Author: gary

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Linux Jam in TOG

tuxWe’re having a Linux Jam in TOG on Saturday 16th May. Whether you’re a complete beginner and haven’t even opened the box of your shiny new board, or you want to explore Linux on your laptop, or you’re an experienced user who wants to hack a set top box, you’ll fit in.

This isn’t a class or instruction. It will be a relaxed informal atmosphere with other like-minded people. So the idea is to bring your Pi, Galileo, Laptop, Linux device etc. and play/use/hack. Bring tutorials, web links, instructions…. anything you like. Whoever you are from complete beginner to advanced….just work on whatever you want to do, and hopefully get some “bounce” off other people doing similar things. Several TOG members will be around too.

We’re asking for a small donation to attend the Jam. All proceeds go to keeping a roof over TOG’s head and are much appreciated. The space will be open from 10:30 with a nominal finish time of 19:00, but the open social is on that day, so the space will be open much later than this. You can sign up for the Linux Jam here.

Coincidentally, 16th May is the same day as our regular open social.  Our open social is a great way to see the space, hang out, meet other members & visitors. There’ll be all the usual madness of an open social. Weather permitting, there’ll be pizza. There may also be beer samples, courtesy of Capital Brewers at TOG. You might even get to pick some locks if our friendly lock pickers will show you some tricks. The space stays open until the last member is left…. usually the small hours of Sunday morning. The open social is free to attend.

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Fixing the Saw

motorOur electric mitre saw went on the blink. It was sparking like crazy, and on closer examination, it had lost a copper segment from it’s commutator. It was a decent enough saw. Not quite a cheapo one, but not quite a professional one either. A search on the ‘net revealed that a new armature assembly would be over half the cost of a new saw. Beyond economic repair in other words. It would be a shame to trash a decent saw for such a small fault. So we’re trying to fix it by making a new copper segment.

pics here

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TOG Moving…….A Stay of Execution

truckTOG’s lease on Chancery lane expires in the next few days, but since they’re not ready to tear the place down just yet, we’ve been given a minor reprieve. We can stay on month-to-month for a little while. It’s a very busy time for us at the moment, so it kinda suits us to hold on for a little bit, until we get some events out of the way. We’re still preparing for the move, so watch this space or join our mailing list / twitter feed for updates.

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Metal Lathe

latheLate last year TOG took delivery of a new toy…. a brand new metal lathe. At about 600Kg, it’s probably the heaviest bit of equipment that we have in the space. We had some fun getting it in the door……and yes we did measure the door before we ordered it 🙂 . A bit of heaving and ho’ing with an engine crane and we soon had it up on its cabinet stands. We spent a few weeks assembling it, reviewing all the accessories and getting it all tested. We have 3 and 4 jaw chucks, live and dead centres, steady rests and a number of other tools and accessories.

We’ve had some great instruction from one of our members relatives. We’re now slowly beginning to use it. Our crafters kindly made a nice protective cover from some spare vinyl. The lathe is a great addition to our workshop . We have a brand new MIG welder on the way too, thanks to one of our regular workshop user/members.  We even have a CNC Mill in our sights too….right Ed 🙂 .  Drop in and have a tour of our workshop. You can see all of our tools and equipment. More pics here…..Lathe Pics

 

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Pizza

pizza oven 2Every pizza joint around here knows TOG. You hardly ever have to explain to them where we are. So it was high time that we made our own pizza oven in the yard.

Loads of pics here

First we had to set some cavity blocks. There’s quite a slope on TOG’s yard so the left side was about 20mm lower than the right. The left side blocks had to be raised to compensate. After the bottom 4 blocks were set, the others were simply stacked on top. Lengths of timber, painted with bitumen paint for waterproofing, were laid across the top, Now we had a suitable platform to build on.

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TOG open on Sat 27th December

get in hereBy Sat 27th December, after two days of Christmas festivities, hopefully you’ll be in the mood to get out and about. We’ll be opening up TOG from about 2PM until very very late. It will be open social style opening……just an excuse to come in, hang out, get some music on, call out for some food etc. If you’re around town, drop in for a break from the post Christmas shopping. The kettle will be on.

Maybe you’ve been thinking about coming in or even joining. It’s a great chance to see the space and what we’ve been up to in 2014. Whether you’re a member or visitor, its free to come in. We’ll be talking about plans and projects for 2015.  Hope to see you on the 27th. The craic will be mighty.