New Ideas for Vector Cleanup

VECTOR
1

Marketing

Lets get some new shirts made to wear outside of the space.

Showcase finished builds (which means speeding up the maintenance process)

Clean up the area, make it neat and blingey, Pinball arcade signs. A neat area is a respectable area, if its a pig sty then your covering up the beauty of your work, plus people wont have a clue what it is your doing. That area is probably # 1 in the unorganized trashy areas of the space. Who would wanna join that?

Get an organized parts section, I know for my hobby i have to haul in all of my parts, a good inventory makes it easier to work at the space.

Being more sociable, and getting rid of the bad boy mentality. We can’t be pissing people off, getting banned, and or harassing people. That energy needs to go towards the success of this committee.

Capitalize on the Thurday open house, when the tours are over, regrab the people that are going crazy over what we have and talk to them more about it.

The reason Vector has gone stale is because people dont know what Vector means or what we do, we are a visual committee.

Vector has not one tool to offer, if you think about the more successful areas, its not about what you build, its the tools that draw the people to those areas and the classes. We offer nothing. We sit like hermits in the back corner with our heads down tinkering.

So we have to make a choice, our hobby doesn’t have a big CNC router to attract attention, we have to make our own attention. By showing and telling what we know and building that interest.

Maybe start a group project, Shawn’s virtual pin is a great opportunity for all of us to learn, and pitch in ideas. That would be a huge draw.

Should we re-arrange and find a solution for a showcase wall, i dont mind leaving the MKX build at the space, but the moment i see abuse, i’m pulling it.

I was also thinking that building a small mame pedestal with a 32" TV or even an built in projector to show on a wall would be a cool draw. Its stowable, and easy to build, just throw coinops in it and you have a full mini mame cab.

I have most of the parts, just would need a TV and the wood really.

This is all over the place, so anybody chime in and add to this, so Jason can get an idea of how to tackle the issues we are facing.

This committee can make it, but for us its about the people and WHAT we build not what the space offers to build it.

1 Like
2

Great run down of the meeting last night. After TPF I’ll be jumping back into my mame project and would love some guidance from you on building the cabinet and hardware,

I would like to echo VECTOR needs to be able to showcase working machines, because machines in progress are not inviting, but are necessary. Maybe we claim the area in front of the wall with the VECTOR sign to display 2 machines. That would stop the issue of the project tables blocking the entrance to VECTOR as well.

Also, figuring out a parts section would be amazing as well.

Great meeting last night VECTOR-ites. I had lost perspective myself as to how much we are doing and I can’t wait to see everyone at TPF!!!

3

My suggestion would be that if Vector wants a little more space to display working machines they make an agenda item for the next member meeting to discuss this.

FMI: https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/we-should-discuss-before-making-changes-that-affect-large-numbers-of-members/7891/1

1 Like
5

Good thread, Rodney. More than just cleanup, this thread is about the future. Good time to get the ideas flowing.

Last night we held an offsite committee meeting where I announced my intention to step down as committee chair. Much has been accomplished but I have too many external deadlines to continue in this role. Jayson Woods was unanimously nominated as my replacement due to his willingness to help, extensive knowledge of EM/mechanical tech, and positive energy contributed to the group since joining. I have forwarded our decision to the board for final approval.

VECTOR t-shirts are a good way to promote DMS inside and outside the space. Nick Sainz created some for the two of us which were worn to several national arcade events last year (and this year). It’s an easy way to increase visibility and strike up fun conversations about what we do.

Agreed the layout of our space could be optimized to be more welcoming. The Makerspace itself has grown in size and features since the Ladybird location, but it has subsequently lost a good bit of its social vibrancy in the process. I don’t believe this is anyone’s fault, per se… it simply hasn’t been formally addressed as of yet. Since moving to Monetary Ln, our “middle spaces” such as the rec room have disappeared and the overall feel of the space is generally overlit, hard-surfaced, and evokes an impersonal cubicle farm/office environment. Nicole of Creative Arts has done A LOT to bring some of that energy back with art displays/potlucks/etc… but we need more of this kind of thing to be done. VECTOR could help here by staging finished projects and tying them in with social media/photos/and providing a small space to relax for a bit.

