Antenna-building class, 6pm!

The antenna-building class is almost upon us! And I’m sure about the time on this one, it’s 6:00pm. If I get there on time. (fingers crossed!)

Students who pre-registered: Bring $15 (or $20 if you want to help pay it forward) cash for the materials. I can also take Paypal but that sucks. Also, if you have any of the old double-thick CD jewel cases (the obnoxious ones that didn’t fit in most organizers) that you want to chop up, bring those too — you’ll see why.

Anyone who missed the registration deadline is welcome to observe, and there may be a limited number of extra kits available, but… As soon as I get my work schedule for the next few weeks, I’ll announce another round of classes. Sign up for one of those. šŸ™‚

Upcoming events: Sharpening, antenna workshop, head-casting.

CC-licensed photo of biquad antenna, by Albir.

Hello, Ferndale DIY Street Fair goers! Here’s a quick rundown of what’s coming up at i3Detroit:

Every Monday: Microcontrollers! This birds-of-a-feather hangout session is for anyone who uses, or is interested in, microcontrollers. Be it AVR or PIC or 8051, we don’t discriminate. Bring projects! Bring questions! Newbies and gurus, members and guests alike are welcome, just drop in. Doors should be open by 6.

Tuesday Sep 21: Meeting and Board elections. ALL MEMBERS should attend, as this is a rather important vote! Meetings are open and non-members are welcome.

Tuesday Sep. 28: Hands-on blade sharpening workshop. Seats are going fast, RSVP ASAP! Members and guests welcome, starts at 6.

Thursday Sep. 30: Hands-on wifi antenna build. Improve your AP’s signal with a handmade biquad antenna. You MUST RSVP by the 22nd to get in on the group parts buy! Members and guests welcome, starts at 6. If you just want to watch and learn but not take home an antenna, there’s no need to reserve a spot.

Saturday Oct. 2: Head casting! Learn to cast body parts for propmaking. Poke your head into i3detroit-public and pipe up if you want to get in on the materials order, also being finalized this week. Spectators also welcome! The going gets messy around 2pm…

Ferndale DIY Street Fair – 9/18 & 9/19

It’s hard to believe that just last year we were driving around the cupcake car at the DIY Street Fair and trying to get people to be interested in i3 Detroit.Ā  Forward 365 days and we are being invited to the event to host a kids Make n’ Take.

Why not take a commercial product that kids are currently obsessed with and show them how to make them.Ā  At the fair, we will be attempting to make silly bandz out of silicone, foam molds and some coloring.Ā  In theory the process will work, but we only tested it last night.Ā  šŸ™‚ Ā  The bonus is it’s free for the kids to try.

Come check out the event Sat – Sun (9/18 – 9/19) from 12 – 6.Ā  There will be art, bands and food.Ā  i3 Detroit will be located in the kids section and will also have the twinkie car and maybe some other surprises.

Hope to see you there.

Upcoming events: Needlecraft, Blade workshop, and more!

Two knives and a sharpening stoneLooked at the calendar lately? Buncha stuff coming up! Members and guests alike are welcome at all of the following:

SeptemberĀ 14th: Needlecraft Gathering. 6pm. Whether it’s stitched, knit, or injected (just kidding!), needles and textiles are the focus of this crafters’ night. Other shop activities will be under way as well, of course…

SeptemberĀ 16th: Geeks without Borders. 7pm. A representative of this nonprofit will be speaking on ways we can be more involved in our communities.

SeptemberĀ 28: Keep it Sharp! 6pm. A hands-on blade maintenance workshop, bring any non-serrated blade, from a pocketknife to a machete. Learn how to sharpen and hone a blade, how to care for knives, and more. This is likely to be a popular class, so reserve your seat now.

October 7: DIY Filmmaker Meetup. 7pm. Anyone involved or interested in film production is welcome! Show short clips of your work, participate in another talent exchange, or just hang out.Ā  It’s been the better part of a year since the last one of these…

Lathe, Rinse, Repeat

i3 saw its latest addition to the tool shop Tuesday night with the addition of a massive Bridgeport mill as well as a honking 14×40 Acer 1440G lathe.Ā  While both were pre-loved, with the lathe needing a great deal of “rinsing” before use, they are both in excellent condition and will make for a wonderful expansion of our machining capabilities. The lathe also had the added bonus of coming with a good deal of tooling, finally making viable my plan of creating a 4 foot candle holder. While I don’t currently have a problem holding 4 foot candles, or any 4 foot candles at all for that matter, I’ll be the only one prepared the next time a giant birthday cake shows up!

Meanwhile, as the literally tons of tools were being “gently” maneuvered into place, many of our other members were engaged in some decidedly less brute force pursuits, participating in the evening’s papercraft meetup. Rather than one of our usual classes with an instructor leading the group, this was run much more as an open forum, with several people taking the reigns and teaching the rest of the group various crafts from origami to paper star beads. The meetup also served to improve the aesthetic qualities of the space by hanging origami cranes and other creations from the floor of the loft area.

For more pictures of Tuesday’s fun, check out the Flickr stream from the event. Also, keep a lookout for other upcoming events such as our inter-hackerspace viewing party for “GET LAMP” on Sept 11th, as well as this weekend’s opportunity to live out your “White and Nerdy” fantasies by mowing someone else’s front lawn with the mowergang!

Also this weekend: