Blog 2018

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You can read about previous activity at What we did last year

2018-12-18 Tuesday

  • Martin L made enquiries about driving 48W of power from a tiny radio control receiver. The answer is Use a MOSFET!
  • Martin C didn't have a good day with the PIC. It was not co-operating with him. Better luck next time, M.
  • Paul B showed how to cut holes in a tree trunk and how to use the electric sander
  • Garret assembled several mousetraps into a single base. The equivalent of a Gatling Gun, but for mice.
  • Jane salvaged springs and made a hole in a crane.
  • Jon brought an element of calm into the proceedings
  • Peter H has a mostly working keyboard, made from part of an aircraft and an Arduino.
  • Ed laser cut some Christmas decorations and noticed intermittent operation of the 'finder' red led light at the further X and Y extents of head movement. To be checked out.
  • Peter S brought in a strip of clear acrylic for Chris R. He has more, so some pieces will be available for anyone who wants to use them.
  • Yaroslav came along to make a spool stand for holding 3D printer filament. Importing it into the laser cutter software, it was going to be 7mm high. The original .dxf on Thingiverse was supposed to be 7 inches high. As always, a .dxf doesn't know what units it's drawn in. Yaroslav applied a scale factor of 2540% and it all came out right. His son Anton made a Christmas tree decoration from acrylic.
  • Bogdan printed out some pieces prepared 2 weeks ago using OnShape. By the end of the evening, he had a cooling fan mounted on the Zombie printer, and working. Achillies called in and was able to see this too, as he had collaborated on the OnShape design work.
  • Paul W started making a wooden pull-along duck, from a hefty piece of wood. He used saws, files and a drill, nuts washers and a piece of 8mm studding contributed by Yaroslav. By the end of the evening the duck was in good shape. Paul will finish it at home in time for Christmas.
  • There were suggestions made. If we are going to follow up on them, each one needs a volunteer co-ordinator. Could that be YOU?
    • There's a considerable supply of wood sheet and beams at the back of Ronny's bakery (rear of the local Tesco Express). Kevin has spoken to The Man and we can take what we want. Could build a storage shed in the outdoor space at Little House, and/or build a shed for a local gardening group. We need transport, wood-working skills, lesser-skilled helpers and a co-ordinator to bring it all together.
    • Some people have Windows PCs and Laptops which run slow after a while. Peter S could offer a workshop/seminar day or evening to show how a Windows device can be de-cluttered and speeded up, and given a new lease of life. One or more people from the Friday meetings could be interested, along with any other HUG members. Peter would need a colleague who is Windows-savvy to assist, and someone's needed to promote the event so there would be a reasonable number of takers.
    • The component shelves have got plenty of things, but it's difficult to find something when you want it. One day there should be a proper sorting-out. This needs some willing hands and a knowledgeable co-ordinator.
  • Attendance tonight = 15

2018-12-13 Thursday

Andres Teaching
Andres Teaching
  • Introduction to CAD for 3D printing.
  • did a basic shape with 2 rectangles and one hole.
  • surprisingly everybody was using the same software: freecad [1]
  • basics: select a plane, draw a sketch, define sketch, exit sketch, add or remove material.
  • Andres facilitated.
  • Attendance = 8

2018-12-11 Tuesday

  • MartinC was programming a PIC microprocessor
  • Phaedra called in with her friend Muzay. Chatted about a bike, Carl was mentioned. Phaedra made some tea and sang a recently-written song about pollinators. (See theBeeLievers.org or @TheBeelieversAreGo on Facebook for background.)
  • Garret is developing his idea for a spooky head which turns to follow you as you pass by.
  • Peter has an interesting-looking keypad which he's hooking up to an Arduino
  • Hi and welcome to three new faces: Greg - knowledgeable about woodworking and interested in the laser cutter, IanW -with an interest in Linux. Has a long journey to come and see us, but it's worth it. And John -3D printing and everything else.
  • Chris R arrived to make a start with FreecCAD and was very interested in a new device that William had set up.
  • Jon lasercut a forest of Christmas tree outlines, then proceeded to make a jig for conveniently personalising each one of them. His activity also tamed our twin bins of offcuts and wood scraps.
  • William has a single-board microprocessor (AdaFruit ItsyBitsy M4, £14 from PiMoroni). It runs off a 5v USB port and interprets Python direct. No operating system or intermediate layer. It's got GPIO, two 12-bit A/D converters and all the usual peripherals (SPI, I2C , UART serial), PWM outputs and multiplexers for the A/D converters.
  • IanB gave a short demonstration of 3D printing on the zombie for John and Greg, others looked in too.
  • Attendance tonight = 11

2018-12-07 Friday

  • Sheddington day
  • Paul W. repaired a musical box / soft toy and a printer.
  • Attendance = 5

2018-12-04 Tuesday

  • Martin C presses on with microprocessor programming
  • Jon needed to to some laser cutting
  • Welcome to Peter H who is interested in 3D modelling, and who has years of Unix/Linux behind him
  • Paul B came along with an electronic microscope. It has a focus range from 20mm to 100mm and gives a clear display on a built-in colour screen. It could be very useful as a micro-soldering aid.
  • Martin L continues to build a small ekranoplan. Today he gave the wooden parts a generous coat of varnish sealant.
  • Welcome to John B who came to see what we do. He knows and uses Autocad and would like to see other 3D design software.
  • Carla patiently continued with her craft of bookbinding. She may be asked to give advice on how best to repair a bound book, too.
  • Bogdan has resolved to create a cooling fan to improve print quality from the zombie printer. Assistance is being given by Achilleas and George using OnShape, the browser-baser 3D design software. Today, two prototype shapes were prepared for the printer, but the zombie failed to print them properly. Irregular extrusion troubles again. Constipation in the hot end, you might say.
  • Mark W took the lathe apart again to improve alignment of the head with the tailstock, then he re-assembled it, including the carriage feed gear wheels. So everything's in perfect working order.
  • Ed had some Christmas-themed cutouts to do on the laser cutter. He also offered to share his knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, and vector drawing in general, if there's interest among members.
  • Aki came in and did some laser cut designs
  • It seemed like a quiet evening, but the head-count was about average.
  • Attendance tonight = 14

2018-11-30 Friday

  • Andrew Did some lasercutting.
  • Ian fixed the lasercutter stop button to do something sensible.
  • Two potential new members visited. Andres gave the the tour.
  • Sheddington meet up. Gave the tour again to Stephen, Tracey and Mark. Tracey took note to make future tours possible.
  • Tracey is a new key-holder (added to mailing list) for Friday Afternoons. Back up will be Stephen. Back up to that falls to Andres at the moment.
  • Stephen offered to make another tip to the recycle centre, so we need to help him clearly label what need to be recycled.
  • Some light tiding up was done.
  • Andrew introduced Stephen to laser cutting.
  • Andres spoke about Library of things and will try to go to a design event for it on Tuesday the 4th.
  • Andres helped with setting up a free account for open hardware makers with Onshape.
  • Attendance afternoon = 9

2018-11-27 Tuesday

  • Andrew continues with 2.4GHz transmitter
  • MartinC continues with IOT device communications
  • PaulB came along to see how things were going
  • Jane had collected some rocket wood from the beach this morning, and used it to construct a better handbag, assisted by IanB
  • Jon used the laser cutter to make seasonal shapes for his office
  • MartinL used the laser cutter with .dxf files prepared last week in Inkscape and LibreCAD. Jon assisted.
  • Carla continued with book-binding, having stitched and folded some pages and having used a book press made in a previous week.
  • Andy is sorting out servers novo and legion, updating our routers and trying to make one working Mac out of two faulty ones.
  • PaulE and Michael used the CNC router and got a good result by the end of the day. They found the difference between 'up' and 'down' milling bits. Can this be documented for those who follow in the path you have made?
  • Garret was here but I didn't get a chance to say hello.
  • Hi to Achilleas with a special interest in 3D printing. He looked in to see how we are getting on and spent an hour or two showing Bogdan how Onshape CAD program can be used to produce 3D shapes for printing.
  • Bogdan intends to design a cooling fan add-on for the zombie printer, maybe Onshape is the way to do it.
  • Attendance tonight = 14

2018-11-20 Tuesday

  • Jon, Andy & IanB did some planning for moving 3D printers to the office room.
  • Yaroslav looked in to see how we were getting on with the new FormLabs resin printer. Andy had been trying to get it started, but the printer is not (yet) co-operating with him.
  • Tracey and Wendy looked in to see what happens on a Tuesday. Tracey is the regular Friday keyholder.
  • MartinL brought back some electronics goods that didn't sell on eBay. They went into the Electronics scrap bin.
  • MartinL and IanB spent some time on LibreCAD preparing dxf images to use on the laser cutter next week.
  • Chris S, Jon and Sam all had laser cutting activities to do.
  • Jon, PaulE and MartinC finally resolved the wobbly top on the big round table by packing the legs with lasercut Christmas trees (as the available packing pieces that were to hand)
  • Bogdan did some 3D printing on the zombie printer, which is now working well. He did a test to confirm that forced cooling would improve surface finish. There's no space to mount a fan on the extruder head and Bogdan is considering adding a fan connected to a flexible pipe.
  • There's an upsurge in electronics activity:
    • PaulE has started a new precision voltmeter design.
    • MartinC is working on IOT communications
    • Andrew has a 2.4GHz transceiver connected to a Raspberry Pi
  • Attendance tonight = 13 (and a good dog)

2018-11-16 Friday

  • Committee meeting for sheddington
  • Stephen fixed a shredder, sadly we had no use for it so he took it away again.
  • Peter helped Paul W. fix his headphones.
  • Stephen very kindly came by to send up some recycling away.
  • Peter fixed reading glasses frame.
  • Peter fixed a shoe.
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-11-13 Tuesday

