Author Archives: paulwallich

Glowforge at Champlain mini maker faire

Posted on September 27, 2019 by paulwallich

Today was “education day” at CMF, which meant hundreds of kids coming up and asking about the laser cutter in the courtyard of the barn. (Oh, and that tent in the background with all the kids, that’s Ben Matchstick and … Continue reading →

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Unexpected Consequences of my Crowdfunding Addiction

Posted on September 23, 2019 by paulwallich

only to discover that “available” didn’t mean “stable” Continue reading →

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CircuitPython for early hardware exploration

Posted on April 3, 2019 by paulwallich

I’d expected the software side of using CircuitPython chips to go more easily than coding in Arduino, but what I hadn’t really expected was for the hardware side to go more smoothly as well. It’s early yet, and most of … Continue reading →

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The short happy life of a Popup Makerspace

Posted on February 20, 2019 by paulwallich

We’re out of empty offices at Local 64, so it’s time to pack up the laser cutter, the 3D printer and all the other toys. if you build it, it turns out most people are too busy to come. Six … Continue reading →

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Micro maker space

Posted on August 7, 2018 by paulwallich

How small can a makerspace be and still be useful? That’s what we’re going to find out. My friend Lars has decided to devote the spare office at Local64, the downtown co-working space, to making. First in, my Glowforge, on … Continue reading →

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Vindicated

Posted on June 12, 2018 by paulwallich

About two years ago, for no really good reason, I designed a 3D-printable setup for coupling those standard gearmotors to Lego bricks and axles, and posted it at Youmagine. Hardly anyone liked it or downloaded it. Then, last week, Adafruit, … Continue reading →

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Burning down the house by remote control

Posted on March 9, 2018 by paulwallich

A few weeks ago I blew up my Octoprint installation by adding and deleting too many extensions at the same time. Before reinstalling, I thought it might be a good time to upgrade a bit.  So now there’s a cute … Continue reading →

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Cooperative Editing whether you want it or not

Posted on January 7, 2018 by paulwallich

The last time I tried teaching some kids how to program arduinos, the room we were in had no wifi to speak of. Getting working copies of the desktop IDE onto half a dozen ancient underpowered windows laptops was a … Continue reading →

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The finicky details are the easy part

Posted on August 7, 2017 by paulwallich

For someone coming from a woodworking background, 3D engraving by laser is as far opposite from carving as it’s possible to get. Not just the medium — multiple machine passes from a specially-prepared bitmap — but also the understanding of … Continue reading →

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Glowforge!

Posted on July 12, 2017 by paulwallich

My laser cutter arrived a few weeks ago. It’s pretty cool. Partly because I’ve been anticipating it for the better (worse?) part of two years, but mostly because it’s just there. I’ve used a laser cutter before, and this was … Continue reading →

Posted in making, possibly useful, toys | Tagged | 2 Comments