Weekly Maker Spotlight #7 – Brad Felber

bradfelberHow did you first find Milwaukee Makerspace?

Doors Open Milwaukee

Why did you decide to join?

Get out of the house once a week and learn how to make things for my two young daughters.

What do you do at Milwaukee Makerspace?

Learn new skills.

What would you like to tell others about Milwaukee Makerspace?

It’s a great place to get ideas on making.

What do you plan to work on in the next few weeks?

An Aldo Leopold bench.

Weekly Maker Spotlight #6 – Emily M.

emily-mHow did you first find Milwaukee Makerspace?

I heard a lot about Milwaukee Makerspace while I was in undergrad at UW-Milwaukee. I had complete studio(s) to work in though, so never made it down to the space until after I had graduated. I finally got a membership through work so I could make things for my job.

Why did you decide to join?

I needed access to equipment and knowledgeable people that I was sorely lacking after exiting academia.

What do you do at Milwaukee Makerspace?

I make devices, prototypes, and templates for work. So far I’ve gotten to work with the laser cutter, 3D printers, powder coating equipment, metal shop and finishing areas.

What would you like to tell others about Milwaukee Makerspace?

There’s something for everyone at Makerspace, and there’s always people willing to lend a hand or a brain to get your project done.

What do you plan to work on in the next few weeks?

I’m currently working on a measuring device for work that will help us measure the length and girth of custom garments that are near impossible to accurately measure. I would also like to get back to the jeweler’s bench and get going on a couple of personal projects.

Weekly Maker Spotlight #5 – Lance Lamont

DSC_0012How did you first find Milwaukee Makerspace?

I saw a blog post on some “Pot ‘O Gold” parade buggies that some cool guys made. I watched the video a few times, then noticed that it was in Milwaukee – where I was! Too Cool. From there, I searched out the group and introduced myself.

Why did you decide to join?

I decided to join because I love the combination of meeting new people and learning new skills. I, like many other members, am a skill collector and really enjoy having a ton of experiences and skills.

What do you do at Milwaukee Makerspace?

I’ve used many of the tools in the space – anything ranging from the laser cutters and sewing machines all of the way to the wood shop, metal shop, forge and welding areas. Essentially anything and everything.

The most impressive thing that I’ve made at the space was a giant 30′ diameter UFO “crashed” in front of Maker Faire Milwaukee 2014. I’ve made cases for projects and modified a trailer to carry kayaks and bikes behind my Mazda Miata.

What would you like to tell others about Milwaukee Makerspace?

The Makerspace is a great place to learn new skills and become a member of a vibrant and creative community. The people involved in the group are great, and the projects that are done at the building – be they solo or as groups – end up being amazing. It’s a great place to be a part of when you run into challenges on your project – TONS of creative individuals to help solve them.

What do you plan to work on in the next few weeks?

Through Maker Faire Milwaukee I have started a relationship with the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum. I am working with a couple of other members of the ‘space on two different projects – a large array of touch sensitive full RGB LED buttons, and a kinetic art sculpture using almost 500 stepper motors. I’ve been focused on the firmware development for both projects.

Weekly Maker Spotlight #4 – Jon Hughett

Jonhughett

How did you first find Milwaukee Makerspace?

I first heard about the Milwaukee Makerspace from a poster that was displayed at American Science and Surplus. I was a regular haunt at the store so I often saw the sign hanging there. At some point I found out about the first open house when the ‘Space was at Chase Avenue location. It was a great and interesting time. It was the first time I had seen a Power Wheels race. My interest was definitely piqued, but for some reason I didn’t pursue joining at the time. The next time I attended, was after the move to Logan avenue, unfortunately.  I didn’t read the webpage close enough and I tried to return to the Chase location only to find locked gates. Thank goodness for Smart Phones! I got to the meeting late but still in time to get a tour.

Why did you decide to join?