  • MartinC continues investigations in that tricky zone between hardware and software.
  • Jon made some test engraving and test cutting on the laser cutter, to re-establish guidance on power levels and cutting speeds (Edit - recommend no more than 75% power - you won't get more cut, but might reduce the life of the tube - Jon)
  • Jane had some interesting metal castings that needed to be fitted together.
  • Carla was re-purposing two wooden cutting boards to create a book binding press with PaulB's input at the same table
  • Paul E and Michael returned to the CNC work they started last week. They got it completed as a prototype, now looking for a source of quality hardwood to do some more.
  • Paul E fitted LED lighting to the CNC spindle motor, very successfully.
  • PaulB was wearing a T-shirt that claimed he was away from his computer, contradicting his activity for the evening.
  • Mark continued to re-assemble the lathe, but it was a case of one step forward and one step back. He will probably complete it next visit.
  • Sam used the laser cutter to produce a cunning design of cable manager for a 19 inch test rack.
  • Hi to William, whom we haven't seen for a while. He popped in to collect an old floppy disk drive. We might see him again one day on a Friday.
  • Martin is planning a new project, that involves cutting some rounded triangular shapes from plywood. He traced the shape using Inkscape, and will prepare a .dxf for next week.
  • Kevin did some re-assembly work on a bicycle part.
  • General agreement that much of the 'stuff' in the office will be sorted and sent to WEEE waste if not considered imminently useful (i.e. we might use that 'one day' is not a reason to keep) - if you have 'stuff' stored in there please make sure it is labelled 'to keep' an with your name and contact details.
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-11-09 Friday

  • First Sheddington (Teddington) group meeting.
  • Caught a mouse and released it. Tin is now a mouse catching device.
  • Attempted to repair several devices: headphone, laptop, amplifier, huge screen,... some were diagnosed. Others ran out of time!
  • PaulE came to do PCB design and use the CNC mill.
  • Some logo design discussion
  • Some strategy discussion as to the next steps for Sheddington to find a space in Teddington.
  • Feedback from the Repair Cafe Dyson: it was the charger that was broken using a new one worked. Also Tracey shared with a friend about the cable tie to hold the battery in place and it work for them! so extended fixes!
  • Attendance afternoon = 11

2018-11-06 Tuesday

  • MartinC continues with IOT device intercommunications
  • MartinL donated another £5.00 from the sale of more of our scrap
  • Laetitia hoped to use the laser cutter, but it was not possible.
  • Jon and IanB replaced the laser cutter tube with a new one, with no broken glass and a minimum of spilled water. After mirror adjustment, it seemed a successful operation. Power is certainly twice what it was, maybe more. There wasn't time to do formal testing of power levels.
  • Mark, with some help from PaulC, fitted new metal gears in the lathe gearbox and re-assembled quite a lot of it. The job took all evening, but now the motor turns the chuck and the tool post is fitted. The tail stock and leadscrew will be done next. Newly fitted to the lathe are a pair of oil cups (for the metal gears) and a locking screw on the high/low gear change lever. It was probably that lever drifting out of place that caused the plastic gear damage in the first place.
  • David Lamb brought a laptop needing attention, and someone gave assistance (I didn't see who)
  • Richard Lamb came for a paper shredder that we had looked at last week. He found it, and it now works!
  • Andy continued sorting the computer tech in the office.
  • Yaroslav brought along a nearly-new Form2 liquid resin 3D printer. We have nowhere to put it, but some people might find it a useful tool. There may be another 3D printer coming from Yaroslav soon, this one a PLA filament type.
  • PaulE and Michael used the CNC mill to cut a wooden surround for a touch-sensor PCB
  • We started to tidy up Little House so that the Friday group will have somewhere to work - still some way to go!
  • Attendance tonight = 15

2018-11-03 Saturday

  • Five members participated in the first Richmond repair cafe held at the Vinyard in Richmond, hosted by West London Waste, we were joined by a team of bike repairers and a team of clothing repairers.
  • Attendance was rather disappointing, we only had 2 customers, with 3 faulty bits of equipment between them.
  • A Kenwood smoothy maker defeated us by having 3 of its screws hidden down very deep holes that we couldn't reach the bottom of with the limited tools in our pack, and the fourth screw was a 'security' type, which we had, but only as a socket drive, and that wouldn't fit in the hole.
  • A Singer sewing machine, the visitor got rather more help from the sewing repairers than RML.
  • A Dyson DC44 vacuum with no suck - again the design is such that dismantling was impossible without doing damage - a lot of modern designs have obsolescence designed in.
  • If we get involved with another one of these - our most useful tool was the lamp to see what was going on!
  • Better advertising, a location with car parking, and not on a day when there is a rugby international at Twickenham might all help.
  • Afterwards a small number spent a couple of hours at Little House kicking around ideas and clarifying some recent events. We need to leave the place tidy, and we need to be a bit better at communicating.
  • Attendance today = 5+2

2018-10-30 Tuesday

  • Jon took power measurements at a range of laser cutter power settings. IanB enabled the lid safety switch, cutting the laser beam off when the lid is opened. Both Ian and Jon investigated the Emergency Stop switch, which seems to be set up as an Emergency Start switch. That is, all power is off until you press the switch labelled 'emergency stop'. It will need replacement.
  • Andy did some sysadmin work to the desktop computers in Little House
  • Martin donated £10 to our funds after diverting selected electronic scrap to eBay
  • MartinC continues quietly working away at his project
  • MarkW investigated a drive problem on the lathe, with assistance from ChrisR. The spindle drive gears are made of plastic and one has broken, causing collateral damage to the others. We will source metal gears to replace them. The lathe may be out of action for a little while.
  • IanB brought along some items purchased with the help of Richmond Scientific Society: Adhesives, craft knives, 9v batteries and another multimeter.
  • Welcome to Forqy who had a motherboard repair to do. In one evening he became proficient at unsoldering and resoldering surface mount resistors size 0603 (that's vanishingly small!).
  • Phaedra arrived fairly late in the evening and took a look at the bike we have for her. There followed a discussion between Phaedra, Carl, Andy and Kevin covering a good deal of ground, including the Repair Cafe coming on Saturday at The Vineyard, Richmond Hill.

http://westlondonwaste.gov.uk/events/repair-cafe-richmond/

  • Attendance tonight = 11

2018-10-26 Friday

  • First committee meeting of the Teddington Makerspace/MensShed/crafty place/MakerLabs. (name location tbc)
  • Attendance = 5

2018-10-23 Tuesday

  • Paul E opened Little House about 7pm, but will be spending next week in Switzerland, so had to leave early.
  • Andres came in to show round Susie and others from the first 'Teddington Mens Shed' (working title) meeting last week. (The Shed will be accessible to all genders). Andres also demonstrated the Zombie 3D printer but the printer demonstrated back at him that it wasn't getting on well with the extruder drive. (TODO: fix that)
  • Jane took apart a caravan stabiliser. At first, it was an intriguing piece of metal with an unknown purpose. Then it was identified and named by someone present who knew about caravans (who?) and then it became a selection of nuts bolts and pieces. It may yet end up in a museum.
  • IanB, PaulB and Jon fitted a milliammeter to the laser cutter. This involved some drastic surgery with the drill, hole cutter and metal files. It got wired up and Jon investigated current vs percentage power, concluding anything greater than 70% full power should be avoided.
  • Mark and IanB took a look at the high-voltage laser power supply, and guessed it would suit the new tube just as well.
  • Next week we expect to fit the new (longer) laser tube, so don't rely on doing any cutting next week.
  • Martin returned the long apple picker
  • Martin C was busy on his laptop
  • Garret had a PIR floodlight (from Lidl) with a motorised light that could swivel through 180 degrees to follow anyone moving in front of it. He has plans to modify it and put it to another purpose.
  • Having improved the carriage alignment in previous weeks, Mark was making some parts to allow changing of the power feed gears, so that the lathe could achieve thread cutting. During this time the chuck drive gear went wrong and Mark agreed to investigate and fix it.
  • Hi to Achilles, looking at 3D printing and its practical uses.
  • Ed managed to laser-cut a gift card and Aki did some laser cut experiments later in the evening.
  • Attendance tonight = 14

2018-10-16 Tuesday

Morning

  • REMAP London South Panel meeting
  • * Attendance = 8

Afternoon

  • Andres looked in before going to a regular monthly HUG meeting, reappeared later to help with some website design.
  • Colin needed to retrieve data from an old Dell. Andy helped with that task.
  • Paul B made himself useful, as always, this time wearing a Schrodinger's Cat tee-shirt.
  • Ian B brought a steel box to be bolted on to the side of the laser cutter for housing the extra-long laser tube - next step plating/coating and an earth lead.
  • Jane took apart a spring clamp with the assistance of Michael C, and was pleased with the result
  • Andrew is experimenting with various wireless Arduino devices
  • Laetitia had some large pieces of fabric to cut on the laser cutter.
  • Aki came along to use the laser cutter and patiently waited util Laetitia had finished
  • Martin opened a bottle of fizzy wine he had made from British-grown grapes, and offered glasses to all who would try it. The more you drank, the better it tasted.
  • Martin has been given our unwanted RAM modules and will put them on Ebay
  • Sam completed his CTF challenge device: an FM radio transmitter giving voice commands
  • Chris R would have used to laser cutter but it was all occupied. Instead, he manually sawed up some pieces of acrylic.
  • Mark came looking for an allen key for a control knob, but none would fit the grub screw. He also investigated the gear train on the lathe, as a step towards thread cutting. He discovered that there is no documentation, and nothing about it is obvious.
  • Andy worked his way through the store of monitors - the one already marked as 'DVI not working', 'VGA not working' and 'often crashes' was transferred to the WEEE waste store for the next trip to the recycling, but we did manage to re-cycle the stand to make another monitor whole again. Four monitors identified as fit for ebay to raise funds/make space. Andy has also taken a few HDD's home to wipe and assess for redeployment, ebay or recycle.
  • Jon had a bicycle chain cleaner. Some people were astonished by the existence of such a device - it doesn't really work if the bike in question has hub gears (it does).
  • Carl and Jon outside on Phaedra's folding bike. New brake cables, and adjusters, we managed to release the old saddle and get the height adjusted for the new one, the chain was semi-cleaned. still needs adjustment and a few more repairs.
  • Attendance tonight = 16

