Hitchin Hackspace

Repair Manifesto: If we can't fix it, we don't own it.
- Repair is better than recycling.
- Repair saves us money.
- Repair teaches basic engineering.
- Repair saves the planet.
- Repair connects people and things.
- Repair is sustainable.
#Minimalism

A piece of plastic film stuck to the side of a pint glass.

A toothpaste-looking paste applied to the stencil. Probably best not to use this as toothpaste.

The end result showing the Southend United football club logo.

The end result showing the Southend United football club logo.

Sometimes you can augment old techniques with new equipment.

Member Dan wanted to engrave a pint glass so used the Cricut at the Hackspace to cut out some stencils from some stencil film, then applied glass etching cream.

If you are interested in finding out a bit more about #HitchinHackspace and are free this evening why not come along to our Monthly Social evening at The Victoria pub....

March Mostly artwork.

Both of March's #Hitchin Town Hall #MostlyComedy dates - 12th March with Andy Hamilton & @rachelparris.bsky.social, and 26th March with Kate Robbins & @shappikhorsandi.bsky.social - are now on general sale at www.mostlycomedy.co.uk. Book now for a Mostly month to remember. #livecomedy #hertfordshire

Our monthly social night is a good chance to meet some of our members and have a chat

Weekly open evening on Monday...

Well done folks. Well deserved!

Our presale for 26th March’s #Hitchin #MostlyComedy has begun. Good luck!

Well done to everyone at East Essex Hackspace 👏👏👏
#Essex #Hackspace #RepairCafe #Volunteer #Community #Rochford

We won a thing! The Hackspace is quite prominent locally due to our engagement with non-members and things we run like the Repair Cafe. Lots of it is down to fellow Trustee Tim whose superpower is engaging with a bazillion people and organisations to the extent it would boil my brain.

Paul mcgann with tongue out me in trans rights are human rights t shirt

Love this photograph last night of Paul McGann and me at @slapstickfest.bsky.social - we’re ready for our Joe Orton play

At the top of the image is the Hitchin Hackspace "H" logo in the centre of a circle. The H is at 45 degrees and the character has a square outline. The words "Hitchin Hackspace", along with the H in the circle, are laser engraved on to an A4 sized sheet of Birch plywood. It should be at the pub, to help identify us, providing one of our members remembers to bring it!🤦‍♂️

Tuesday, 10th Feb, is our next #HitchinHackspace Social Night, at The Vic just down the road from the Hackspace, from 19:30/20:00.
Look out for our sign, say hello and find out about your local #Hackspace over a refreshing beverage or two #Hitchin #Letchworth #Stevenage #Baldock

Monday the 9th February is our next open evening at #HitchinHackpace. Why not come along and see what the hackspace is all about? From 19:30. Free tea or coffee and biccies 🫖☕🍪🙂
#make #craft #invent #learn #Hitchin #Stevenage #Letchworth #Baldock

Collage of lineup.

Just two weeks until 19th February's #Hitchin #MostlyComedy with @halcruttenden.bsky.social, Nabil Abdulrashid, Julia Eckhoff & @davidephgrave.bsky.social. Only a handful of tickets left. Book now. www.mostlycomedy.co.uk

#livecomedy #hertfordshire #hertslife

Yesterday I was messing around with an ODrive again. Now I need to write some code to do basic mixing to set the requested motor speeds off the throttle, steering, and brake inputs. We're using a Pi Pico for this to make it easily changeable. May have different profiles set over BLE with a basic app

Progress on our Hacky Racer is slow but yesterday things got done. We've got a MakerBase ODrive v3.6-56V to run our dual motor setup. This is going to need some mixing of the two based off throttle and steering and also the brake switches to cut drive when braking. So we've connected a Pi Pico.

A welding bench that stands on casters tucked underneath another bench. The welding bench carries a large Parweld welded.

A welding bench with a blue kiln on top to the left and a mounted gas torch to the right. Underneath is a large machine, which is an oxygen concentrator. Various pipes are coiled on the lower shelf.

