Category: Community

All things to do with the greater makerspace hacker space community as well as our local community

February 7, 2023

Bringing People Together in our Tiny Shop

Renovated Ace Shop with brand new tabletop, dust collection, layout, and tool storage.

Every day we strive to create great experiences for everyone who walks through our doors- no matter where they are on their maker journey. Our inclusion-forward approach informs everything we do including how we design our spaces to welcome users across the skill spectrum. This is one of the many ways we take action to implement our mission in everything we do.

Relative to its small size, our shop houses an impressive collection of tools, workstations, and resources which presents unique challenges when it comes to usability and access for makers with diverse skill sets and experience levels. Finding sustainable solutions to address these challenges and create a great shop in which everyone can try new things, learn, grow, and share knowledge requires:

Approaching problems from an explicitly inclusion-forward perspective
Enthusiastically embracing change, innovation, and curiosity
Pro-actively experimenting with solutions
Seeking input, asking questions, and learning together as a community
Engaging in responsive problem solving as community needs evolve

While some of the recent changes are more noticeable like new table tops and work surfaces others are more subtle like adding a side stop to our spindle sander to prevent creep during use. Each adjustment and/or repair big or small was made intentionally in response to community needs, observed patterns of use/breakdown, and bolstered by input from users of all skill levels.

To scale plan for shop renovations made by the community at the 6/29/22 Ace Town Hall.

Optimizing Tool Use Space and Small Tool Storage

While our collective imagination is infinite, our space is limited… This reality was omnipresent during our recent project, the Great Tool Swap.

When it comes to using our shop we constantly negotiate overlapping “tool-use” spaces. In other words, where you stand to use tools like our table saw, drum sander, jointer, and planer blocks access to others and prevents concurrent use.

In order to maximize our tool-use space and maintain reasonable workflow we carefully examined how folks were using the shop, identified chokepoints, gathered feedback from the community, and ultimately decided to re-arrange our dust collection set-up and swap the locations of our drill press and bandsaw.

Changes to dust collection set up.

Beyond overlapping tool use spaces we also have limited storage for smaller tools and supplies like drill bits, saw blades, clamps, and gauges. Overly dense storage makes it hard for folks (especially beginners) to locate what they need and/or discover new tools. It’s also difficult to label dense storage effectively and for our community to keep it organized. By re-arranging vertical storage in the shop and finding new homes for small tools we were able to create a more user friendly visual system for tool storage.

Changes to small tool storage.

Embracing Entropy as an Invitation for Change

Permanent systems are a myth. Just because something has “always” been one way, does not mean it needs to stay that way.

Sometimes systems work in theory but not in practice, become less functional over time because needs for change, or fail to fully resolve underlying issues. Instead of seeking permanent solutions, we look for sustainable ones. For example, when looking holistically at the shop we realized we were stuck in a cycle of reactive Air Quality Management resulting in unpredictable and frustrating shop closures.

We wanted to move toward a more sustainable, predictable, and proactive system so we installed a new manometer, a meter that measures air pressure differences, to measure the draw of shop ventilation. We also added a convenient QR code that allows shop users to easily update our air quality logs. This small change has improved our ability to track filter life and stay ahead of maintenance.

New manometer with a QR code to update air quality logs is attached to our Cyclone Dust Collector.

The Power of User Input

Expertise is valuable but it’s not the whole story when it comes to designing a shared workshop for the Ace Members we serve. Systems that might work for advanced users can discourage new users and/or put up barriers to access. Experienced users may notice issues that new users may not, but resolving those issues requires input and participation from beginners to be effective.

Relying on a narrow “expert is best” framework is also counter-productive to inclusive shop design because it can reproduce the systems of privilege and power that have limited who is normalized in technical spaces. Instead, we include the perspectives of new users as “expert” especially when it comes to navigating the workshop as a beginner.

For example, we learned specifically from new users that they were struggling to identify and find what they needed in the shop making starting out feel intimidating and overwhelming. To better welcome them we added more labels to our tools. We also created two Shop Basics and Tool Overview classes to better demystify shop etiquette and help new folks get oriented.

Items clearly labeled in both English and Spanish stored under a workbench in the Ace Shop.

Folks enjoying their time in the Ace Shop.

