Buff, NY North Ridge Builders' Workshop

My brother, Doug Borzynski, works for the Buffalo Museum of Science and has offered the North Ridge a tremendous resource: on-going use of the MakeShift Workshop on the 3rd floor of the museum on Sundays, for the three hours before closing. The MakeShift Workshop has the following resources:

Equipment:
One EMCO Vacuum-pressure former model 1220-VP. 12x18 (14x20 sheets) Kelvin vacuum forming sheets. He has sheets for it we can use within reason; members doing a lot of builds should provide their own Kelvin vacuum forming sheets. He also has lots of sculpting foam blocks and sheets as well as foam cutters to sculpt molds again within reason.

Two Cube 3d Printer - 5.5 inch x 5.5 inch square. For fair trade he gets to keep the image of cool items we design in exchange for the resin to make the item (ABS and PLA plastic) - can only print in one color at a time (red, black, white, or green).

One Epilog 30watt Laser engraver 1' x 2' bed with rotary attachment for etching cylinders.

One Drill press

One Power sander

One Sliding miter

One Router Table

Two sewing machines

Tools:
1 Craft heating gun, 15 soldering irons, multiple adhesives bottles, hand sanders, safety glasses and aprons.

Miscellaneous:
Scrap fabric. Thread. Wire. LEDs. Plywood dowels, boards, and pieces.

Workbenches:
Four 50x60 inch tables with stools. Two members can easily work at one workbench meaning we can have up to eight participants working on projects at a time.

Note:
Ventilation inside the workshop is not sufficient for spray painting. He also wants to keep any mistakes made along the way to show to kids as examples. Also, Martin Camacho (a local photographer) has been invited to take pics throughout this process to document it.

The first workshop session will be this Sunday, September 29, from 2 - 5 PM. Subsequent workshop sessions will be on Sundays from 1 - 4 PM. The workshop on the 29th is closed to the public, but subsequent workshops, as we have stuff to show as well as a sense of what we are doing, will be open to the public to enter the workshop and observe and ask questions of participant-club members.

In exchange for allowing the North Ridge to use the MakeShift Workshop, Doug asks the following:

1) CAD designs used on the Cube 3d fabricator are property of the Buffalo Museum of Science and can be used to fabricate additional units at their discretion.

2) Errors made in building are not to be destroyed or thrown away but offered to Doug to be kept by him at his discretion to use as learning tools for kids.

3) Participant-club members will be courteous to museum patrons and consider themselves both ambassadors of the North Ridge as well as representatives of the museum when answering questions. Depending on the nature of builds, appropriate safety precautions to safeguard museum visitors will be discussed with Doug and approved by him in advance.

4) Participant-club members will commit to participating in workshop related builders events. At this time, we are being asked to set aside Saturday, March 1, 2014, 1 - 9 PM, for a Makers' Fair: 1 - 4 PM is the family-friendly portion for museum patrons, 4 - 6 PM is a break time and participants will have dinner, 6 - 9 PM is the adults only portion of the event. In addition to the North Ridge builders, other makers of things, seamstresses, bakers, crafters, programmers, robot builders (that is evil geniuses) will also be invited. Formal ads will be out after the event is fully green lit.

If you sign-up and use the workshop, it is expected that you will abide by the four conditions above. A report by the museum that a participant-club member failed to do so will be reviewed by the diplomats and the club officers and could result in severe sanctions against the offender.

At this time, the eight work slots have been filled for the 29th (this proposal was first fielded on the Snow Mandos thread and the slots went fast for building armor). Those initial eight, however, do not own those spaces; they are North Ridge spaces and any club member wishing to use the workshop in the future will get a chance. In our next club meeting we can discuss how the club wishes to manage sharing these workspaces over subsequent workshop sessions.

Toward that end, if you know you'd like to be on the "waiting list", please feel free to say so. This thread will be used in future to update session dates and help manage use of the workshop.

 

We have just had a withdrawal from this Sunday's workshop session! If you want to join us, let me know ASAP.

 

Bump

 

Sounds awesome.....can't do this weekend (27th-30th)
Next opening count in

 

The first workshop is AWAY!

Workshops for October: 6th and 27th
1 - 4 PM

Currently we have one work space unclaimed for building.

