Leeds Hackspace

The floor. In the main space. We sanded it.

Full disclosure: It would cost a lot of money to put carpet tiles down in this space, money which we don’t particularly have right now. We might still carpet it in the future, depends on how it works out when in use!

Renting a heavy duty floor sander worked out to be a reasonable investment. It’s not perfect (thanks to the poor condition it was in at the start, and probably a good helping of user error) and never will be, but it’s a metric tonne worth of dust better than it was on Friday morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsxBdaX2_T8

TL;DR: We’re moving on the 15th & 16th October. Please box up your member storage (or take it home for safe storage) and lend a hand on the day.

As you are well aware by now, Leeds Hackspace is preparing to move up the road to Unit 14, Sheepscar House. The time has come to commit to the new building and start using it as our full time premises.

We will be moving the current Hackspace from Mabgate Green to the new building on the weekend of the 15th and 16th October.

This is a major undertaking, and when we say we need as much involvement from the membership as possible we aren’t joking.

What do I need to do?

• Member storage must be disappeared, or boxed before move date.
  If you can take it home, please do! The less we have to move the better. If you aren’t able/willing to take the contents of your member storage home please at least box it, then label it. Just like when it is stored at the Space we don’t take any responsibility for things which are lost or broken during the move.
• Sort out some rubbish
  The to-hack pile has a lot of extraneous rubbish in that nobody will ever use. Take a look through and place anything you think will be genuinely useful in the “To Hack Keep” boxes that will shortly be appearing in the Space. Everything else will not be brought with us.
• Responsible for a thing? Get it ready for the move.
  Are you responsible for a thing, like the laser cutter, or a 3D printer, or a display screen? Make sure that everything is well labelled, any spares are boxed together and labelled sanely so that we can just pick it up and go.
• Got moving equipment?
  Do you have machinery skates, or stair climbing sack trucks? Fantastic, can we borrow them please?

Wait a second, is the space even finished?

It’s very close, it just needs the final touches. We’re getting an electricity supply installed shortly, and the actual electrical installation will be completed very soon. At the very least the utility provision will be no worse the current Space. Did I mention that the new Space has three toilets and two sinks?

Still do do is floor, door and electrics. Busy stuff, but we can do it!

There will be disruption over the next few months as we rearrange and build furniture, but this is stuff we need to do once we’ve moved in.

What else do I need to know?

There will be no advertised open night for the general public on Tuesday 18th October, we’ll still be unpacking and getting things sorted. All members are of course welcome on the night to get the unpacking moving forward at a reasonable pace.

The days leading up to the move will be busy – essentially from the 11th October the Hackspace will be closed for personal projects. Please come along and help pack boxes and things instead.

There will be a party!

Probably in November. Date TBC.

Thanks, see you in October!

Leeds Hackspace Management Committee

What’s been happening at New Space this week? Lots, that’s what.

Workshop wiring is nearing completion – we installed the final length of wire for the workshop-wide e-stop loop (which will cut power to the marked single sockets when pressed) and when the continuity was tested it worked out perfectly. Dado trunking facia plates have been installed in all areas that don’t need any extra wiring doing. Alongside the e-stop button in the video below you can see the backbox for the speed controller which controls the incredible fan we have mounted to the workshop roof. Fan not currently working, no power, but illustration included below.

https://youtu.be/sEcMO5TmpN0

Samwise (swwils) & Aidan (adnbr) went to Huddersfield on Friday and bought a new front door. The current wooden one is not not only falling apart, it’s also incompatible with the access control systems you have come to know and love. The new door will be installed over the next two weeks.

Andy (Andy51055) and Samwise have been sanding the Foyer floor ready for a coat of varnish. When the carpet adhesive was laid in this area it was simply poured out of the tub instead of spread out with a comb. The red carpet is long gone but a thick layer of glue remain making this a soul-destroying job. (Ab)using a random orbital sander is gentler on the somewhat fragile parquet flooring than an actual floor sander but is still more aggressive (with a coarse grit) than doing the job by hand or with a power sander.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week (26th – 28th September) will involve a layer of varnish being applied to the Foyer area of New Space, so don’t be surprised if you have to perform a hop-skip-jump over the wet areas if you come down during the day.

https://youtu.be/659aWqz4uW8

Electrical installation spearheaded by Tim (timpin) means that the electronics bench (located on the wall underneath the workshop window) now has 24 general purpose sockets available for utilisation by oscilloscopes, soldering stations, work lights and who knows what else. Tom (toldbury) has championed additional sockets in this area to allow various tools to be available for instantaneous use. Arranged in 3 groups of four these sockets will enable three entirely separate in-depth electronics projects to be underway at any one time.

If electronics or metal/woodwork isn’t quite your thing the craft area is starting to take shape, thanks to the installation of sockets to this area.

The current distribution board will be moved to the workshop and be replaced by a larger one which will offer more flexibility in segregating separate circuits.

It is with sadness that we report that Samwise (swwils) is stepping down as a member of the management committee. Never fear, he’s not going anywhere and you will see him around the space.

Now, what else is happening in the space?

• HackTheSpace happened on Saturday, and things certainly happened. Check out the previous post for a brief overview, or see the changes for yourself when you come down to the space and help paint!
• We’ve received an MPAN number for our meter at the NewSpace. Harriet is currently gathering quotes from energy suppliers in preparation for the electrical installation.
• The oscilloscope is here! It’s currently tucked up safely in its box.
• There’s been a bit of a reorganisation of the Wiki. Check out some of the changes, including a push for useful categorisation. Michael in particular has been tidying up the Electronics section. Want to help to make the wiki better? Ask on the mailing list if you don’t have an account.
• Better Slack/IRC integration – Slack users can now query the space status using the ?status command that the IRC users have been loving for so long. Slack users can also check the temperature of both new and old spaces using the /temperature command.
• Inductions – It will soon be easier to get an induction for the laser cutter. Streamlined induction processes and digital forms will help you get access to that sweet, coherent light all the quicker.
• We’re always looking out for awesome projects – if you have done something cool then please let us know so that we can tweet pictures and videos!

That’s all for this instalment. Next up we will be setting a date for the move. We’ll really need as many people as possible, watch this space!