2018-10-13 Saturday

  • Two 8 year old girls needed some extra tools to fix a pedal of pedaled car.
  • We did not have the screws (a thin cup hex spanner) but we did have some washers, this helped take the head out and use a regular spanner.
  • Added superglue for good measure.
  • Diagnosed the robot. One of the batteries was flat need a new D size. One of the motors does not work electrically (gears seem fine). So robot only turns in circles.
  • Attendance tonight = 4

2018-10-10 Wednesday

Some months ago we were donated a number of engineering tools by NPL, a few were too big for us to use so Jon took them over and donated them to Malden & District SME https://malden-dsme.co.uk/ who could make better use of them.

  • Attendance = n/a


2018-10-09 Tuesday

  • PaulE unlocked LH and worked on a microcontroller project that allows SPI or I²C chips to be connected to a PC via serial port
  • Jack was using the laser cutter to engrave text on some bamboo straws
  • Jon investigated Phaedra's folding bike - it needed quite a lot of oil to make it unfold, and still needs some attention to brakes, gears and saddle before cycling into the sunset becomes a practical proposition.
  • Jane brought along a TV aerial to take apart for parts; Paul B leant his unique brand of delicate disassembly techniques to the problem of its deconstruction
  • Andrew was present but I didn't manage to get around to chatting about what he was up to
  • Mark tided up the lathe area in the kitchen, removing a bag of hinges that weren't supposed to be there, also used one of the 3D printers
  • Bogdan and Alex continued their work at or on the Zombie 3D printer
  • Elena and Paul (another one!) brought along an Apple Mac computer whose display appeared to be broken. Martin joined the group of regulars trying to assist, but despite our combined efforts no luck was had
  • Ed and Akai were working on a design for laser engraving some logos and text characters onto (I presume) wood
  • Sam was building a "CTF" (Capture The Flag) Challenge
  • Achilles made an appearance again in a mostly social capacity
  • Attendance = 15

2018-10-03 Wednesday

  • Chris installed the new fan on the laser cutter. With a little help from Andres.
  • We have 70dB where we had 90 dB, down to 50 dB by the time we get to the building.
  • Flow is reduced by 18% but does not seem to affect the efficiency. We tested with cardboard and it seems to work fine. No fire.
  • Attendance = 2

2018-10-02 Tuesday

  • PaulE unlocked Little House, having remembered to bring parts for a project this time. Spent the evening on some electronics for a new product.
  • PaulB stopped in briefly to talk with some folks but didn't stay too long.
  • Jon was doing some more 3D modelling on his laptop
  • Bogdan continued working either on or with the Zombie 3D printer - honestly I can never tell if the work is on the printer itself, or merely using it.
  • Alex was assisting Bogdan somehow but again I couldn't work out what.
  • Jane continued working on engraving some aluminium discs to make them look like coins.
  • Jack was around once more at the laser cutter engraving bamboo lengths.
  • New visitor Paul P arrived with a Samsung tablet, whose display no longer worked. Several members looked at it, determined that the ribbon cable probably wouldn't attach any more. Despite our failure to make a fix, Paul left us a generous cash donation anyway and thanked us for our efforts.
  • Carl came with a battery module from a push bike gearshift that he wanted to take apart to replace the cells. Also tempted us with a nice biscuit selection.
  • Phaedra unearthed a bike that has been left in the loft at LH for some months - it needs a bit of TLC before she can ride it off into the sunset, Jon and Carl to investigate further.
  • New visitor Ten came to see what the place was about, and lent some assistance looking at the Samsung tablet.
  • We had a couple of visitors from Houndslow men in sheds, who have a complementary set of tools they offered to show Jon how to make the box-folds needed for the extended laser tube, but as it turns out Ian has already commissioned one from a fabricator locally.
  • Achilles popped in too, but I was busy looking at the tablet that I didn't work out what he was doing either.
  • Attendance tonight = 12

2018-09-25 Tuesday

  • PaulE unlocked Little House and spent some time working on two half-projects, neither of which he remembered to bring all the bits for. Oops.
  • Jon spent some time working on a 3D design on his laptop once he'd removed the biscuit crumbs.
  • Kevin arrived but I'm afraid I didn't get around to seeing what he was working on.
  • Jane brought a new dremel tool she's bought, to see how to use it for engraving.
  • Garret used the laser cutter.
  • Martin also used the laser cutter.
  • Jack was between the increasingly-busy laser cutter and his laptop.
  • Achilles and Dan arrived in a largely social capacity, spending the time talking with others and generally catching up.
  • Konstantin used the laser cutter to cut a mirror for his infinity mirror project. Yes apparently you can laser-cut mirrors.
  • New people Carla and Quentin came to see what the place was about, hopefully we'll see them again soon.
  • Imi also joined the queue for the laser cutter and managed to get some time right before Jon closed again.
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-09-18 Tuesday

  • PaulE unlocked Little House a little early again, with no defined plan. Ended up mostly assisting others.
  • A new person named Tilly turned up with a broken water distiller, which was found in need of a new fan motor. She'll be ordering one and will be back for us to fit it when it arrives.
  • Sebastian had a digital camera suffering a cracked screen. Took it apart to identify and order a replacement part.
  • New people Marius and son Alex arrived with an interest in learning about the 3D printers.
  • PaulB introduced several people to 3D printing concepts and discussed the laser cutter.
  • Mike talked with Paul about the laser printer.
  • ChrisR took more measurements of the sound made by the extractor fan.
  • Bogdan continued to investigate issues with the Zombie 3D printer
  • Martin used the laser cutter to set fire to some cardboard, in the process of attempting to cut it.
  • Jon worked on model train parts, and took a flaming piece of cardboard outside to extinguish it.
  • MarkW brought the YAG laser flash tube again to continue work with IanB's help. Also spent some time squaring up the lathe, which now runs better thanks to his efforts.
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-09-11 Tuesday

  • Paul E unlocked Little House nice and early, and used the CNC router to make an acrylic front panel for a piece of test equipment.
  • Elena, Paul and Andy brought a printer that was not working. We investigated and found there were blockages in the paper path, easily fixed. Elena was so impressed that she gave us a donation and is coming back with an Apple computer next week.
  • Jack settled down in front of the laser cutter to attend to a backlog of card cutting due to our early cut-off time
  • MarkW turned up with a variac and a 500v power supply, keen to try out the YAG laser. Assisted by IanB, and despite a couple of setbacks, the flash tube duly flashed when triggered. Now Mark needs to set up the optics.
  • Hello to ChrisM, who came to discuss how RML could get involved with a possible project he has in mind for providing social contact for some isolated citizens of Richmond, Twickenham and surrounding area, based on a common interest inelectronics, Arduino, Pi and audio.
  • Jane had acquired a rusty, neglected adjustable spanner during the week. Recognising its potential beauty, she has de-rusted it and brought it back to its former self.
  • Garret had a colourful model fairground roundabout which he demolished, to create a spooky bat flying in a circle
  • Brendon is making progress with an IOT demonstration kit based on ESP8266 and Cayenne software
  • Martin added £5.00 to our funds by disposing on Ebay a motherboard which he had reclaimed from our electronic scrap bin!
  • Karl walked all the way from Putney with a laptop needing attention to the power connector. He found space, sat down with the right size screwdriver and got started. Some time later Martin discovered that the fault was in the power adaptor, and not in the laptop. Stuff like that happens to us all!
  • Sam tried engraving a piece of copper laminate with the CNC router, to make a circuit board. Probably needs to be continued next week.
  • Colin brought in an old mini-tower computer, not now working and probably beyond worthwhile repair. We will take anything we need from it and recycle what's left.
  • Aki continued his task of blow-torching the drum stand he made, giving the wood a very good-looking finish.
  • Kevin looked in with a Dell power supply to connect up, but the PSU had two wires and the connector had three wires. The right answer is somewhere in the Internet, waiting to be discovered.
  • Bogdan worked on the dual-extruder 3D printer, which is still not absolutely ready to run. There was a blockage in extruder 1, and he managed to clear it. After that, he got the auto-levelling operational.
  • Phaedra has learned from PaulB how to make clip-on antennae for humans. She assembled a few more, and shared some Bee songs with us.
  • Phaedra was ready to take away the bicycle trailer we've been storing for her. The new problem is that her bicycle is somewhere in the mezzanine storage area, and needs to be brought down. After that, there's the question of how does the trailer attach to the bike?
  • Hi to Andres, who made an appearance after attending a Council meeting all evening.
  • Attendance tonight = 21