 

Very cool space and an amazing opportunity for us to work there. We are off to a great start!

 

Workshop this Sunday, October 6, 1 PM - 4 PM.

Work spaces:
1. Dave Barone
2. Elizabeth Breton
3. Steve Lukasik
4. Dan Malcomb
5. Bill Reynolds
6. Michelle Saxton
7. Anna Swannie
8. <OPEN>

 

It is possible I might not be able to make it this Sunday. We have a cabin issue we might have to deal with all weekend. I'll know more tomorrow...

 

No worries. We have one open slot and no waiting list.

 

Looks like I'm going to have to back out of workshop this week. Just too crazy of a weekend

 

We got a lot done today with helmets and side arms. Looking forward to next time!

Next Workshop:
Sunday, October 27, 1 PM - 4 PM.

Work spaces:
1. Dave Barone
2. Elizabeth Breton
3. Steve Lukasik
4. Dan Malcomb
5. Bill Reynolds
6. Michelle Saxton
7. Anna Swannie
8. (OPEN)

 

I will be there the 27th.

 

I'll be there as well.

 

This is what I was working on this last weekend! Sorry for the link. Can't post pics from my phone.
This is a deathwatch blaster. Wasn't exactly a success as an end product but it was a great learning experience towards making it and making it in a way where whoever should want one for their mandos can have one!

http://instagram.com/p/fJf9Q8oRBx/

 

So awesome that you are working on that! It would be cool if this worked out and perhaps we changed it slightly from the original design to have a side arm unique to our mando clan

 

I would like to get in on the 27th. however I have yet another trip coming up and may not be able to make it(again). I won't be able to commit until I know more later this week I'm sorry to say.

 

Some progress on my wampa skull!

Added eye sockets and depth to the nose. Really happy with how its coming along, especially because so far its all paper mache with detailing done with my dremel. At the very end when its him o like I may reinforce the back with fiberglass to make it more durable but I have to wait till I know how im going to mount it.

http://instagram.com/p/fqrBmVoRLy/

 

Next Workshop:
Sunday, October 27, 1 PM - 4 PM.

Work spaces:
1. Dave Barone - ?
2. Elizabeth Breton - ?
3. Steve Lukasik - ?
4. Dan Malcomb - ?
5. Bill Reynolds - arriving late, ~3pm
6. Michelle Saxton - confirmed
7. Anna Swannie - confirmed
8. ALL-TIME OPEN - unclaimed

I will be sending the museum the list of authorized participants Thursday; please chime in if you are on the list and WON'T be using your slot this coming Sunday.

 

I hope to make it to one of these. Very interested in making some feet for the Gonk as well as some props.

 

Well, since no one else is clamoring for the last slot, how about we will hold it for you?

Until the club determines otherwise, any slot remains assigned to a person until they post here that they wish to either "sublet" it, on a session by session basis, or they post here that they wish to surrender the slot for the next person on a waiting list (of which there is none at this time).

 

Well mark me down for #1 on the waiting list please.

 

Please do not hold the spot for me. I would like to get to the workshop when my schedule allows. This weekend is reserved for some family Halloween season fun.

As far as reserving spots, this needs to be open to all members. If this is the arrangement, then everyone should have access to the workshop. Those who have more discretionary time will need to be flexible with those members whose personal obligations do not allow them the opportunity to visit the workshop weekly.

 

I think this should be on the agenda for the next meeting but I think we may be on the same page; I agree that the workshop is open to all members.

But, as an artist, if I start a project, I'd like to know I have the work desk until I finish the project. It sounds like you're saying that a given member might start a project one session and then not have a work space the following session because another member wants to start a project; that the work spaces should be considered completely open every session. I think that would be disruptive to a creative enterprise.

Moreover, as indicated, we don't have a waiting list so I'm not sure how we would need flexibility. Perhaps it would satisfy your concern to always leave Slot 8 unreserved? Then session to session there would always be a work space that members with single session projects could come and use.

Moreover, we actually do have an overflow area of four more work spaces in the back area. But, as said above, we are barely filling seven of the eight slots so I really don't think flexibility is an issue at this time.

 

November workshop dates:

November 3
November 17

 

Slot 8 will always be open. You are welcome to use the workspace this coming Sunday, October 27. Please confirm this with me and I will give your name to security to add to the list.