New MakerSpace

[Esteban]

The http://www.slomakerspace.com/ is having an open house today. I am excited to go see what they have in store. I have read a little about MakerSpaces in other cities. It may help me complete my teardrop trailer and encourage me to learn new skills and begin new projects too in a community of creative people in RL. I'm excited at the opportunity.

I'm going to take my "Generic Benroy" notebook with me and may leave it at the SLO MakerSpace for other people. Will share more later.

[S. Heisley]

Steve, you are most fortunate to have a place like that near you.
I hope they grow and start such shops and learning centers in other areas.

[Esteban]

Steve, you are most fortunate to have a place like that near you.
I hope they grow and start such shops and learning centers in other areas.

Yes, I am very fortunate to have a local MakerSpace open soon and to see what community it attracts. It was crowded today with people of all ages, from young kids to seniors, moms and dads, lingering and chatting up one another. Almost all of their tools looked "mature". With so many people in attendance the spaces seemed small and tight.

I am especially intrigued that they have a 4 x 8 cnc. slomakerspace.com/blackfoot-4x8-cnc-router that I could learn to use. It would make making a plywood skeleton for a teardrops sandwich wall much more accurate, easier and faster to build. It might be worth a full membership, at least for a short time, just to be able to use it.

I gave a notebook with the generic benroy plans to one of the groups founders. She was busily demonstrating an embroidery oriented work area of the shop. We chatted for a moment. She was pleased with my "gift".

Later I had a moment to meet the core founder, an ER doctor. He asked me if I'd like to teach a class about making a teardrop camper!? Hmmmnnn, I do not know if I am qualified enough, or would be in deep over my head. I am reminded that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.
They were intrigued when I told them friends and I organized three SLO Gatherings of teardrop campers.

I will return when they formally open in February to scope out the MakerSpace when it is not jammed full of people. There are many tools I'd like to use, and interesting people to meet, to stretch my skills and circle of friendship. I hope they succeed and expand their work area, range of tools, and classes.

I can envision using the MakerSpace to augment my garage workshop. Between the two it could make building a teardrop more accurate (less error prone) and probably easier and faster. This is a college town filled with creative people. This could well be an excellent off campus meeting place. I have the feeling I might easily get help when I sometimes need another set, or two, of hands for my teardrop project.

This might lead to a boomlet of local teardrop builders? So, projecting ahead, maybe the next SLO Gathering will have a contingent of locally built teardrops!?