2018-09-04 Tuesday

  • Some laser cutting of a box.
  • Mark showed off the awesome holograms
  • David was showing off his infinity tunnel sadly could not use the laser cutter in time.
  • Chris, John and Andres discussed the laser cutter extractor.
  • Paul E measured extractor fan sound level with a meter. Was also able to debug his coreboot libreboot also discussed going to minifree.org next time.
  • Bogdan got the 3D printer to work to his satisfaction.
  • Brendon was looking into hooking up ESP8266 using IOT Cayenne
  • Laeticia tried laser cutting leather
  • Phaedra found her bee heads. Thank you to Paul and Ian for assembling them and knowing where they were.
  • Martin is considering starting a crowdfunded project
  • Achilleas came by to check if it was OK to do some 3D printing research.
  • Chris helped Andrés debug an issue with his usb not mounting since november 2017 tl;dr version is: don't put a folder in your /media/<user>/
  • Mark brought some Mill bits for Andres
  • * Attendance tonight = 13

2018-08-28 Tuesday

  • Garret is developing ideas for another project
  • Jane finished making a mace, and is re-purposing a ball of tangled copper wire
  • Last week Tim removed the SIM socket from a mobile phone. This week he soldered in a replacement, and took it away to be tested.
  • PaulB made some insect antennae (probably for Phaedra and the Beelievers)
  • Helen tried resin printing using the Phrozen 3D printer
  • Mark brought some acrylic sheet for Ed.
  • Mark also gave us a pair of holograms he made at the weekend. One shows our logo, the other shows a 3D printed pangolin. These have been donated to us with an acrylic base and a source of illumination.
  • Welcome to Sebastian who has discovered what we do and seems to fit right in.
  • Jack brought some sheets of cardboard and a laser cutting file, aiming to create a folded cardboard box. First attempt caught fire, second attempt didn't get all the way through the material. All good eventually.
  • Martin had to review the wiring of his heat-powered charger. Doing OK, getting there.
  • Aki made some wooden key fobs using the laser cutter.
  • Yaroslav & Anton were shown how to polish stone, using the Dremel.
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-08-24 Friday

  • Paul S (Doc) worked on the restoration of a second vintage Garrard 401 turntable. this ex BBC unit has now been fully refurbished and despite being 40 years old, brought back to "As New" performance
  • Viv went online and did research into laser cutters.
  • Attendance this afternoon = 2

2018-08-21 Tuesday

  • Mark W and Ian B discussed a YAG laser, and Mark is going to make a hologram of the RML logo
  • Paul B showed Jane how to take a cordless phone apart
  • Jane adapted a door closer to another purpose
  • Ed was laser cutting, observing the new 9.00pm deadline as best he could
  • Also, Ed cut our logo in black vinyl. It's now attached to the outside of the double doors. Thanks!
  • Helen tried some 3D printing, but the zombie printer would not co-operate
  • Aki was doing something with wood and a blowlamp, outside fortunately.
  • Phaedra showed us a combination padlock with an unknown code. IanB had a bit of luck and cracked it.
  • Chris R needs a two-way hinge for a footplate, and is canvassing ideas, while thinking creatively about it.
  • Sam was looking into 3D printing and an I2C radio module
  • Good to see Tim again, didn't quite see what he was up to
  • I've missed two or three others, you know who you are, this is a wiki so add a few words of your own :-)
  • Attendance tonight = 14

2018-08-14 Tuesday

  • Helen came to interview people doing repairs with 3D printing and said she would be back for more!
  • Chris and Andres discussed the footrest for a wheel chair.
  • Sam 3D printed a picture frame for a raspberry pi screen to be used as a hacker keyboard for LARP
  • Ed finished the amazing wood puzzle for a 1 year old.
  • A bike pedal was assessed but we couldn't fix it.
  • Jack visited to see the laser cutting process up close. He also engraved a couple of bamboo spoons.
  • Hi to Colin, who has an interest in electronics, and may be able to donate a number of LEDs and MOSFETs
  • Jane was making things, and demolished a good pair of shoe trees.
  • Some laser engraving was done on different types of wood checking contrast.
  • We discussed thermoelectric heating stoves. And heating stoves.
  • Andres hoovered for 5 min and did a big fuzz about it.
  • Noise complaints might increase in the near future, so maybe shutting down the laser cutter at 10:15hrs is not enough.
  • Attendance tonight = 15

2018-08-07 Tuesday

  • Terry & Bassem are building a keyboard
  • Paul B and Mark made some adjustments to the laser cutter. Further mirror alignment may be needed
  • Martin has made progress on the heat-powered mobile phone charger
  • Bogdan had another go at the dual-extruder Delta-printer. Getting there, a step at a time.
  • Jon adjusted one of the shutters, allowing the window to open. We needed that.
  • Thank you to Mark who donated a number of (imperial) milling bits for the CNC router. They fit in the 6mm collet.
  • Mark made some adjustments to the lathe, truing up the top slide with the chuck face, and reducing wobble (a bit).
  • We had a visit from Wendy, who came in to see what we do. Thanks to Jon for showing Wendy round.
  • PaulE has some new prototype PCBs and is working on a panel design which will be CNC cut.
  • PeterS looked in and had some discussions about his 3D printing plans.
  • Aki did some test engraving on wood, before committing to the final version on the drum stand. Looking very good.
  • Hi to Phaedra, who thanks us for storing her bike and trailer. Phaedra promises to take them away soon.
  • Attendance tonight = 15

2018-07-31 Tuesday

  • Martin had designed some shapes needing to be laser cut. IanB helped get it done.
  • Mark has an interesting laser project and needs help in getting the electronics to work. Mark has quite a few milling cutters to spare and will donate them to our CNC router. Thanks!
  • Jane is now making a mace.
  • Ed etched and cut a jigsaw puzzle on the laser cutter, but power was so limited that it couldn't cut all through the MDF. He will try to finish it off using a handsaw
  • Ed also gave some assistance to Aki, with preparing symbols to be scanned onto the drum stand.
  • Someone called in and asked Jon if we could spare a VGA monitor cable. We could and we did.
  • Bogdan collected his 3D printing from last week, and advised PeterS how to add https:// to an existing website
  • Colin looked in and said Hi
  • PaulE has more electronic devices to work on, and helped Yasin identify why a Thinkpad was not charging. It needs a new connector in the laptop, which can be fitted when a replacement can be got.
  • Ryan has moved the hot noisy server to LHS Wembley, The outside vice got rained on and needs protection from further weathering. The red table was left out in the rain and the top surface is no longer perfectly flat, but it still works as a red table.
  • Sam played about with a Raspberry Pi and a cheap software defined radio (RTL-SDR) resulting in listening to very low quality radio. Part of Sam's LARP hacker-tool project.
  • Attendance tonight = 15

2018-07-24 Tuesday

  • All preparations were made for changing the laser tube. Jon brought lens cloths and nitrile gloves, Michael brought a power meter (generously lent by Mark) and beam-sensitive paper. Paul B came along to direct operations. But sadly it was discovered that the new tube was 200mm longer than the existing one. No amount of force and hammering was going to make it fit, so the old tube was replaced. What to do about it? All options were considered.
  • We've got Bassem and Martin queuing up to use the laser cutter next.
  • We set up a table outside, which turned out to be a very comfortable place to spend a hot evening.
  • Paul E did some software development in the balmy cool air.
  • Jane gleefully disassembled a fan motor, right down to the castings and laminations.
  • One tiny piece of copper wire from the fan was just right for Ian B to solder on to an audio device brought along by Billy (from South London Maker Space), and make a connection missing from the circuit board.
  • Laure is still working on a wearable 3D player (with, maybe, a zip volume control!)
  • Nick came in to say Hi and Goodbye because he's moving from our area to the (approximately) Oxford area. It will make life much easier for him and Charlotte.
  • Welcome return of Sam. He's planning to mill a block of metal using the CNC router. Was able to check out the water-cooling by discussion with Nick. Sam also showed a 3-colour EL wire.
  • Tamsin enlarged the hole in the handle of the handmade birchwood drinking mug, and did a bit more sanding. It's now more or less complete, perhaps a little more fine sanding and something to seal the surface can be done. It looks really good now.
  • Chris R is looking at alphanumeric liquid crystal displays, to interface with Arduino.
  • Bogdan started off a couple of 3D prints. One got completed but couldn't be released from the build plate. The other was still going when we closed up at 11.30pm
  • Attendance tonight = 17

2018-07-17 Tuesday

Guest edited by PaulG (founder)

  • Ian B tried to help revive a fan brought along by Rashmi. Continuity checked, and a capacitor replaced, but still dead.
  • Mark W brought along home made laser produced holograms
  • Paul E finishing Audio Amplifier
  • Jane planning a new wooden item, possibly a boat
  • Ed laser-cut stencil
  • Bassem learning about Laser Cutter
  • Jon building a Crane model
  • Michael B using Laser Cutter
  • Chris R sorting VHS to DVD recorder
  • Aki designing characters for etching onto a Drum Stand
  • Discussion of the laser cutter safety
  • Jim visited for first time, interested in Radio
  • Tim & Christine visited for first time
  • Attendance today = 17

2018-07-10 Tuesday

  • Ed came to cut stencils on the laser cutter, also gave us a generous number of vinyl-cut RML logos
  • Laure soldered press-stud fixings on to the Lilypad, making it possible to attach to fabic 'wired' up with conductive thread.
  • PaulB checked out the resin-based 3D printer and will be changing the laser cutter tube in two weeks time. Michael has agreed to lend a hand, bringing his experience of high-power lasers to assist.
  • PaulE has to complete an audio amplifier to meet a deadline approaching at the speed of 24 hours per day.
  • Bogdan continues to care for all our 3D printers. The dual-extruder work will continue, but today he printed a fan cowl for the Zombie printer. It just remains to devise a means of mounting it.
Robin Dunham
Robin Dunham
  • Bogdan started on a 3D print to make a gadget for micro-positioning of an electronic probe.
  • Martin provided a drawing for a cover to fit the battery-charger project. IanB set it up to be produced on the Zombie printer but as the print time was over 3 hours, it wasn't completed on Tuesday.
  • Andy called in to see the latest version of the guitar-player's nail-guard. It's still evolving and IanB agreed to make further modifications to the shape.
  • Many of us remember RML member Rob (pictured right). He's recently had a heart operation which went well, but he's recovering slowly from all the drugs that go with that kind of intervention. We wish him a full recovery.
  • Attendance today = 12

