Post to this thread with some photos and a description of something you are working on this month at the 'Space (or wherever) and we’ll help you join in our fun, too!**
Small craft projects, large CNC router projects, quick & dirty tools made by tools, and so much more happen at Dallas Makerspace. Cool things done at DMS by cool people often go unseen by our peers, not to mention the curious public. Post up here to share the interesting things you are doing with Dallas Makerspace this month!
These posts help promote cohesiveness and community at Dallas Makerspace, inspire others to make a cool something. and help our PR show off what can be done here using social media or blog posts (with attribution to each maker of course).
NOTE: Consider the following on each post, to help make for richer experiences:
a QUALITY photo can help us with the vision
WHO you are, possibly for attribution outside of this venue, but also to help our fellow members get to know each other (or at least each other’s work)
WHAT you’ve made might not be immediately obvious, but even if it is, we a good story!
HOW you’ve made it (and perhaps HOW DMS helped) inspires others to follow along
WHY you made it (all about the inspiration, dontchaknow)
Just unloaded a kiln full of macrocrystalline pieces and had some awesome winners. These glazes are (purposefully) unstable and (notoriously) tricky so we tend to experiment a lot.
I call this ‘What if I just start whacking in a ton of cobalt that I don’t even measure first?’.
I did my first leather bound book! Granted it’s chrome-tanned leather and I really only made it to practice making headbands, but i think it turned out nicely. Now I need to figure out how to get veg-tanned leather prepped.
Almost everyone in my knitting group has made this! It’s called Main Squeeze and is supposed to be a lot longer, but I’m short af so I made the length more appropriate.
I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease in the color “Idk I Forgot” (something rusty?)
The best part? Since it’s a wool blend IT CAN WE WASHED IN THE WASHING MACHINE.
anyway. Tl;dr - made my first cardigan WITH POCKETSIES.
The response from the filter is pretty darn straight through the audio spectrum, but ESP does have an alternate filter using more parts that is just almost as straight as an arrow.
Finally built a decent book press. I’m tired of the old 4 wingnut press I’ve been using. This one can press way harder and there’s no danger of pressing each corner unevenly.
We (normally) do a Macrocrystalline class/event a couple times of year. However, I totally have an idea on a way to possibly improve our results that I want to try out so it might be sooner than usual. Keep an eye on the calendar!
The next specialty glaze firing I’m doing is oil spot glazes on June 29th, it should post up in a couple of days.
I bought myself an inexpensive AC/DC tig welder last week. I found that the tungsten was being a pain in the ass to deal with. I found that snapping the tungsten would create micro-fractures. So I took a cheap design from this guy & modified it.
I made mine slightly different in the way I mounted & added other features. I bought a cheap continuous blade diamond wheel to cut the tungsten then use the 400 grit wheel to sharpen it. I did have a couple dumbass moves but I went with it. I mounted the grinder with a bolt through the bottom, I machined the bolt down on my lathe at home because they didn’t have any shorter bolts. I cut a piece of round stock down & put an angle on it to match the grinder. My intention was to use a large hose clamp to anchor it around the tacked round but is was very stable as is.
My 2 dumbass moves
The angle was supposed to be the other way around & I didn’t realize how hot I got the tack until I saw the plastic melting on it. Either way, I think it turned out for the better even with those mistakes.
Last Saturday I took dice mold making and ceramic gold luster classes, and today I picked my stuff up and took the lathe ring class. Awesome start to my summer.
The mold I made using a die from my favorite dice set.
Gold luster and decals added to pottery from classes on free-form building, slipcasting, and the textured “cake plate” class where I made a jewelry stand.
At a recent art/music/camping event, I met a guy who was was casting pewter pendants. He described the process he used and encouraged me to give it a go, so I’ve been learning to do it myself. I worked on this project mostly at home, but it’s what got me to finally join DMS.
the process I used:
scrape a graphic off the Internet
build a 3D model in Fusion 360
print one on a 3D printer
use that print to make a hi-temp silicon mold
Clamp the mold between pieces of plywood
melt some pewter with a propane torch
pour it in
let it cool a few minutes and unclamp the mold
cut off the sprue and trim any flash
drill a hole, add jump ring and cord
I brought this to an event recently and people loved it! I enjoy the interactivity - I’ll make one for you while you sit an visit.
Saturday was a big day for grandkid celebrations beginning with high school grads and ending with a dinner/shower in honor of an upcoming wedding of new college grads.
Two granddaughters, both athletes, both on full scholarships for their next chapter.
Sublimated aluminum plaque that was part of the decor:
Made a sign for the front porch on the laser that is about a 150% replica of a license plate. My favorite part is the layering. Was about to clear coat when the small E had disappeared. Made another and now it’s done.
Every now and then I get myself obligated to a project that is going to be a real bear. My most recent episode turned out to be more Godzilla than bear!
The customer had a very nice, massive dining table with simple lines. Massive as in a single top 8 feet in diameter.
Here’s a pic of the top and the base.
The customer’s style of choice is a very ornate antiqued white French provincial with gold leaf detailing. In addition the task involved caving rose patterns on the pedestal, the support arms and adding carved overlays on the existing apron.
Where this really went sideways was when the customer delivered it to my shop without properly securing the load. The 8 foot diameter top arrived as 2 four foot half moons!!!
Got the carving done and my wonderfully skilled finishing guy (RJ Finishing in E Fort Worth) did his magic including conversion varnish clear top coat. Delivered, assembled, and oh so glad this one is in the rear view mirror.
Another successful induction forge, cut off saw, hydraulic press and KMG sander/grinder class tonight. The latest blacksmithing students who completed their qualifications on the equipment. Congratulations: @arcane, @rffender, @michaelb, @apparently_weird, @David_Steele.
This is my second attempt at a cutting board from red cedar. I am aware that cedar is a soft wood and gets knife cuts easily but given that, it doesn’t dull the knife blade as quickly.
Then I sanded it to the char line with our large horizontal belt sander and sanded just beyond it with our upright belt sander. I put a beveled edge on the top and bottom using our router table and finished it using linseed oil.
I know many cutting boards 𝙁𝘼𝙍 𝘽𝙀𝙏𝙏𝙀𝙍 than this one have been made at Dallas Makerspace, but I had a few pictures of this project and thought I’d share.
Hard at work on a 3d printing/modeling project that’s been ongoing since i bricked my printer. I’m remodeling and printing Johannes Kepler’s platonic solids model of the solar system.
My end goal is to smooth it out and finish it with a silver or chrome paint coating. I’d like it to be all shiny and look like metal.
NOTE: Consider the following on each post, to help make for richer experiences:
a good story!
with some use of the laser and some acrylic I had.