And the Beat Goes On

Our community is always changing and our spaces need to keep pace with those changes in order to best serve everyone. Through our inclusion-forward approach to design, we ensure that the changes we make are more effective for everyone who walks through our shop doors.

Students showing off their Sculpted Wood Candle Holders after class.

Students making serving trays at a Dykes with Drills Workshop at Ace.

July 20, 2022

Juicy Takeaways from the June Ace Town Hall

Our community conversation was a blast at the June 2022 Ace Town Hall! Our members and leaders met for an in-depth conversation about all of the awesome things happening at Ace this summer, including:

Our mutual aid initiatives
Working towards sustainability
Finding the leaders we need
The New Dirty Fab (roll-up of metal, workshop, and laser)
Our brand-spankin’ new CNC machine.

Here are some take-aways from our conversation.

This summer in Mutual Aid…

Two thumbs up for our 500 Filters Work Party Volunteers!

We chatted about our two major mutual aid projects this summer: 500 Filters and Book Bags for Kids. (see the calendar for the August Event!)

Q: Is there a slack channel to learn about these projects?
A: Yes! #Greater-Community

Sustainability and Finding the Leaders We Need

“Are you leader curious? Are you team curious?”

Ace treasurer and treasure, Steven, kicked off our conversation with a report on “how we survived the Pando.” We also took a deep dive into how to find and recruit new leaders for our board of directors so that we can continue to survive, grow sustainably and thrive.

Q: Can we visit the board meeting?
A: Yes, members can audit any board meeting

Q: Does it (board member) have to be an Ace Member?
A: No, though in the course of onboarding and being an effective board member, a person becomes an Ace Member.

Q: Is there a financial commitment?
A: Yes. It is not a set amount. It is what feels right for you and what you can afford.

Q: Can I grow into a leadership role?
A: Yes! We (existing leadership) are down to collaborate and co-create a pathway to leadership that works for you.

Q: What training is offered for inclusive leadership?
A: We offer a series of workshops every year that are designed to develop soft skills like Micro-inclusion for Leaders, Boundaries for Better Living, and Taking Care of the New Folks…When they are not like you.

We finished up talking about leadership with a discussion about what Ace members can do to get involved and/or support creating an “attractive leadership pathway.”

Bring up the topic on #general
Start a small group discussion (platform of your choice)
Book time with officers and leaders to discuss more in-depth
Ask for questions to be added to the next board meeting and attend!
Recruit directly

Dirty Fab (Roll-up of Laser, Metal, and Shop)

Tools ready for Dirty Fab?

The major thrust of our Dirty Fab conversation centered on the need for more instructors!

Q: What does Dirty Fab need?
A: Dirty Fab needs people to teach!

Now that the Laser, Metal, and Shop programs fall under “Dirty Fab” we need folks to teach:

Metal Shop Basics
Metal lathe
Wood Lathe Basics
Any Metal Class Subject

The Brand New Ace CNC

Saying goodbye to our old CNC machine!

Ace is getting a new, higher-quality, CNC machine and will be donating our old one to either another organization or a local maker running a business.

Q: Why are we getting a higher quality CNC?
A: The Ace CNC Router is the only public access CNC Router in the East Bay and it falls short of meeting the community’s needs. It is also a pain in the ass (P.I.T.A.) to maintain and our new one will help attract and maintain stewards and teams.

Q: Will people need to re-certify?
A: Yes. When the new machine rolls out it will be a two-track approach. One for folks who are certified on the existing machine and another for folks starting from scratch.

To Be Continued…

We touched on many topics at the town hall, and there is so much to look forward to at Ace this summer, but there is always more to talk about. The conversation will, of course, continue.

November 2, 2021

Cela Smith: Board Chairperson

Introduction

Cela Smith is the board chairperson at Ace Makerspace. Given the current state of rebuilding that Ace is going through, I thought it would be useful to learn from an executive what’s going on, while also finding out more about another member of Ace. I’m Carter Jenkins, and I had the opportunity to talk with Cela about what she does and how she does it.

History with Ace

Most board members at Ace end up in their position by volunteering their way up the ranks. They start as being regular members, then over time eventually make the shift to becoming a leader in the place they love. Cela’s story, however, was a bit different.