2018-07-03 Tuesday

Dual-Extruder
Dual-Extruder
  • Jon checked his design before sending it off for manufacture
  • PaulB's Deltamaker is working reliably again. Bogdan told him what changes had been needed
  • PaulE worked on a USB connection to the Rigol oscilloscope, providng remote control
  • IanB did a bit of tidying up
  • Bogdan fixed the thermistors in the dual-extruder G2S 3D printer and got it homing correctly. Next week, further progress is likely
  • Tamsin spent time sanding the wooden cup
  • Attendance tonight = 6

2018-07-02 Monday

  • Remap meeting: Southwest panel meeting. Remap comes up with technical solutions for people with disabilities.
  • 6th of September: Next meeting.
  • Attendance morning = 9

2018-06-26 Tuesday

  • Andy H and Jon set up a CCTV camera outside the door. PaulB supplied the masonry drill bits
  • Aki is varnishing his wooden drum stand
  • Laure was planning a wearable MP3 player. PaulE helped by cutting two microscopically small links on the PCB
  • Martin's battery charger is getting better. He's thinking of having a 3D printed cover for it.
  • Garret had built a Joule Thief, but it seems not to work. IanB checked it out and didn't find a solution. Postponed until next visit.
  • Bogdan is becoming familiar with all our 3D printers. This can only be good. The cooling fan he added to the zombie printer didn't improve print quality noticeably. There's always the dual-extruder printer to finish building. Can AndyH or PaulB provide any information?
  • Konstantin spent ages polishing some metal parts for a guitar.
  • David has a design for a circular infinity mirror. Looks like the spacer will be 3D printed.
  • Yaroslav came in and cut a couple of acrylic panels on the laser cutter. He also discovered how to do editing at the node level. Using a hot-air gun, a vice and a piece of wood, Yaroslav made a right-angle acrylic bracket for another repair.
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-06-19 Tuesday

  • Bogden came in early and used the Zombie printer. He's going to add a cooling fan to see how it goes.
  • Paul E also arrived early and spend the evening drilling (and punching?) a case for an amplifier.
  • Jill L called in with an Epson printer that was screwing up paper and making aggressive noises. Ian B gave a helping hand and it was soon working well again.
  • Jon brought in some metal punches for Paul E's use, assisted Jane with metal working and assisted Aki with woodworking
  • Jane continued to construct impossible objects
  • Aki continued to develop and build his drum stand
  • Laure did some stitching and continues with her plans for a wearable Arduino
  • Welcome to Ed H. He had a use for laser-cut stencils, and Paul B showed him how to set up and cut using our equipment.
  • Andy M called in to see what progress had been made with the fingernail shield (see last week). Ian B showed three prototypes and one seemed to be almost ideal. Ian advised that the STL file could be sent to Shapeways to be comercially printed, or clear liquid resin could be used in the Phrozen 3D printer.
  • Some other people did stuff too, but I didn't see what. Hi to Briony, Chris R, Garret and Imi
  • Attendance tonight = 15


2018-06-12 Tuesday

  • David had some laser cutting to do
  • Paul E used the pillar drill to make a front panel
  • Jon had brought a wood router and bench for Aki -in the end Garrett used it
  • Aki improved his drum stand and tried fitting the drum to it
  • Paul B was checking out laptops
  • Chris R is experimenting with the use of OpenSCAD as a modelling tool
  • Martin needs to know more about charging and discharging Lithium cells. Paul E shared his knowledge and offered help with controlled battery discharge.
  • Welcome to Laure who has an interest in programming Arduino Lilypads
  • Welcome to Andy, a guitarist looking for a custom-made shield for his fingernail. Ian B made a prototype, using the Zombie printer, and Andy seemed quite pleased with it.
  • Attendance tonight = 10

2018-06-08 Friday

  • Paul E did more audio equipment measurements using the oscilloscope and his signal generator
  • Bogdan had another go at 3D printing a boat using Zombie
  • Attendance this afternoon: 2

2018-06-05 Tuesday

  • Welcome to Bogdan. Hope to see you regularly.
  • Welcome to Kai, who came along with some lengths of wood
  • Jon gave assistance to Kai, to construct a wooden drum stand
  • Malcolm demonstrated an improved gas-powered phone charger
  • Paul E did some audio testing and suggested we get a signal generator for the electronics bench
  • Jane made a three-spoke wheel with IanB's assistance
  • Attendance tonight = 11

2018-05-29 Tuesday

  • Garrett was enjoying his crafting
  • Jon was researching some engineering items and concluded our shutter slats are completely knackered on the door.
  • Ryan worked on the data storage server for London Hackspace and played with IP Cameras
  • Jane was doing some metalwork
  • Imi worked on his van, also discussed CCTV monitoring
  • Paul E worked on some more audio infrastructure and shared stories of design
  • Viv was a gracious tea host and brought a positive vibe to everyone
  • Kevin and Ryan discussed the merits of cryptocurrency mining on modern compute platforms
  • A kind fellow worked on a quad-copter
  • Attendance today =11

2018-05-22 Tuesday

  • Garret was painting his automaton
  • Dave - Was fixing something on his bike that Andy doesn't understand
  • Chris was boring out a camera lens on the lathe to accept a microsope
  • PaulB set a marathon 3D pring going and then helped everyone everyone
  • Sash - looked at fixing his ergonomic keyboard
  • Jane was doing woodwork... shhhh
  • Andy broke some 3D printers a bit more
  • Imi was working on his van
  • Attendance today =8

2018-05-21 Monday

  • Remap meeting: Southwest panel meeting. Remap comes up with technical solutions for people with disabilities.
  • Remap members took some of the files that were looking for a new home and were very interested in the what goes on in Little house.
  • Next meeting scheduled for 6 weeks time.
  • Attendance morning = 8

2018-05-15 Tuesday

  • Paul E made some changes to a quiz-show buzzer of his own design
  • Paul B found a way to dis-assemble a specialised keyboard brought along by Sasha
  • Welcome to Paul I who came along to see what we do.
  • Jane was woodworking, but also began engraving on metal coins
  • Garret wishes to keep quiet about his plans for world domination.
  • Kevin separated a pedal from a crank, where two dissimilar metals had united (almost) permanently
  • A couple of dozen bees were looking for a way to occupy Jean's empty bee-hive
  • Tamsin came along to do more woodwork but found it was first necessary to repair the depth gauge on the drill press. That required finding out how to remove the chuck (answer: use immoderate force), and use of the laser cutter to make a new clamp.
  • Hi to Dan and to Andy and to Imi.
  • Attendance tonight = 12

2018-05-11 Friday

  • Paul S (Doc) worked on a few HiFi projects A pair of vintage Radio Shack Minimus 7 speakers were repaired and prepared for full reestoration, an audiophile tonearm cablwas repaired and a new case was fitted for a vintage Sony MiniDic walkman
  • Welcome to Ollie a new faces, who came to checkout the facilities aty the Little Hoiuse
  • Viv made a silver bracelet
  • Martin was sourcing a graphics card for an Apple Mac
  • Garret worked on the painting of his wooden automaton
  • Attendance today = 5

2018-05-08 Tuesday

  • Paul B experimented with an 3D scanner which uses a mobile phone and a turntable
  • Welcome to two new faces, Stephen and son, who were shown round by Jon
  • Paul E brought a crossover filter and measured its frequency response
  • Jane continued to cut and file discs from aluminium sheet
  • Garret had a digital radio with unreliable control buttons. We took it apart, and Garret was informed that WD-40 isn't the answer to everything. He also had a mousetrap to look at and some mesh to cut to size.
  • Sam brought along a Raspberry Pi and needed to achieve a serial interface to a geo-tracking device. With true hacker's tenacity, he got a result by the end of the evening.
  • Chris had some more laser cutting and engraving on sheet material. Chris recommends the fitting of a new laser tube a.s.a.p.
  • Attendance tonight = 11

2018-05-05 Saturday

M0HSL London Hackspace Meeting @ RML

  • First meeting of London Hackspace Amateur Radio Club at Richmond MakerLabs - Attendees: JJ G6VZM, Bill M0HFM, Matthew 2E0SIP, Samuel M0SKF, Ryan M0RYS, Ian G0RUE
  • Signed up visiting LHSARC members to RML - some live nearby, some live a bit further out
  • Discussed Little House logistics of setting up amateur radio station including:
    • putting up the SCAM12 Antenna safely and securely in Little House Courtyard minimising encumbrances / unwanted attention
    • Station operation location inside Little House
    • Locating VHF-UHF antenna hanging from inside loft ceiling
  • Encountered RML co-founder Andres and family on Ham Estate Green and said hello
  • Day was very nice so we took a walk to Hand & Flower's garden on Ham Common and discussed:
    • Digital Audio Modes such as DMR and the popular 'not that bad' modern radios like the TYT MD-380
    • Logistics of Broadband and related address complications for London Hackspace's potential new location Ujima House in Wembley
    • Discussed the Electromagnetic Field Camping Festival and related EMFHams group.
  • Returned to Little House and figured that we had enough equipment (club and privately owned) to potentially do two complementary radio stations
  • Created list of hardware parts to purchase enabling SCAM mast setup at Little House and connectivity to LH air compressor
  • Could we be M0HAM as a club sign? Let's see!
  • Attendance today = 6


