[Swansea Hackspace] One day our space will be as wild as this

[Emyr Morris]

I for one think the space is awesome - I am so pleased it is up and running
and dead pleased to be a member of it.

I look at the Hackaday features of other hacker / maker spaces and think
"Yes, one day our space will be great too!"

It IS still early days, hats off to everybody that has worked really hard
to get things this far. Our resources are still limited, and the room
small, but with more members paying their dues every month we will be able
to afford the rent on a bigger room, and the kit can be left set up and
working.

I still want to see workbenches where things like power supplies, scopes,
function generators, soldering irons, fume extractors etc can be left set
up (but kept tidy). I would like to see a HAM 'shack' set up (I hear
whispers that the Swansea Amateur Radio Society may decide to wind up which
would be a shame), they meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, but
maybe not for much longer... Our current location on the roof could lend to
putting up a stealthy antenna outside ;-)

I would love to see more machines... seeing the CNC machine working on
Monday was an inspiration (shame it needs a little repair now but we should
get that done quickly - anybody got some 4-core 0.75mm cable? I've been
looking through my scrap boxes and have not found anything yet), things
like a pillar drill and a wood turning lathe maybe a metal lathe and
obviously the laser cutter would make a difference too.

As a paid up member having my own keyfob is brilliant, being able to pop in
at any time to work is great - Parking has been the single problem for me,
and continues to be the main reason I don't use the space as much as I
would like to. I frequently think that I could go and spend the day there
working instead of in my own office in Ponty, but then I realise that I
would have to spend a bucket on parking fees which puts me off. I can walk
to the office. Ian, if you want your keyfob, be a good boy and pay your
dues ;-)

I love that people get mad ideas, and that some of them may come to
fruition... It is nice to be involved in a project with like minded people
and I hope I can be involved for a long time. I have no idea where it will
go, what shape it will be in a few years from now, and that is what makes
it really exciting. I had followed and watched the birth from a distance,
and feared that it wasn't going to happen when everything went quiet. But
was very glad when it all took off! Well done chaps! It had gotten to the
point that I had started working out how to set up a community makerspace
here in Pontardawe! LOL

I am pleased that we are doing well on the membership front. And I hope we
can retain the membership which will allow us to grow and for the space we
are in to grow. I would urge anybody that has not set up a standing order /
repeat payment system yet to do so ASAP to reduce the burden of chasing and
reminding members for the payments. Our treasurer and chair are volunteers,
who do all the admin hard work, banking the money and paying the bills.
Don't forget they are not being paid to do this and that they have busy
lives.

Well done all!

Emyr

On 21 November 2014 12:41, Justin Mitchell <justin at swansea.hackspace.org.uk>
wrote:

> On Fri, 2014-11-21 at 12:09 +0000, Graham Owens wrote:
> > Yup thats what im hoping for, everything is still so 'Formal' for want
> > of a better word.
> >
> >
> > Cant wait until I walk in and
> > overhear
> http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q6e9JnaEDmM/TFGS1wDqEeI/AAAAAAAAB9E/iKDWNGJrzGs/s1600/images_pinky_brain.jpg
> >
>
> I too wish things were more informal and free-wheeling, and i can't
> quite decide whats holding us back in that repect
>
> is it the lack of space? that so much has to be constantly tidied away
> in order to move around.
>
> I think pretty much all the regulars now have a key, so it shouldn't be
> that ?
>
> Although i seem to recall reading reviews of some other UK hackspaces
> and being surprised that the majority of activity seemed to centre
> around their open nights.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Hackspace at swansea.hackspace.org.uk
> http://swansea.hackspace.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/hackspace
>



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