Cela found Ace through Board Match, a networking service that allows non-profit organizations to meet highly skilled professionals in the hopes of recruiting them to a board position. In one building, more than 100 non-profit organizations had gathered to recruit new members. Cela eventually found herself at the booth for Ace, something she had never heard of. However, she quickly learned that Ace was a place that could offer a lot to her. As someone who was interested in education, science/technology, animals, and nature-conservation type stuff, Ace offered a great window into science and education. This prompted Cela to take a tour of the physical space and after that, she was hooked. 2 years later, and Cela is still here doing what she loves.

Upcoming Things at Ace

Despite the recent COVID surge, the officers and the board have some big plans in the works. First, public events are coming back, like those hosted at the Oakland Public Library and Oakland First Fridays. The events, while being a good way to get the word out about Ace, are also incredibly fun for both the participants and the members arranging them so Cela is very excited to have those back. The other is the project-based learning system (I touched on this in another article, you can read about that here). Ace already classes on how to use tools and things like that, but with this new system, you’ll be actually building complicated things that you could take home with you and actually use/look at.

From left to right: Cela, Miriam Levenson, and Rachel/Crafty

A Few Words from Cela

I asked Cela about what advice she would give to future board members, and what she said was so well thought out that I decided to put it right here, word for word.

“It’s important to be open-minded and flexible. When you’re trying to help out a non-profit, you want to help to guide things in a certain way. Of course, it’s never going to be 100% what you expect, you need to be ready to adapt to the needs of the organization instead of pushing your own agenda onto the org. Having respect for other people is also very important. It’s essential to remember we’re all just people, so even if there are differences of opinion we still need to respect each other.”

To wrap up, Cela loves being in the maker space itself. Walking around, she can get a lot of cool ideas for projects. Even if she doesn’t end up doing them, it’s great to see creativity in action. With a love of the spaces’ values and its ability to be for a broader community for more than just makers, Cela is grateful for the opportunity to be at Ace. I’m Carter Jenkins and thank you for reading.

Interested in joining the Ace Makerspace Board? Contact “[email protected]”

September 24, 2021

Field Trip to Peroba Reclaimed

We recently went on a field trip To Peroba Reclaimed out in Richmond. They specialize in reclaimed lumber and live edge slabs ethically harvested. The staff was lovely and helpful. And really patient with us digging through their off-cuts pile. We were on a mission to get affordable wood to use in Ace project-based workshops. Not only did we find affordable products but really pretty options we can feel good about spending community money on. We definitely recommend going out there when you are ready to level up your solid wood projects.

https://www.perobareclaimed.com/

So many pretty slabs

Rounds and free bark

Reclaimed barnwood

The off-cuts pile

More slabs

Such variety of wood

Free BARK

Really Tall Slabs

August 22, 2021

Painted Leather Bracelets at the Library

At the Golden Gate Library, families got together with us to experiment with leather-working skills, creating personalized bracelets.

Folk could choose from precut bracelets or leather scraps they cut themselves. We brought a wide range of stamps, paints, and hardware that each person used to individualize their very own wearable work of art.

August 1, 2021

Metal Maestro: Josh Leslie

Introduction

Josh originally went to the School of the Arts in Chicago for aerospace engineering, with the intention to learn “how to make things.” But after two years, he realized that the field wasn’t for him. So halfway through his college career, Josh made the decision to switch to industrial design. He later graduated with a degree in object design, which is a similar field to industrial design but is based much more on conceptual design rather than more reality-based and pragmatic design.

After moving to the Bay Area several months ago, Josh found Ace Makerspace completely by chance and decided to join for two main reasons. One reason was that Ace offered easy shop access for a recent graduate itching to do some work. The other is that Josh wanted to share his experience with others and spread the knowledge that he has gained both in college and on his own.

Josh’s Work at Ace

Josh primarily maintains the metal shop and is part of a movement to make the entire space more user-friendly. Right before Josh took over as metal steward, the metal shop at Ace was rearranged by a few other engaged members. The main purpose of this was to make the space more friendly towards a wider range of users rather than only those who were already experienced.