2018-05-01 Tuesday

  • PaulE soldered up a 4-core speaker cable.
  • Leticia was laser-cutting fabrics
  • Martin is documenting his generator, and Leticia assisted with producing a drawing from a pencil sketch
  • Imi drilled a steel plate
  • Jane continued cutting out coins from a sheet of aluminium, and improved her skills of filing and sanding
  • Jean L inspected her beehives, outside. Someone had moved them since last time, who?
  • Frank brought in an iron with a dodgy electric flex. It was safely insulated as a temporary measure, and we will look into making a better repair next week. Replacement of the flex would be best, but it turned out impossible to open up the casing to get at the connections.
  • Frank also brought in 4 old mobile phones which were not working. We advised him they were unrepairable.
  • Attendance tonight = 10

2018-04-28 Saturday

  • Laptop refurbishment festival at Little House! After it was noted our stocks of viable donor laptops were getting low, Ryan did the following:
    • Repaired dropped-off HP laptop with a corrupt Windows system on it. Now boots fine!
    • Repaired non-booting Samsung laptop owned by Mandy, installed Ubuntu and confirmed everything was working. (No more malware-infested Windows!)
    • Located / rebuilt power supplies for various laptops and installed Ubuntu onto them
    • Built "Loaner" 160GB External USB2 portable hard drive out of spare parts for data migrations / backup-restore process.
  • Attendance = 1

2018-04-24 Tuesday

Noon

  • Andrew sorted through the waste to take over to Townsmead.
  • Andres and Andrew found out the issue with the shutter or understood what others (John, Ian, etc) were saying:
    • Next to the Up down switch for the switch there is a brown box with graphics and French Writting.
    • The writing talks about 4 motors.
    • The box had some tools hanging off it.
    • The box actually holds a socket type PCB for several relays.
    • The box used to have some screws holding it firmly in place.
    • The box was slighty pulled out. Pushing it back in sorted the issue (make sure the shutters are not working while doing this!).
    • We then found a couple of screws that kind of fit and put them in. Currently only friction is holding them in place but it is a little sturdier than before.
  • Andres removed a selenoid for the Light up community project. And some extra electronic capacitance for Andrew.
  • Andrew rode into the horizon to Townsmead recycle centre. Andres takes full responsibility for anything that should have not been disposed of.
  • Attendance noon= 2

Evening

  • Garrett investigated the descaling of a thermostatic mixer, received some advice from ChrisR, almost completed assembly of the Joule Thief.
  • Martin has taken the gas powered electric generator as far as he can. Now he would like to find someone to develop the design.
  • Jane continued to cut aluminium disks, but also converted an old lampshade frame into an interesting shape.
  • Jon set up the lathe to investigate how to cut a disk from a square of aluminium. It proved to be possible but not very practical.
  • DavidU cut something on the laser cutter, quite satisfactorily
  • Kai worked more on the turntable camera mount, and took away most of the pieces. He's got a laptop put aside for him.
  • Frank came in and got his reclaimed laptop working successfully using Lubuntu. Either Yaroslav or Dave showed Frank how to get started as a Linux user.
  • Dave's LED driver now seems to be fully operational. Most of the LEDs are too bright, and he will change a batch of resistors to tone it down a bit.
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-04-22 Sunday

  • Welcomed a co-operative railroad car refurbishing group just getting established a non-profit entity (similar to this group
  • Ryan vacuumed, washed, sorted, and moved surplus and derelict items to a shelf outside Little House for recycling.
  • Cleaned up fly-tipped detritus around recycling area
  • Attendance noon= 8


2018-04-17 Tuesday

  • Garrett is considering the design of an innovative mousetrap, and trying to understand the workings of a Joule Thief. Will mice be electrocuted? On the practical side, Garrett effected a temporary repair to the flush lever in the WC.
  • Andy completed his repair to a scuba dive computer, getting the corroded battery removed thanks to some help from Jon
  • Jane demolished an electric heater, finding that it contained numerous intricate treasures within.
  • Frank was a new visitor last week, keen to learn new skills. We showed Frank how to solder and he used this to repair a pair of ear-buds.
  • Last week Frank brought along a discarded laptop, which Kevin had got powered up and provided RAM. The power supply had a broken wire, and Frank learned how to cut open the cable, solder the wires and tape it all up again. We added a hard disk, but found it was faulty. To be continued.
  • Paul B spent some time with Kai in getting the drive wheel firmly mounted for running the rotating camera accessory that Kai has been building.
  • Very nice to see Vina again. She has been very occupied in her life lately, but today she came to create a memorial for a recently departed friend, using the laser cutter.
  • Dave had a prototype RGB LED drive run from an Arduino. It will be able to power multiple colour LEDs when finished.
  • Hello to Sam and to Mac: two new faces here this evening. We hope you feel welcome and part of this community.
  • Attendance tonight = 16

2018-04-13 Friday

  • Andy wanted to remove a battery cover from a dive computer where the battery had corroded and chemically welded the parts together. This is still a work in progress.
  • Paul E was working on the CNC milling machine to produce an aluminium panel for a piece of test equipment.
  • Viv was making some necklaces with silver wire and silver beads.These now need to be finished by fitting clasps and polishing.
  • Paul S completed the restoration and rebuilding of a vintage ex BBC Garrard 401 turntable, as used by John Peel at Radio One. This can be seen working here [2]
  • Attendance today = 4

2018-04-10 Tuesday

  • David U improved his skill and experience with the laser cutter
  • Martin's butane-gas electric generator took another step forward
  • Dan looked in and talked to IanB about cataloging everything we've got
  • Jane cut out an aluminium disk using a hacksaw. Only 39 more to do.
  • Imi tested a computer
  • PaulE wanted to ventilate a case by cutting a matrix of small holes in an aluminium panel. He used the CNC router to do it. But first he had to adjust the router which wasn't square.
  • Dave is continuing to make progress with electronics to drive an array of LEDs.
  • Hello and welcome to Johann, a recent graduate engineer who wants to do engineering in practice instead of in theory. Just do it!
  • Hellos to Richard and Dawn, two engineers with their own tool-shed, who looked in to see what the maker movement was doing. We hope you will keep in close contact with us.
  • Frank came to see us after we fixed a friend's computer. We've no idea who, it didn't get written up in this blog. Anyway, Frank had found a thrown-away Dell laptop and wondered if it could be brought back to life. We could see it had no power supply and was missing RAM. Kevin found a power supply and discovered the laptop has no hard disk. Still, we have a few spares in the back room. The good news is that it looks like Frank is going to get a laptop of his own by next week. Next thing is to show him the benefit of an open-source operating system.
  • What else? Didn't get to see what ChrisR was up to, or PaulB. Kai came along to fit hinges to his camera stand, with the help of IanB. Unexpected complications made this task stretch into next week.
  • Yaroslav had an electronic tester assembled by his son from a kit of parts, and this week Yaroslav cut out top and bottom plates from a sheet of white acrylic, to make an enclosure. Looked good when finished.
  • Attendance tonight = 17

2018-04-09 Monday

  • Morning meeting of the West London Remap group.
  • Remap http://www.remap.org.uk is a national charity that has volunteers come up with custom engineering solutions for people with disabilities.
  • Kim Did some laser cutting.
  • Some minetest was played.
  • Attendance tonight = 8

2018-04-03 Tuesday

  • Jon had an item to print. Andy helped him produce it on the BiQu printer, but the nozzle kept blocking. Carry-over to next time.
  • DavidU had a .dxf to cut on the laser cutter. IanB showed him the procedure from file to cut and David got it done
  • Martin tried out his idea for converting butane gas to electricity. The intention is to produce a practical phone charger, powered only by gas. The invention seems to work, but needs some production engineering help. Anyone?
  • Mike had a wooden block routed on his own small CNC machine. He exchanged knowledge on CNC work with PaulB, who might now produce a front panel using our CNC.
  • Nice to see Phaedra after a winter hibernation. She has a pair of headphones needing repair, but brought the wrong ones with her.
  • Also hello to Tamsin making only her second visit this year. Still working on the wooden drinking mug. This evening Tamsin sanded the outside or the mug and carved out some more of the inside.
  • Dave is finally wiring up the LED display that he has been prototyping. He took a little advice from IanB on the easiest way to assemble the electronics.
  • Chris was laser cutting again, this time making counters/tokens for a board game, and a couple of windows.
  • ChrisR has some inexpensive kits of parts for his teaching activities as a STEM Ambassador. He soldered up a couple of boards to try them out.
  • Hello to Viv and PaulS, looking in to see what a Tuesday night looks like at Little House. Paul and Viv are the mainstay of the Friday twice-monthly afternoon meetings.
  • Good to see Nick who is usually in Oxford on a Tuesday, but hey it's Easter now isn't it! Nick shared his knowledge of CNC routers with Mike and PaulE.
  • Last-minute appearances from PeterS and Carl. Carl had an electrical problem with a train track, and Jon helped identify what the trouble was. Jon also neatly soldered wires to the underside of the track to make a reliable permanent connection.
  • Attendance tonight = 19

2018-03-30 Friday

  • Paul started the restoration and modification of a pair of vintage HiFi loudspeakers dating from the early 1970s.
  • Viv did some online research into 3D printed jewellery.
  • Attendance today = 2

