Green room, we held our first ever informational meeting on what it takes to keep bees in Loudoun county. The goal was to help attendees decide if beekeeping is right for them. It was an interactive event with a lot of Q&A. While attendance was modest (4 individuals) it was a lively and engaging discussion.The session explored:

• What it takes to keep bees in this area,
• the equipment required,
• the different of hives you can build or purchase,
• an overview of the beekeeping year,
• the joys and challenge,
• where you can get formal instruction in our area and online, and
• when a new beekeeper can expect to be swimming in honey!

If you missed the event but are interested in keeping bees, there is a Makerspace beekeeping channel that can be of help to you. or reach out to Bob Ragsdale, who led the session. The Beekeeping Course with the county can be found here

I heard...

Makersmiths' Secret Santa 2023 was a great time! Pre-made items under $20 in materials were brought to the party and were distributed in the traditional White Elephant manner, but with the added fun of guessing the maker!

Start planning for next year! In the meantime, check out this video highlight of the party

are you having trouble finding classes or orientations on the website? Try logging in!

Some classes and orientations are only visible to members!

Makersmiths was mentioned by the Town of Leesburg recently

Indoor Escapades in Leesburg: How to Get Through the Coldest Months of Winter

You can clean up for Valentine's Day with two back to back make and take classes on Feb 10!

Diane Painter will be once again teaching her popular Valentine's Soap Making class and immediately following, Amy Copley will teach a Cricut class to add a handmade card to the whole affair. Sign up today! Family friendly

Bench Mark

by Emma Sherman

Woodshop cowboy, a Makersmiths member, woodworking business owner, and local program director for workforce development and youth programs, has returned to showcasing beautiful pieces through his blog as well as in our very own Slack chat. This particular piece is filled with sentimental value and fulfilled promise. When a close friend and personal cheerleader for many different endeavors asked Woodshop Cowboy to create a special piece from his grandmother's solid bed frame there was no denying the request. Several techniques and processes were used to create the end product, a gorgeous outdoor bench.

The bench seat was milled from a single slab of local air-dried sycamore. Weather resistant polyurethane glue was used to hold everything together. There was a small hiccup as the raw slab wasn’t perfectly dried, so there was some water damage. Dowel joints were used for the rails of the frame, and while dowel joints require more accuracy in construction, it provides more strength and sturdiness for the end product. Once completely assembled the bench was sprayed with multiple coats of  exterior/interior primer and outdoor water based acrylic enamel to protect the piece from the elements.

“Delivering this piece wasn’t just delivering on a long ago promise to a friend, but also the recovery of a long ago promise to myself, a promise to make beautiful things and to enjoy the journey.”- Woodshop Cowboy.

You can learn more or follow Woodshop Cowboy’s blog 

MagFest!

Jason Gilligan

Between January 18th and 21st, Makersmiths attended Super MAGFest in National Harbor, MD, as part of their MAGFest Makerspace. Our volunteers hosted a variety of classes, workshops, panels, and hands-on activities for all age ranges and were able to speak the over 24,000 attendees about making. Some highlights included:

• Maggie's panel on cosplay, "From Screen to IRL"
• Zach's panel on electronics and lights, "New to Neopixels"
• Jessee's workshops on LEGO Block Printmaking, Pom Pom making, and 3D Printed LEGO Marble Maze
• Scott's 3D printing demonstrations (including the "Danny Dorito" which was donated to the Danny Devito shrine)
• Handing out half of the 3D printed frogs (and receiving some trinkets in return from attendees!)
• Some volunteers staying up until 5am in the arcade
• Seeing all the wonderful cosplays and artistry that went into them
• Playing all the weird games and being amazed at how they could break the traditional form factor
• Chatting with NovaLabs, Librarians, University Admins, and others involved in their own makerspaces about... well, makerspaces!

Maker Jessee Maloney taught a lego printing workshop at MagFest, representing Makersmiths

Jessee: The youngest participant was a 1 year old dressed as Pikachu! They just placed pieces down and their mom (also dressed as pikachu) would push them on to the plate. Another mom with a 2 year old did the same!It was a great mix of ages from babies to adults, and everyone was so excited about their designs.

Look for this workshop at MS-L in the spring!

Lady Dimitrescu made her appearance at MagFest. This cosplay from Resident Evil 8 was the creation of maker Maggie Gilligan, who sewed the dress with a custom lining designed by her. And, IT HAS POCKETS. The claws were 3d printed with filament, the large gold pendant was printed using Makersmiths resin printers. Outstanding work, Maggie!

From #Whatcha_make_today

Maker Ian Sitek took a crack at a 2.5d carve on Big Red. Looks like a success! Makersmiths is all about trying new things!

Bob Ragsdale MADE this! And installed it! Impressive!

Ken and Jen, the stained glass classes are definitely a hit!

Jessee Maloney can make the whole place shimmer! Honestly, this should be a make and take stained glass class

Stained Glass at MS-P

Helping others in the community!

Colin Murray from Architectural firm KCCT in downtown DC contacted us while looking for a large laser cutter suitable for cutting their cardboard forms which became the basis of the CANstruction form they made for this contest among DC architectural and engineering firms.  The contest was also a charitable food drive as all the food to make the form was subsequently donated to a local food bank.

KCCT members met Maker Mark Millsap one bright and shiny Saturday just after we first received the new NOVA-51 and they cut 45 forms that would become the layers of their sculpture form that very day.  The new NOVA-51 made light work of the organic cardboard forms and was a real time saver in making the sculpture come to life.

Did you know...

Makersmiths has a blog on their home page? 

Makersmiths is on Instagram?

Makersmiths has a YouTube page?

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

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

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

check back on the website - new classes are added all the time

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!

MS-L

Intro to 3D Printing FDM - 2/6, 2/21

Microcontroller Demo - 2/8

New User Laser Cutter Training - 2/10

Electronics Night 2/22

MS-P

Red Tool Woodworking Basics - 2/8

Soapin' You'd Be My Valentine - 2/10

Sweet Tweet Valentine Card (cricut) - 2/10

Red Tool Woodworking Adv - 2/11

Red Tool Metal-working Basics - 2/21

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 list of the tool groups which require training and for which we are tracking authorizations, or tool “sign-offs”. The tool steward(s) are listed next to each tool group, along with the method by which to get authorized to use the tools independently. 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.

The most current version of this list is posted on the Makersmiths wiki under “Tools, Materials & Training”.  Please check out the list.  You might discover a new tool that you didn’t realize Makersmiths had.

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

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