Yesterday, after Repair Café, two members did a bit of a rearrange in the metalshop. One workbench got modified so our new and improved welding table could be stored underneath. The old Welding bench is being repurposed for glasswork with the kiln and oxygen concentrator on it.

At the weekend we ran a Repair Café at East Essex Hackspace.

People brought along broken household items, electronics, bikes, and battery-powered kit. Together we diagnosed faults, repaired what we could, and explained what was going on so people could learn in the process.

A view of the outside of the Hackspace

Repair Cafe at the Hackspace this morning!

The partially assembled luggage trolley sitting on a table.

A stripped down hoverboard chassis offered up to the rear 'bogie'.

A hoverboard hub motor with the solid rubber tyre removed and pneumatic tyre fitted.

The beginnings of a mounting for the hub motors. It is constructed from chopped down axle mount sections from the original hoverboard chassis and a piece of steel to bolt them to.

Yesterday, Tim was looking at turning a luggage cart into a powered one with the idea of eventually having several in a 'wagon train'. Motive power will be hoverboard hub motors but fitted with pneumatic tyres. Good progress was made, next it will involve chopping the rear frame and some welding.

Over 100 tickets already sold for 12th March's #Hitchin #MostlyComedy via presale today. Sign up for our mailing list now for the secret booking code. www.mostlycomedy.co.uk #livecomedy #Hertfordshire

Monday the 2nd February is our next open evening at #HitchinHackpace. Why not come along and see what the hackspace is all about? From 19:30. Free tea or coffee and biccies 🫖☕🍪🙂
#make #craft #invent #learn #Hitchin #Stevenage #Letchworth #Baldock

Repair Café Galway are looking for volunteer Mender Repairers and Event Meet and Greeters.
The Cafe is volunteer led, and which helps people repair household items, through skill sharing. If you would like to find out more about the roles, just go to https://bit.ly/gvcrepaircafe #galway #repair

Remembering Dr. Gladys West (1930-2026), the mathematician whose complex algorithms modeling Earth's shape and satellite data became the foundation for GPS. A true "hidden figure" whose brilliance transformed how billions navigate the world.

#GladysWest #GPS #WomenInSTEM #HiddenFigures #STEM #Tech

Andy Hamilton

Rachel Parris

David Ephgrave

Presale for 12th March's #Hitchin #MostlyComedy with Andy Hamilton, @rachelparris.bsky.social & @davidephgrave.bsky.social kicks off to our mailing list from 10am on Saturday. General sale from Monday, 2nd Feb at 10am.

Don’t miss out. Sign up to the mailing list at www.mostlycomedy.co.uk

🇪🇺🤖⚔️📅 bbb.gd/events February in European Robot Combat!
5rd QRFL ant workshop in London 🇬🇧
8th Rock & Robots sportsman ants in London 🇬🇧
14th Valmieras ants in Valmiera 🇱🇻
15th Czech ants in Pilsen 🇨🇿
21st Robodojo ants & beetles in York 🇬🇧
21st Combat Robotics NI 450g in Belfast 🇬🇧

#NZ audiences are fantastic :)

Our Hackspace is so full of stuff I just don't have time to play with it all. We're trying to expand our offering to 'crafters' over time alongside the usual wood/metalworking/electronics tooling and open to suggestions that we can accommodate with the limited space we have.

We're expanding our offering to 'crafters' over time alongside the usual wood/metalworking/electronics tooling and open to suggestions that we can accommodate with the limited space we have. Sewing/fabric provision has come along well and as well as the glasswork people have been trying silver clay.

A piece of worked glass that looks like a flower bud.

Using a gas torch to shape glass rod.

A little sheepy looking guy made of glass

A piece of worked glass looking like a flower petal.

We've been equipping the Hackspace for jewellery and glassworking recently. We now have things like an oxygen concentrator and small kiln available. Members have been getting to grips with these and developing the practical skills to use them.