2018-03-27 Tuesday

  • Andy took a long hard look at the 2-head delta printer, sorted out some of the wiring and discussed it with PaulB
  • PaulE was doing more electronics construction
  • Jane kept busy by reclaiming interesting parts from everyday items
  • Dave got some good results with his project, involving an Arduino, some CMOS and a shed-load of LEDs
  • Martin has turned from the Tesla generator to a Peltier-cell generator, to generate power from gas.
  • Hello to MartinB who brought along a Cube 3D printer-in-progress. He used an angle grinder to shorten a leadscrew. Martin's design involves very lightweight moving parts to provide faster printing.
  • Two more new faces were Michael and Basil. Basil is planning to follow up a laser cutting design, and Michael knows a thing or two about lasers. Welcome, gentlemen!
  • ChrisR and IanB assembled a Pi Zero with 'hammer fitted' connectors. We agreed that soldering was a better method, but as not everybody has access to a soldering iron, it makes a practical alternative.
  • Apologies to those whose activities I've missed out.
  • Attendance tonight = 15


2018-03-20 Tuesday

  • Chris lasercutting
  • Andy brought back the BiQu 3D printer in good working condition
  • Imi took a 12v to 240v converter to pieces
  • PaulE still working on a variable dummy load, but it's looking good.
  • Jane had something to modify -not sure that it got completed
  • Martin took apart a bicycle pedal and revealed our need for a socket set, size 10mm upwards.
  • Nice to see Garrett. I don't know what he was doing, but he brought biscuits!
  • IanB cleared the blocked hot end on the Zombie printer. It revealed slipping on the newly-made hobbed drive gear on the extruder motor. More work to be done here.
  • Dave continued with the LED array driver.
  • Briony dropped in and brought a fine set of yellow pencils for us. Thanks. Briony stayed to watch the Zombie printer being tested.
  • Hi to Kye who came along to assemble the rotating platform. Short of parts, will be back again next week.
  • Attendance tonight = 14

2018-03-13 Tuesday

  • Tim and Jonathan have some designs, waiting for a good 3D printer
  • Welcome to Pete. He has a number of ideas for using our available tools, and the first one he tried was the sewing machine.
  • PaulB continues to develop skill using the resin-based 3D printer.
  • Martin has sold a donated phone on eBay, resulting in another contribution to our funds. It's really important for us to go through what we've got and decide what we don't need, for there's a world of people out there anxious to buy our surplus stuff!
  • Martin also turned his practical attention to the spot welder. He altered the transformer wiring and with PaulE's help, a metal washer was put into great peril between the spot welding jaws.
  • IanB spent a lot of time re-assembling the extruder drive for the Zombie printer. With a bigger motor, it still didn't work for more than 20 minutes. With David's help, attention turned to the extruder drive gear. It's knurled, but should be hobbed. (Thats what I get from cheap Oriental suppliers, bah!)
  • David meantime had great success with his Arduino-driven LED array. Still more development required.
  • And Simon is still laser-cutting a model alternate universe.
  • Attendance tonight = 11

2018-03-06 Tuesday

  • Paul B and Andy worked on the BiQu 3D printer which has developed a problem in the extruder drive.
  • Ian B and Peter H added a motor to the mechanical bottle pourer, for Peter's next Steampunk creation.
  • Welcome to Kelly who has a design in mind. Jon gave Kelly a tour of the RML facilities.
  • Good to see Konstantin again. He's not been able to get along to see us for a while.
  • Briony looked in, with a little tablet trouble, swiftly resolved by Jon.
  • Martin had sold a couple of redundant items on eBay, on our behalf, and added the amount to our weekly donations.
  • Hi to Peter S, who has been occupied with other matters, and looked in for a chat.
  • Attendance tonight = 12

2018-02-27 Tuesday

  • Aki came by looking for woodworking advice, about how to build a Japanese Drum stand.
  • Jane dremel'd her bicycle chain
  • Andy laser cut
  • Martin and Paul tinkered with the spot welder - now makes the wires very hot - still no welding
  • Jon tinkered.
  • Ryan re-appeared and sorted out some of the computers in the office, there is also some Ham radio gear in exile from LHS.
  • Attendance tonight = 10


2018-02-23 Friday

  • Jon calibrated one of the 3D printers.
  • Paul refurbished, rewired and restored two vintage Acos/Rega tonearms and cleaned, serviced and modified a Sony MiniDisc recorder.
  • Viv sanded silver pieces for a necklace and silver wire work.
  • The Black and Decker drill was returned by K
  • Attendance tonight = 4

2018-02-20 Tuesday

  • Jon presses on with a model design in Fusion360
  • Jane made a wooden box, improving her woodworking skill. Jane also brought in a microscope which Jon explained how to use.
  • Kye has a motor assembly which needed some serious metal cutting. PaulB and Martin helped him, using our newly acquired angle grinder.
  • PeterH called in with a frame and some weird old brass contraptions, discussed his new-build coffee machine with IanB
  • Hi to new member Dave. He's planning to make a sound and light display based on Arduino.
  • Martin had retrieved some PC motherboards from our electronic scrap box, and sold them on ebay, raising £5.00 towards our funds.
  • Garret puzzled over the wooden automata, some more.
  • Andy turned his attention to some 3D printing
  • Yaroslav was in, looking at a laser cutting project.
  • Attendance tonight = 12

2018-02-16 Friday

  • Andres and Wesley Fixed mobile phone screen.
  • Andres and Wesley Replaced Mobile phone operating system to LineageOS
  • Andy fixed some of the 3D printers
  • Kim did some laser cutting
  • Attendance = 4

2018-02-13 Tuesday

  • Chris used the laser cutter to produce model roof tiles. The poor old laser cutter was struggling to even cut through card.
  • Jane made wood filler by combining wood shavings with PVA glue. The whole thing needs to be given time to set, then a little light sanding.
  • Paul B and Peter H spent time cutting a large hole in a wooden bowl. The job was finished off using a router with Jon's help.
  • Peter H also got some advice from Chris on the process of brazing. When the weather isn't so cold and wet, they can have a go at brazing in the fireproof area outside.
  • Andy took on the task of reviving the main Delta Printer. It took a while but it was working before the evening had ended. Well done you! Andy would also like to see all our main tools properly documented in the Wiki.
  • Welcome to Cian who looked in to see what we are about. Cian would like to experiment with using the CNC router. Paul E gave some advice, and referred to his write-up on the RML Wiki. There's also a link on the Wiki to Nick's work on the CNC.
  • IanB replaced the extruder motor on the Zombie printer, as the existing one was getting hot and failing during long print sessions. The replacement motor introduced a new complication and the Zombie took a step backwards into the grave. To be continued...
  • PaulE has assembled a latest PCB for the dummy load, and was making up interconnect cables for the device. The crimping of miniature contacts is an ongoing problem. There are no ideal crimp tools on the market at a realistic price.
  • John and Tim still want to produce a 3D print of an impeller. As the Zombie was out of order, they tried to get set up on the BiQu, the small red printer. Although it took a long time to understand it (the user manual is not a lot of help), they finally managed to get it printing. There wasn't time to complete the print, but they ended up with a slightly short but beautifully formed impeller. That little red printer does excellent quality prints.
  • Kye came along with a motor drive for his project which needed taking apart. He's left the battery on charge this week and expects to do more assembly next time.
  • Attendance tonight = 12

2018-02-06 Tuesday

  • A rather quiet night - do RML members feel the cold?
  • Jon prepared some model railway castings for fixing
  • Martin worked on his Tesla oscillator
  • Imi tried to configure a rear view camera for his van
  • Paul E worked on his power supply prototype
  • John and Tim played with Zombie printer, but could not get the head to heat up
  • Kai couldn't find any staples for the staple gun
  • Andy came along and looked at the BIQU 3D printer, and successfully printed his first part.
  • Ben and his dad came along to glue the wheels on Ben's new project.
  • Yaroslav and Anton showed us last weeks 3d printed Henry VIII, it probably needed some more 'filler'. An attempt to reprint hi on the BIQU had to be abandoned due to lack of time, not so much Henry VIII more Henry the 5/16th
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-02-02 Friday

  • Viv used the new vice and a hole cutting stamp and die to produce discs cut from silver sheet for a new jewellery project. She also used it to cut out and start a bangle, with the remaining silver.
  • Paul completed the restoration of a pair of vintage sound cube studio monitor speakers. This involved re wiring them, re building the crossover networks assembling and testing. A new grille frame was then made out of spruce lath, which was covered in acoustically transparent cloth.
  • Attendance today = 2

2018-01-30 Tuesday

  • We now have a Record #3 engineer's vice, due to Jon snapping it up as a bargain in a second-hand tool shop. There was some discussion on where and how to mount it. To be continued...
  • Jane immediately used the vice to help in her quest to fold a metal plate. Don't ask...
  • Martin went through the bin of electronic waste and found five items that could be sold on eBay instead of going for scrap. All funds raised will be added to our kitty. Thanks, Martin.
  • PaulB took a look at the BiQu Magician 3D printer and started another print on the Phrozen liquid resin printer
  • PaulE was involved in wiring and coding, still improving the variable dummy load and maybe some other precision devices
  • Chris laser-cut a model Russian-style house, part of a series of houses he's been working on
  • Imi had some repair jobs to do
  • Tamsin's back, continuing with the handmade wooden drinking vessel, and she was also able to repair a pair of metal/glass dragons wings
  • Yaroslav and Anton were involved with laser cutting and 3D printing. Mostly it seemed to go well enough.
  • Hi to BeardyAndy who looked in to say Hi. He has some metalworking project in mind.
  • Kye brought a large wooden circle that needed to be cut in half, and IanB helped with that job.
  • Attendance tonight = 12

