Aidan

We are part of the current Green Token Scheme for the local Asda supermarket in Pillgwenlly. If we are successful in securing enough votes then we will receive a £500 microgrant. 

We would like to use funds to cover materials for two resident makers – this would mean bringing in two new individuals and setting them loose on the makerspace facilities, with a budget, to explore creative ideas. 

It takes all of 30 seconds to vote and no sign up is…

This post documents my work on a Windsor Popular Model 3, a 5-string open back banjo with a calfskin head made at the Windsor factory in Birmingham some time in the 1920’s. I would hesitate to call this project a ‘restoration’ because I am not trying to keep original features. My focus is on repair and improving some things for my playing. The banjo is pictured to the right.

Th…

People have been busy setting up Newport Makerspace over the last couple of weeks. Now that tables and chairs are assembled, it is possible to spend some time with some of the more fun items! The latest additions to our setup are a set of Creality Ender 3 3D printers and a Cricut Maker plotting machine…

I have an old van which I love. It is old and simple, but also well worn! Last year I removed the dash pod to repair the electronics and found that the instrument cluster was mostly made of plastic. Plastic that is now 35 years old and has been baked in the sun many times! All the critical mounting points are crumbling to dust. At the time I managed to bodge it back together with insulation tape, but recently the round instruments just fell off as there was nothing left to support them. So, it…

In our makerspace, I can build things, and help to build things, that would otherwise be impossible for me. There are people who have skills and knowledge I do not have. Without the makerspace, I would probably never meet them. There are machines and tools I do not own, and am never likely to own. They are all there for me to share, in one place, close by.

I can learn from others, and share the knowledge and skills I do have. It’s a place to meet people who enjoy doing things I like doing,…