The idea of a parts repository has been raised before, but was not approved. However, we do have roughly $250 in committee funds earned through honorariums which would be enough to establish a basic supply and build upon it from there.

Agreed, new classes would better engage the arcade community in D/FW and get them involved. It would also be a good idea to have a committee-owned project such as an “acrylic machine” or museum display for curious onlookers and visitors. We’ve had this on the agenda for several months… it’s just a matter of acquiring a machine, finding a volunteer to “take point” on the project, and establishing a final location to display the end result for people to interact with.

6

I’m not one for pinball,arcade games & what not. But I have a friend that I told about Vector too. If be willing to bet that if classes were offered he might join. I’m sure that there would be many others like him. Also I think a working arcade/pin ball would draw people’s attention more than seeing machines that are in various ways of repair or restoration. Everyone has their cup of tea, I didn’t even realize that pinball/ arcades were as popular as they are.

7

Again, this is something that you may want to discuss with the board (though not necessarily formally)

My understanding is that with the new insurer we can no longer allow non-members to attend classes that make use of our tools. I don’t know how this would apply to any classes Vector might offer, but it would seem to be a good idea to find out before proceeding.

8

I agree! Great thread. I really like this idea:

Your committee doesn’t have to have a tool any more than automotive has socket wrenches (we’ll ignore the recently added two-post lift). It’s about doing something cool, which restoration definitely fits.

Sounds like you might be Vector’s PR person. :wink:

9

I agree, we spoke about this last night.

This hobby is a special group of people, its a true love for the craft. Hard to get people to buy into it.

The arguments still is automotive has a great tool selection and a lift to work on projects. Vector needs to find that SOMETHING that will draw members to use the space. Right now its all about personal projects. Everyone pretty much has car, but how many people have a pinball machine or an aracade machine they want to restore?

If they exist we need to find ways to get them here, there has to be that one something they can do here they cant do at home.

Ha, I dont want the job :slightly_smiling:

10

Can I suggest painting the wall behind vector to some kind of accent wall so it’s something other than white? (Just have to be able to paint it back to white on move out) That would make the area look more interesting.

2 Likes
11

We were thinking signage or something with LEDs. Can do some cool cnc stuff. Painting is an option though.

1 Like
12

The original plan was to do a Silverball Mania cab art mural across the back wall…

sbmania.jpg965Ă—437 139 KB

3 Likes
13

arent those expensive?

14

Nah… the plan was to project it on the wall, trace lines, and paint. Not hard to do. But the floor rearrangement should probably be considered first.

15

I have a few ideas, Ill start a post with them soon, the big problem with having extra parts is that no one replaces what they use.

image1.JPG1456Ă—1958 1.29 MB

2 Likes
16

I think a small “interactive area” to invite and welcome visitors and showcase working projects/arcade tech would be nice…

1 Like
17

Working on it.

OK folks phase 1 of project cleanup is done, i cleaned up that the large table area. There are question mark type items in the back left corner.

Some sort of light wand looking thing, and prosthetic leg, and a some bath sciency looking thing under the table.

I took that and put it in science, have no idea who would use that in Vector.

@engpin The first thing we need is a decent tool chest, i noticed tools get left out cause they have no where to go. I’m gonna look on CL and deals on a stand up chest to store the tools.

1 Like
18

Anybody willing to chip in on any of these.

Pasted image839Ă—291 59 KB

Home Depot

Im thinking 1,4,5,6

19

Did you receive honorarium for the arcade building class and dedicate $50 to VECTOR? If so, our committee funds should be around $300 by now.

20

Yep i got my 50 for the class, not sure what Jayson’s plan was for the funds. I know we do need a tool chest though.

21

Oddly enough, I’d recommend looking at Harbor Freight. It’s one of those edge cases where they hit the head on the nail, and independent reviewers have said they are better than the “Big Box” store brands.

It costs a bit more, but if you’re buying for long-term, then this might be a good deal:

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/tool-chests-roller-cabinets/26-in-16-drawer-glossy-red-roller-cabinet-combo-61609.html