How to integrate into a makerspace?

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Brian Westgate

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Jun 13, 2017, 10:52:32 PM6/13/17
to SYN Shop
So, I've been kinda stuck.  I miss my makerspace buddies back in Florida, and yet there's a much bigger makerspace (you) that's even closer!  But, even after a year of paying membership (which I stopped late last year), I only showed up twice, and never started a project.  Even though I'm fortunate enough to have some projects in mind and some know-how to do them even, just not the tools.

But, I'm by no means a social creature, and my work is more than demanding/distracting.  But, my current occupation isn't my passion, and I know if I don't keep up with my passion of making, I'll fall behind.  I need to dedicate certain hours of the weekend to get up off my butt and GO to SYNSHOP!  

But, I don't know when the best times to go are, or when equipment will be available, or someone is around to give me a rough orientation/refresher (I've been to the shop orientation and the class on the CNC machine, though I don't plan on using that immediately).  Are Saturday afternoons generally OK?  Do I have to renew my membership before I touch any tools/see if the laser cutter will work for my project?  How do I say hi and make friends?

Hi!

kr...@thcnet.net

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Jun 13, 2017, 11:22:31 PM6/13/17
to SYN Shop
> So, I've been kinda stuck. I miss my makerspace buddies back in Florida,
> and yet there's a much bigger makerspace (you) that's even closer! But,
> even after a year of paying membership (which I stopped late last year), I
> only showed up twice, and never started a project. Even though I'm
> fortunate enough to have some projects in mind and some know-how to do them
> even, just not the tools.

We make the joke that it's like a gym membership with power tools, and in some
ways it's more like that than others. Like gym memberships, it's not uncommon
for members to pay for a membership, but rarely actually make it down to make
use of it. We do want to see people get value out of their membership of
course, but thank you for supporting SYN Shop. It's the money we get from
memberships that lets us keep the space open.

> But, I'm by no means a social creature, and my work is more than
> demanding/distracting. But, my current occupation isn't my passion, and I
> know if I don't keep up with my passion of making, I'll fall behind. I
> need to dedicate certain hours of the weekend to get up off my butt and GO
> to SYNSHOP!

Being introverted is by no means a rare thing in the hacker/maker community.
The best way to get to introduce yourself and get to know someone is to ask
them about the project they are working on. People are usually more than
happy to talk all about the details they are working on, and get input from
others.

> But, I don't know when the best times to go are, or when equipment will be
> available, or someone is around to give me a rough orientation/refresher
> (I've been to the shop orientation and the class on the CNC machine, though
> I don't plan on using that immediately). Are Saturday afternoons generally
> OK? Do I have to renew my membership before I touch any tools/see if the
> laser cutter will work for my project? How do I say hi and make friends?

You do have to have a membership to make use of the tools, but you don't have
to have one to hang out and talk with people. And if the project you are
working on doesn't need our tools, such as you are working on a crafts
project, or your laptop with an arduino, etc.. you are welcome to come down
and work on it. You can always sign up for a membership when it comes time
that you need to make use of the tools we have.

We're open every week night from 6pm to 10pm, and Saturdays from 3pm to 10pm.
Our more popular nights tend to be Wednesday craft night (which you don't have
to work on crafts of course), and Friday's Fauzy Hour talk and security
podcast.

Equipment is generally on a first come first serve basis. Occasionally if
there is a time constraint someone has, they'll post to the mailing list that
they want to use something at a certain time. But that doesn't happen all
that often. Probably our most popular tool is the laser cutter, and people
have been good about time sharing that, even when multiple people have things
they want to cut.

Hope to see you at the shop.

perl -e 's==UBER?=+y[:-o]}(;->\n{q-yp-y+k}?print:??;-p#)'

Aakin Patel

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Jun 13, 2017, 11:50:27 PM6/13/17
to syn...@googlegroups.com
To add on to what Krux said, come and hang out on Wednesdays or Fridays, just to get to know people. Both of those tend to have a lot of people collecting in the front room, being social while working on stuff, or just being social. 

We'd like to see you there. 

- Aakin

Richard Furniss

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Jun 14, 2017, 9:08:17 AM6/14/17
to SYN Shop, Brian Westgate
Hi Brian, Saturdays would be a great day to be at the Synshop. My name is Richard and I'm at the shop from 3pm to about 6pm, stop by and lets talk. I will hook you up with what you need to do your projects.


On Tue, 13 Jun 2017 19:52:32 -0700, Brian Westgate <selroth...@gmail.com> wrote:

So, I've been kinda stuck.  I miss my makerspace buddies back in Florida, and yet there's a much bigger makerspace (you) that's even closer!  But, even after a year of paying membership (which I stopped late last year), I only showed up twice, and never started a project.  Even though I'm fortunate enough to have some projects in mind and some know-how to do them even, just not the tools.

But, I'm by no means a social creature, and my work is more than demanding/distracting.  But, my current occupation isn't my passion, and I know if I don't keep up with my passion of making, I'll fall behind.  I need to dedicate certain hours of the weekend to get up off my butt and GO to SYNSHOP!  

But, I don't know when the best times to go are, or when equipment will be available, or someone is around to give me a rough orientation/refresher (I've been to the shop orientation and the class on the CNC machine, though I don't plan on using that immediately).  Are Saturday afternoons generally OK?  Do I have to renew my membership before I touch any tools/see if the laser cutter will work for my project?  How do I say hi and make friends?

Hi!
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Brian Westgate

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Jun 16, 2017, 12:18:35 PM6/16/17
to SYN Shop, selroth...@gmail.com
Thanks Richard (and everyone else)!

If I brought my laptop (Inkscape installed and got SVG files ready to "print"), and a piece of wood, would I be able to try out the laser cutter under your supervision before I re-activate my membership dues?  Else, it'd probably be a few months before I have another project to make use of the space :)

I'll try swinging by at around 3pm!

-Brian

Richard Furniss

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Jun 16, 2017, 12:42:21 PM6/16/17
to SYN Shop, Brian Westgate
I will be a little late Saturday, (birthday party) should be there by 4pm. Bring you laptop down and we will cut and engrave what you got, I will show you how to use the laser cutter.


On Fri, 16 Jun 2017 09:18:35 -0700, Brian Westgate <selroth...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks Richard (and everyone else)!

If I brought my laptop (Inkscape installed and got SVG files ready to "print"), and a piece of wood, would I be able to try out the laser cutter under your supervision before I re-activate my membership dues?  Else, it'd probably be a few months before I have another project to make use of the space :)

I'll try swinging by at around 3pm!

-Brian

On Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at 6:08:17 AM UTC-7, Richard Furniss wrote:
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