At my first visit to the Logan Avenue building, I decided that I couldn’t afford not to. I really wanted to join and started waffling about it. I thought I would go home tell the wife about it and then hem and haw and return an see about joining in the future, and that’s when I figured I should just join and quit agonizing over something I was going to do anyway.

What do you do at Milwaukee Makerspace?

I guess I should start off by saying I’m the area champion of the Jewelry Area. I’m working on getting a proper workspace for Jewelry construction going. Everything from simple processes to brazing, lost wax casting, hydraulic forming and more. Currently we are expanding the area to include Watchmaking. Aside from Jewelry, I use the Laser Cutter a lot for various projects, something I hadn’t foreseen as an interest in when I joined. I do a little Blacksmithing on the forge. I spend a bit of time on building tools to use to make jewelry.

What would you like to tell others about Milwaukee Makerspace?

Just come down to one of our Tuesday night meetings to check things out and Welcome to Wonderland!

What do you plan to work on in the next few weeks?

I am finishing work on a twenty ton hydraulic press for jewelry forming. I have an ongoing project to finish a magnetic finishing machine. I am working with a number of people at the ‘Space who are going to be building Daleks from the Doctor Who series.

Weekly Maker Spotlight #3 – Tami Weiss

IMAG3166

How did you first find Milwaukee Makerspace?

I don’t know. Which is a terrible answer, I know. But I had heard something about shared work spaces, and through some means or another had directly heard about Makerspace, because I know I eventually searched for the name Milwaukee Makerspace. It was like it was floating in the ether but I’m not exactly sure what source it came from.  I know I dallied about for a year before finally acting on it.

Why did you decide to join?

The tools! Yes, that sounds mercenary. It is. A frustration I often had is just that I can’t afford every tool I need to make the things I want to make. And Makerspace has all the tools I might want, and so many more! I never knew I wanted to use a laser cutter or 3D printer, but gosh darn it, that’s an option now.

What do you do at Milwaukee Makerspace?

When I first joined, Brant and I had a lovely conversation where he referred to a condition afflicting some members where they have “an allergy to finishing projects.” I groaned, because that’s me. I am so embarrassed to say that is me and I haven’t finished one thing yet. I’ve started some lovely things, though. I can say that.

Most of what I do there revolves around my primary hobby, which is breeding seahorses. And while I haven’t really finished a project at the space yet (though I’ve started many), I have used the space to do little things that add to projects I’m working on at home; painting something in the winter, working on a wood stand with my husband to put fishtanks on, sending him to make something I need, etc.

The biggest problem I have is that I walk into Makerspace and it’s such an endless world of possibilities, that my project idea list has tripled since joining.

The other thing I like to do though is just go there as a place to hang out. I went there for a while regularly while working on a freelance project when I needed to get out of the house. I’ve gone there just to hang out on the couch and think. It’s that kind of place.

What would you like to tell others about Milwaukee Makerspace?

I probably sound like someone with a gym membership who never goes, but I love Makerspace and couldn’t imagine not being a member. It has some of the nicest, most helpful people there doing insanely creative things. I haven’t run into any egos or crazy politics that many groups succumb to. Everyone is excited to be there. And there is so much potential at the space. My biggest hurdle is the distance to Makerspace – we live just far enough away that it can be a hassle to go there without a lot of planning. But I’m looking to move to Bay View or a nearby neighborhood specifically because I want to be nearer to the space. That’s the kind of place Makerspace is.

What do you plan to work on in the next few weeks?

Really boring stuff. I wish I had a really cool project to talk about. I need to clean up some mistakes I made on painting some aquariums for my fish room expansion. I painted the wrong end, so I need to clean and repaint the other end. I’m using glitter spray if that makes it sound more interesting! It’s part of a larger project since I’m expanding my fish room to make more space for more species, and to semi-automate some of the processes for raising the babies.  I’ll be using peristaltic pumps and an Arduino controller. That’s like a 6 months to a year timeline though because I have a lot to build before I can get that far.