2018-01-23 Tuesday

  • Simon was active with the laser cutter
  • Jonathan and Tim came with a 3D print job in mind and got some results using the zombie printer
  • The installation of MacPup on Kye's laptop was a struggle continued from last week. It finally installed, but only with a low-resolution display.
  • Martin's Tesla generator has improved since he increased the mass of the driven rod.
  • Garret managed to assemble and commission a pair of OLED displays which showed a pair of eyes, moving. For installation into a future robotic project.
  • Hello again to Ben and Gavin, we haven't see you guys since the Plane Crash! Ben had a 2-motor electric car with mechanical and electrical problems, both of which got sorted out. There's more work to do, so they will be back next week.
  • Talking of planes, Martin is planning to complete some repairs to the Red and Blue plane, and we hope to see it flying once more, when the weather improves.
  • John brought along the fuselage and wing of an abandoned model plane project. This one built largely of solid balsa wood. When he announced it would be scrapped if no-one wanted it, Garret generously took it away with him.
  • This led on to a general discussion on aircraft that used to be built in this area and beyond.
  • Attendance tonight = 16

2018-01-16 Tuesday

  • There's new tool rack on the wall near the main door, to replace the plastic one that never seemed to have the right hook for anything. Jon fixed the rack and added hand tools grouped by size and function.
  • Chris and Simon made use of the laser cutter.
  • PaulB started another 3D print using the Phrozen UV liquid resin printer
  • IanB and Imi looked at a demonstration for the Vineyard community project
  • Martin has been adjusting and improving the model plane, and has recommended some strengthening and repairs to it. These changes will get done and we aim to take the plane out for a good long flight in the Spring when the weather conditions are better. Maybe the flying field in Richmond Park?
  • Kai has a small laptop and wants to install MacPup (a version of Puppy Linux) on it. The problem is that the software is only available as an .iso and the laptop has no CD-ROM drive. IanB and Martin offered help but the question could not be solved in one evening. We aim to continue next week.
  • PaulE has been building a variable load for (for instance) testing power supplies. It seems now to be working as designed and accurate too.
  • Welcome to Mark, making a first visit to see what we do. Hope to see you again next week.
  • PaulE was reminded of a good joke about how many Freudian psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb, and that led on to a general sharing of psychologist- and nerd-centric lightbulb jokes.
How many psychiatrists to change a light bulb? "One, but the lightbulb must really want to change."
How many computer programmers to change a light bulb? "None, it's obviously a hardware problem."
How many help-desk operators to change a light bulb? "Are you sure the light bulb needs changing? We have one here and it's working perfectly".
How many Cambridge professors to change a light bulb? "Change??!!!"
  • Attendance tonight = 11

2018-01-12 Friday

Met up with some members to collect some feedback for a meeting that RHP will have with Jill (Chair for HUG) and Andres (member that just does this stuff).

  • Attendance=6

2018-01-09 Tuesday

Morning

  • Andres: Transforming some files from STEP and STP (classic engineering CAD) to STL
  • Andres: Added Public folder in Kitchen door computer: files put in the ubuntu /home/rml/public folder can now be shared with network. On your computer look for "network files" folder and the files can be found.
  • Kim was Laser cutting
  • Donated 1 keyboard, 1 mouse and one set of speakers.
  • Chas reviewed upstairs storage. And took some draft excluders.
  • Paul and Vivien are two new members. They will commit to open little house every other Friday lunch time.
  • Another Paul came from LBRUT to do PAT testing.
  • Attendance=7


Afternoon

Andres and Artefact's Claudia & Fiorella and many others! will meet today for a brain storming session. We are keen on doing some activity for British Science Week 9 -18 of March so the idea is to do a brain storming session At the moment the idea is to have a large event, in a church in Petersham, probably a Saturday or Sunday and just build some cool stuff for the community, we would like everybody to be involved, from young citizens to senior citizens. Large enough location is available with indoor and outdoor space but will need funding to pay for the space and for equipment and organizers time.

Please come by! The more the merrier!

Agenda:

  • 15 min of graphs, mind maps, post-its everything goes to collect ideas for projects and funding.
  • 15 min to cluster those ideas into themes of similar items.
  • 5 min to vote 3, 2, 1 points to the theme we want to focus in.
  • 15 min to choose a project within that theme.

Minutes

  • Attendees: Fiorella (Artefact), Claudia (Artefact), Emma (Chemical Engineer), Ian B. (RML member), Gill (Age UK Richmond), Paula (multiple minds), Amanda (multiple minds), Christopher (Physics St. Mary's University Twickenham), Andres (C4AD CIC)
  • Conclusion: The Hackathon will be called: Lighting to Your Community We will have different tracks and we think their could be up to 50 attendees. Location tentatively will be in Petersham's Sudbrooks School Hall £75 to rent.
    • Track 1: Blue Skies Equipment needed pen, paper and post-its. This will be for people that want to brainstorm community ideas and will give us ideas for future or ongoing hackathons.
    • Track 2: Light related Kit with takeaway. This will be an off the shelf kit that potentially has a use for the community or educational value. The participants will be able to take it away.
    • Track 3: Lighting up dark pockets in the area
    • Track 4: Lighting wearables e.g. Lighting for cyclists (geolocation lighting with night time adjustment)
    • Track 5: Make sure the environmental impact (bats) and sustainability (energy harvesting) is taken care of.
    • Track 6: Lighting up the generational Gap. e.g. children helping seniors with technology (mobile, tablet)
    • Track 7: Scavenging old toys.
  • Actions: Funding, Marketing, Costing, organizing, getting more volunteers.
    • Fiorella: Using an Artefact sub page (saving cost) set up place holder for the event. Pictures of RML website are CC-By-SA so free to use to promote the event. Collect logos or Sponsors/participants
    • Claudia: Get quote for the particular session from Sudbrook competitors: Ham Library, Russell school, Ham Youth center, Ham Christian centre, Ham and Petersham SOS.
    • Emma: research ideas for non-electronic chemical light emitting solutions for the above tracks. e.g. discussed light bottle.
    • Ian B.: Find a cheap kit that we can buy which is interesting for any age group and easy to assemble. Send Fiorella RML logo.
    • Gill: Find more volunteers willing to help on the day eg men in sheds, find possible funding bodies or key people in local companies. Talk with Petersham SOS about local participation. Send Fiorella Age UK logo
    • Paula: Come up with a program plan to get the Tracks working, organisation such as how to do bookings before hand, how to manage the sign ins.
    • Amanda: Send multiple minds logo to Fiorella, How to manage on the day coordinations crowd control who to allow, code of conduct. Creating a Product or MVP at the end.
    • Christopher: Find Candela Department from NPL comms department from NPL and Nikkon, tell them about the event see how they can help: money loan of equipment. Send Fiorella St. Mary's Logo or departmental logo. Find volunteers that would like to participate to find out what equipment we would potentially buy.
    • Achilleas: Think of a way for other participants to interact with the Tracks remotely (people who are away from the space or unable to leave the house). Industry 4.0
    • All: think about costings send them to Fiorella to put up in the website: we will have a check list of companies or individuals who will fund each part.
    • All: think about any actions that might be missing, find more volunteers, shamelessly ask for money in exchange of Logo on website.
    • Due: Friday the 19th

Really bad Panorama picture taken by Andres: demonstrating that technology in the wrong hands can be a disaster

  • Attendance = 9

Evening

  • Regular Tuesday evening meeting
  • Garrett has got the wooden automaton working pretty smoothly now. It needed a combination of glue and mulled wine to do the trick. The gadget will soon be finished and G. will be seeking another challenge.
  • Jon is producing ever more impressive drawings on Fusion360, and is clearly the go-to person for anyone looking for help.
  • Paul E <LeoNerd> testing and coding a new device with a tiny OLED display. The device is destined to become a PCB before long. Paul also brought along a tub of coconut-cakes which went down well.
  • PaulB has a new 3D printer, maybe another crowd-funded success. This one creates objects from liquid resin which hardens on exposure to UV light. It spent the whole evening making something with an incredibly small layer height. It finished on-schedule at about midnight. It works very well.
  • IanB spent much of the evening with the zombie 3D printer, going through the print process to see whether his documentation is accurate.
  • Jane learned how to design and print on the laser-cutter. The poor old laser cutter is low on power at present, and there are plans afoot to buy a new tube and to add a current meter.
  • Welcome to new members Dean and Candy who came along to see what we do, and seemed to like what they saw.
  • Kevin continued with repairs to an electric guitar -a combination of electronics, mechanics and woodwork.
  • Peter assisted Jane with sawing technique, and investigated a radio device with IanB.
  • Yaroslav managed to do a repair to a small wheel on a bracket which had been designed without a thought for future maintenance.
  • Attendance tonight = 13

2018-01-02 Tuesday

  • First things first - Jon donated and fitted a door-closer. This will save energy and improve comfort during winter months.
  • Chris and Simon were making use of the laser-cutter. Power is seriously down again. It seems that a new laser tube is needed.
  • Jon is planning to add a meter to the laser cutter, to show current. Over-driving the tube can shorten its life. He laser cut a bezel to improve the mounting - who designed the back to be so difficult to mount?
  • IanB brought along the donated 3D printer (the zombie printer), which he has now re-wired and re-commissioned. This is a printer for everybody to use and experiment with. IanB will produce some kind of user manual soon.
  • Very warm welcome to Raul and Cande who visited us to see our facilities. Raul is very interested in 3D printing small items for mould-making and hot metal casting.
  • Martin has been testing and checking the blue model plane with a view to turning it into a reliable flyer. He also found time to laser-cut the hardware for some kind of game.
  • Hi to Briony who popped in with a tin of chocolates for us to share. They've almost completely gone already.
  • Peter S came along during the evening. He was pleased to see the zombie printer as he is planning to rebuild a radio doorbell and needs a decently styled case for it.


  • Attendance tonight = 9