In early August, Ace plans to have the storage area and actual work area flipped in the metal shop room, and Josh is a big supporter (and soon to be facilitator) of this change. As of the writing of this article, when you enter the metal shop you’re immediately met with the member storage space. All of the tools are kept behind all the shelving units in a much smaller area. The idea is to put the tools up-front to make it more user-accessible and to make the metal shop more friendly to the people who walk by it.

In terms of more instructor-oriented work, Josh is part of the Ace movement to change up its teaching style. The new style has three varieties, called Access, Exposure, and Experience-based education. In essence, it’s a 3-part process of learning how to use tools properly, doing something constructive and fun with the tools, and offering more elaborate projects for those seeking more experience. In Josh’s words, “Instead of ‘hey, just cut this block of metal,’ we’re developing project and skill-based classes of varying levels so that you’re not banging nails into a board, you’re actually making something.” One of those ideas was instead of just randomly cutting metal for a class, why not make some basic windchimes that you might actually keep? Another is crafting simple metal jewelry.

Even though Josh has only been at Ace for a few months, he has already made an impact on the community with his friendly personality and willingness to help others. When he isn’t in the metal shop, he can be found helping in mutual aid projects around the Ace space such as the 500 filters project. Keep an eye out for the metal shop revamp later this year.

This article is part of an Ace Makerspace interview series by Carter Jenkins.

June 21, 2021

June 15th Town Hall

On Tuesday, June 15th, Ace held a virtual town hall meeting to discuss a couple of things about Ace’s near future. I had the pleasure of attending this meeting so that I could report on what went down.

A lot of the meeting had to do with dealing with a new, not quite pandemic but not the post-pandemic environment. With Ace’s membership numbers slowly going up to pre-pandemic levels, there were a lot of clarifying questions about relaxing old protocols such as key fobbing and stricter counting of how many people are in a room. Rachel Crafty, Ace’s executive director, asked for input on the new system for keeping track of who’s in the building. This system is called the booking system, and it allows members to claim time in certain workspaces and also see who else is going to be there at what times. Even though this is essentially a more refined version of typing a message in Slack, a couple of things still needed to be sorted such as who has access to older data and how user privacy should be protected.

There was a lot of talk about how masking protocol and vaccination should be considered in a time where both are inconsistent and hard to measure. Ace uses surveys and protocols to keep an eye on these things, however, some meeting attendees thought it would be best if this data was made public. That way, both instructors and members alike could have more information about who they were with and how careful they would need to be. This discussion was eventually tabled after a lot of discourse didn’t result in a clear answer. The newly reopened guest policy was also a topic of discussion, more specifically how member policy and guidelines should apply to the guests they bring. It was eventually determined that the member who brings in the guest is responsible for whatever their guest does during their time at Ace.

The final minutes of the meeting were spent talking about the co-working space at Ace. 15 months ago, the space was reconfigured to make it more COVID protocol friendly, but nowadays it’s more awkward than helpful. Ace is planning to introduce a “rent-a-desk” program, where people outside the Ace community can rent a desk at the Ace building and use it as a personal workspace. Co-working is the ideal place for this program, but at the moment it’s at a weird spot. Besides the obvious rearranging of desks, a few attendees suggested adding lockboxes to the rented desks to guarantee some more privacy to those renting the desks. What privileges these renters should have relative to members was also discussed. It was eventually decided that renters should have similar abilities to members and should be valued at the same level. Ace at the moment wants to diversify who comes to their space, and this desk renting program is part of that plan. It will hopefully get the renters interested in the tooling at Ace, and the members interested in the working space at Ace that will offer a fresh alternative to the year of at-home work we’ve been doing.

Hopefully, you’ve learned a little more about what’s going on behind the scenes at Ace.

June 21, 2021

Lasering in on Patrick Davies

Introduction

Patrick has been an Ace member for about 4 years. However, in that time he has quickly grown proficient with laser cutting, served on the Ace board, and has become a beloved member of the Ace community. I’m Carter Jenkins, and I had the chance to talk with Patrick about what he does and why he does it.

History with Ace

Some of Patrick’s dividers in a store

Patrick’s story begins after he finished school at the California College of the Arts. Having studied industrial design, he was on the lookout for a place to use the skills he’d learned. His search eventually led him to Ace, located in a neighborhood that Patrick used to live in. Patrick quickly found that Ace fostered a very creative and friendly learning environment that he enjoyed. The close proximity to his home was a boon too. Soon Patrick was working on social media outreach with fellow Ace members as well as doing his own personal laser cutting work. He even served on the Ace board for a year.

