Solid State Depot

This beautiful nightstand was made at the makerspace by Jonah S., made from walnut, maple, cherry, and a bit of pine. The walnut lived at a relative’s house in Denver, but it started dropping limbs in 2020 so it was felled. The arborists gave them some cookies/slabs upon request, which they air-dried for ~4 years and milled into useable material.

There are a bunch of cool features here that folks might appreciate:

• Wireless phone charger with a recessed pocket to center devices above the charger. The charger module is fully serviceable, so it can be replaced if the charging standard changes.

• Pull-chain switch that controls the lighting in the room. Climbers may recognize the hex that was used to terminate the chain.

• A handmade ceramic ring dish (plus a ring, which was also made at SSD)

• Cork-lined drawers with magnetic catches and an 8-port USB power hub

• Various inlays: they filled the cracks with 3 sizes of turquoise. At one point, one of the mortices for the legs blew out the side of the tabletop, so they rebuilt the area with quahog shells (clam) and epoxy

• Triple-wedged through tenon joints for each leg

• Drawer pulls which were actually made at the router table, not the lathe

SSD’s annual financial report is available for download! As a nonprofit organization, financial transparency is key. This report explains our 2024 finances in detail, and provides lots of additional information about how we operate and what our plans are for the future. Take a look!

SSD 2024 Annual Financial Report.pdf

Update 03/01/25

You did it! With your help, the SSD smashed our goals and raised $6000 in less than two months! The ceramics studio and electrical upgrades are a GO, and the additional funds will go towards improvements to the shopbot enclosure and woodshop dust control.

SSD needs your help!

We want to expand our capabilities by adding a ceramics studio and upgrading our electrical system so we can finally fire up our kiln! The electrical work alone is estimated to cost around $2,500, and we’ll also have furniture, equipment, and material costs to cover. Our fundraising goal is $3000 by March 31st, with a stretch goal of $6000 by April 30th. Your donation will directly support the setup of our new ceramics capability, and if we exceed our funding target the excess will support more improvements throughout the shop!

SSD’s annual financial report is available for download! As a nonprofit organization, financial transparency is key. This report explains our 2023 finances in detail, and provides lots of additional information about how we operate and what our plans are for the future. Take a look!

View the full report on Google drive.

A core mission of our makerspace is to equip our community with both the tools and knowledge required to build a better world. I’m incredibly grateful to our team of volunteer instructors that have put together a fantastic lineup of classes and events at Solid State Depot.

Are you ready to dive into a world of innovation and hands-on learning this Fall and Winter? Look no further than Solid State Depot, where we’re thrilled to announce our exciting Fall/Winter Events!

🍂🌟 Fall/Winter Class Series 🌟🍂

• October 24th – Intro to Internet of Things
• October 26th – Intro to CAD w/ OnShape
• October 27th – Learn TIG Welding Basics
• October 31st – Maker Halloween Party!
• November 9th – Intro to CAM w/ Fusion 360
• November 14th – Intro to Marquetry (Wood Veneer)
• November 16th – Tool Training: Shopbot (Wood CNC Router)
• November 21st – Board Game Night!
• November 30th – Tormach 440 Metal CNC Training
• December 5th – Hands-on Laser Cutter Project: Part 1
• December 8th – Learn to 3D Print!
• December 12th – Intro to Mechanical Design
• December 15th – 3D Printing Tricks with OnShape
• December 16th – Ceramics Hand Building Basics
• December 19th – Hands-on Laser Cutter Project: Part 2

Register for all classes through the above meetup links, the majority of classes are FREE! Excited to see y’all at the space for this awesome classes.

Today SSD hosted middle school students that are part of the Watershed School’s new class “The Maker Movement.” These students are learning how to be the makers and problem solvers of the future! Today the students learned about the makerspace, the tools within it, and presented their designs for feedback.

The students are currently designing adaptive aids for helping people with disabilities participate in various athletic activities. Over the coming weeks the designs will be refined and prototypes of some of the designs built at SSD! The objectives of this class are deeply aligned with SSDs core values, and we look forward to an ongoing partnership with the program.

The full description for the class from the school is: The potential of the future lies within our hands! The future is full of surprises, but history has shown us that we must always be prepared for the unexpected. With the advanced tools available to us today, we have the ability to tap into our creative problem-solving skills. This engineering and design course will teach us how to use modern fabrication tools safely and creatively. The course will be structured around a series of design challenges, such as building a toy that can launch a foam ball using a laser cutter, or using a 3-D printer to solve a problem on Mars. We will not only become proficient in using these tools, but also experts in the design thinking process. This will empower us to not only design for the world, but to design with the world. As members of the maker movement, we will become solution seekers who can enter new environments, empathize with others, and help solve even the smallest or most urgent problems of the day.

Our members have collaborated with the WOW Children’s Museum in Lafayette to create a new gate for their exhibit. Well done! It is up now and for anyone who wants to visit https://wowchildrensmuseum.org/