Hello everyone,
It’s hard to believe that the 3D Lab has been serving students and the community for nine years. And what an adventure it has been with the variety of people, projects, and stories. Makerspaces are important to community for connecting people and encouraging everyone to explore their creative/inventive side; it’s more about being makers than consumers. The Schantz Makerspace has thrived for almost as long and the Apple Creek Historical Society Maker Space is going strong with a myriad of equipment and classes. For a list of makerspaces in our area, click here!
Right next to Wayne College in Smithville, the Smithie Art Club of Green Local Schools is a free, after-school art program for students in grades 6-12. In addition to collaborating with other local organizations to provide community service projects, the club also strives to enrich the school’s art curriculum through fundraising for new art technology as well as providing materials and trips to outside educational art experiences.
Through a Voya grant, they recently purchased a Bethlehem Bravo glass torch which will allow Smithville High School students to melt and create artwork from soft glass (glass with a coefficient of expansion of 88-104) as well as stronger, hotter melting glass called borosilicate glass.
The torch is a table-mounted mixing torch that combines oxygen (from concentrators) with household natural gas. The four knobs are used to control the amount of each gas as well as separate inner and outer burners. The inner burner is used for smaller glasswork like jewelry, figurines, and marbles, while the more powerful outer burner can be used to create larger pieces like sculptures and goblets. The school is currently working on installing the torch and hopes to have it running this spring in addition to a glassblowing furnace.
Back at Wayne College, former student Tim Winkler visited the 3D Lab earlier this week to reveal a musical instrument that he had been working on, an authentic hurdy-gurdy! This is produces sound by a hand-crank turned rosin wheel rubbing against strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses small wedges against one or more of the strings to change their pitch.
Tim cut the wooden parts of the hurdy-gurdy on our laser cutter, even the curved sides in the second photo. The technique is called ‘kerf bending’ because multiple kerf-width cuts are made to allow the wood to bend. The white keys were 3D printed. Building this instrument was a test of precision and attention to detail, a true labor of love.
The hurdy-gurdy was first mentioned in the 10th century as the “organistrum”. It was then a church instrument played by two people, one fingering the keys, one turning the wheel. Tim’s smaller version, called a ”symphonia”, appeared in the 13th century. Click the picture below to hear Tim playing it!
Need to promote your group or anything that you are passionate about? The 3D Lab has a button maker that produces professional metal buttons that clip onto clothing or hung on a keychain! They are easy to make. Your design is printed or drawn on regular paper, then is cut using our easy circle cutter. Your design is placed on the metal button with a clear plastic disk on top. These items are pressed into separate metal base, sealing everything together. The result is quite stunning!
Stay tuned next month as we introduce interesting folks who participated in the Maker Faire last May!
Until then,
Tom
3D printed basketball debuts at NBA All-Star Weekend
https://all3dp.com/4/3d-printed-basketball-debuts-at-nba-all-star-weekend/
| Make a tiny trebuchet with popsicle sticks! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R8MXBSfB0c&ab_channel=Make%3A |
Wayne County 2023 is happening on Saturday, May 20, 2023! Be part of the action, sign-up here with your hobby, invention, craft, or anything that people would be interesting to know about! Signup deadline is April 1st.
The next Maker Monday is March 20th at 7:00 p.m. at 13875 Cleveland Road, Creston, Ohio 44217. Please check www.schantzmakerspace.com for information.
Be sure to attend Make-it Monday, a monthly open meeting every second Monday at 6:00-8:00 p.m. Visit https://applecreekhistoricalsociety.com/maker-space for more information.
We offer a free “listserv” that allows to you ask questions to members in the makerspace. It’s great for sharing ideas, forming friendships, and helping & advising each other. To join, send an email to listserv@lists.uakron.edu with “SUBSCRIBE MAKERSPACE-GROUP” in the subject line.