Nowadays, Patrick does a lot of laser cutting and is a part of the maintenance crew for that machine. He enjoys working on the machine and likes to see it working well. As a precision-based instrument, he likes fine-tuning the various parts of it in order to get it into tip-top shape.

Patrick’s Work

Examples of Patrick’s work

Over the years, Patrick has created a small business based on the laser work he does at Ace. This whole thing started back in design school when Patrick developed a liking for vinyl record collecting. He made his own plywood inserts for jukeboxes, eventually selling them to small record stores as a side business. Word of mouth spread his work, and now Patrick sells custom-made inserts and dividers to all kinds of record stores. This isn’t the only work he does, however. Even with a name in record-making, he is open to all kinds of design work. Check out his Instagram page to see his work and even get a commission at https://www.instagram.com/fluidcut/?hl=en.

Patrick’s process is simple. He works mostly with plywood to create the products he then sells. He has experimented with different kinds of materials like acrylic and solid wood, but there are a couple of reasons why he has stuck with plywood over the years. Not only are some materials not environmentally friendly, but Patrick has found that the material type he uses doesn’t always make the impact he wants. When his customers see one plywood product and one solid wood product, they don’t see the craftwork that went into making it. They see two identical things with different prices. Patrick continues to use plywood, a material that can do any job at a reasonable price.

Conclusion

This summer, Patrick is looking forward to being in a less covid-restricted environment. With no major projects in mind, he will continue to work with the laser in order to fine-tune and make more creations. After all, the more enjoyable moments of his life happen when a piece of work comes out exactly as he envisioned it.

June 15, 2021

COVID UPDATE: June 15th Reopening

15 months later

It has been a series of hard rapid changes, long swaths of ambiguity, and holding patterns over the last 15 months. The Ace Community has come together to support our neighbors here in Oakland and throughout the bay area — and to support each other. Without the continued support of members throughout this difficult time, Ace Makerspace wouldn’t be here today. Not only is Ace and the Ace community still here but we are poised to be even better and more creative — connecting more people not only to technology and education but to each other.

Masks, Sanitization and Social Distancing

Masks are currently required in all common spaces and hallways of the building Ace Makerspace occupies. Everyone should wear a mask in the hallways and bathrooms and follow all posted notices.

Masks are now optional for vaccinated people in Ace spaces. If you are vaccinated wearing a mask is now optional in Ace Spaces. Please follow all posted signage in other parts of the building.

Unvaccinated people need to wear a mask in all Ace spaces. If you are not vaccinated please were a mask in all Ace spaces with other people for your own safety as recommended by the CDC.

Sanitization is still the policy. Cleaning your touchpoints and sanitizing your hands is still the right thing to do. These are the vectors of infection. Also, avoid touching your face. Ace will continue to provide cleaners and hand sanitizers.

6 Feet is no longer the rule. Per the CDC, social distancing is no longer required for vaccinated people. It is still recommended especially indoors for unvaccinated people. Occupancy limits now revert back to those dictated by physical safety, the fire marshall limits, and common sense.

Visiting Ace

We are bringing back the Thursday night 7pm tours! You can still book tours by appointment but they will no longer be 1:1.
Then New Member Orientation Workshop is now a live event instead of just virtual. During this live event, food and beverages may be served and it can now accommodate more folks.
The sign-up process is much shorter with a COVID Safety Certification no longer required.

Member Privileges

Guests. Ace has reinstated our very liberal guest policy for members. Members can have as many guests as they want, as long as they abide by Ace policies and social contract and have a signed guest waiver on file. For more about the ACE guest policy see this wiki page.
Eating is now allowed again in the space. We have two great honor bars filled with snacks and drinks with fridges for day use. Members need to clean up after themselves as ants are no fun.

Renovations in the near future

Now that we no longer need to keep 6 feet (or more) apart all of the spaces will undergo renovations in the near future. A few of the updates currently under consideration:

Rentable Dedicated desks in Clean Fabrication
More fundraising to support the mission!
Adding back more hot desks in CoWorking
Shrinking the Textiles footprint
More events!
New kinds of project based classes

June 2, 2021

Ted Huller: 3D Printing Master

Introduction

Ted Huller is a long-time Ace member and also Ace’s resident 3D Printing Steward. I’m Carter Jenkins, and I had the chance to talk with Ted about his history with Ace as well as some recent work he has done.

Ted’s History with Ace

Ted is a long-time friend of Ace Executive Director Rachel Crafty, but Ted’s story begins before Rachel was in that role. Ted works in a laboratory, and throughout his working process, he sometimes finds that he needs to make custom-built parts in order to fulfill certain jobs. He normally would make these parts out of wood, (Ted is a master woodworker) but one day the job required a small beaker holder that was too fine to make with wood. Hearing about Ace’s 3D printing workspace, Ted decided that he should learn some basic skills in 3D printing so that he could handle situations like these. He admits the process wasn’t very smooth, but in the end, he had a working product, and that experience made Ted very interested in 3D printing as a whole.

Fast forward a few years, and Ted became a regular Ace member. He still did woodworking at home, but the Ace makerspace had become his new home for metalwork and some 3D printing. Ted quickly got his own 3D printer at home, meaning that his interactions with Ace slowly dwindled as his needs for printing materials shrunk. One day, however, former 3D printing steward Matt stepped down, leaving the position open to anyone in the Ace community. After some deliberation, Ted decided that he should give something back to the Ace community, and with his new expertise, Ted became the printing steward.

The 3D Printing Space at Ace

The 3D printing space is shared with a multipurpose space that houses the electronics lab, a couple of workstations, and the big format paper printer. This room is known as the Clean Fabrication room. There are two Prusa-brand 3D printers, which Ted calls “the Ford F-150 of printers. There’s a lot of them, they’re not the most sophisticated, but they’re pretty darn reliable and thought out.” There’s also a nearby computer dedicated to preparing files for the printers. The printers don’t need a computer to run, but makers will often find that it helps to be able to do last-minute manipulations to the 3D object files.

The Slack community for 3D printing at Ace has members in the hundreds, and pretty much all questions and discussions happen over Slack. Ted considers it the most efficient way to ask, read, and answer questions; he encourages new members to use Slack for almost all of their communications.

An Example of Ted’s Work

Some in-progress work being done at the Ace metal mill

Ted and his wife recently bought an old minivan so they can go camping without having to deal with tents. The Toyota they bought was almost perfect for this purpose, except for one thing. The two of them both found the minivan to be a little too small to have both front seating and bed arrangements, so they looked into having adaptable seats that could swivel and lie down to make beds. The Toyota’s seats, however, were bolted to the floor in such a way that commercial seat-adjusting kits wouldn’t work. With no other options, Ted turned to his making skills to fabricate a “captain’s chair,” similar to those found in commercial RVs.

Ted started with drilling out a swivel plate and holes in the floor of the van, making sure to line them up precisely by means of the metal mill at Ace. The actual process of making the seat swivel wasn’t that difficult, but Ted encountered another problem soon after. Modern-day seats in cars and vans have lots of electrical wiring leading into them, whether it’s for operating a heater or controlling the seat’s back-and-forth movement. Ted found that the wires in the seat were dangerously close to shearing themselves on some exposed metal left by the drill holes, which would cause all sorts of maladies if not addressed properly. To solve this problem, he 3D printed a large plastic washer that bolts onto the wire hole. This means that instead of the wires dragging on sharp metal edges, it’s protected by a layer of comparably soft plastic. There were other little 3D-printed objects that Ted made, such as protective sheaths for the wire connectors.

An example of a bushing used in the project

Interestingly, Ted’s neighbor was going through a similar process with a van of their own at around this time. They had also encountered the same wire-cutting problem, and since Ted had just fitted the washer he offered to print a duplicate for his neighbor. With about a dollar’s worth of filament, Ted solved his neighbor’s problem.

Closing

Ted will continue to make and create at Ace for a long time. There are no big projects in his immediate future, but before our talk ended Ted told me that he was looking forward to, “training some more people, getting them ready, and seeing what people are going to 3D print.” I’m Carter Jenkins and thank you for reading.