Classes – Morristown Makers

Class: Better Cell Phone Photography

March 15, 2023March 15, 2023 by dpeachNo Comments

The invention of smartphones has revolutionized the way we capture and share memories. With advanced camera technologies, many of these devices have now become our main tool for digital photography. However, despite the remarkable improvements in mobile camera quality, taking a good photo still requires effort and skill.

What You Will Learn

In this class we will explore the best practices for getting better photos with a cell phone camera. From understanding the basics of composition, lighting, and image editing, we will learn new ways to elevate your cell phone camera game.

My aim is to help optimize your smartphone camera capabilities and create stunning images that capture life’s most cherished moments, as well as product photography to set your photos above your competitors.

Who The Class Is For

Anyone. Those younger than 19 must be accompanied by an adult (someone 19 or older).

What to Bring

Smartphone & Smiles

Cost: $20

Register for Class

You may pre-pay for the class to secure your spot by using the Pay Now button below. You do not have to have a PayPal account to use a credit card. Of course, if you have a PayPal account, you may use that.

Completing your payment below is all that is needed to secure your place in the class.

Cell Phone Photo Class

Knife Handling Skills for Kids

September 8, 2022September 8, 2022 by dpeach3 Comments

Class is Full

Stay tuned for a future class date.

Would you like your children to learn to confidently use a knife while being assured that they know how to handle it properly?

This class aims to help them learn knife skills while putting parents at ease.

Who is the class for?

This is a beginner level class intended for children 12 and younger along with their parents. No previous knife-handling experience necessary. However, if you don’t think your child is ready to handle a knife, then it is better to wait until they (and you) are ready.

Your child will learn how to safely use a knife for basic cutting tasks. The class is primarily focused on outdoor knife use; however, we will also talk about some basic kitchen knife skills.

We will spend time learning to sharpen a blade as well.

What to bring?

We will have knives of various sizes and styles to work with. However, please bring the knife that you would like your child to learn how to use.

A knife (or two, or three)
Any sharpening stone/equipment you have that you want to learn to use
Any safety equipment (finger guards, cut proof gloves) that you have for your child
A parent or guardian for each child in the class

Registration fee: $20 for the first child. $10 for any additional children in the same family.

Class size limited to 5 children.

Because the number of participants is so limited, please contact the teacher (David Peach) directly with an email to see if there is still space and to get payment information.

Day and Time

Wednesday, September 14. 10a to Noon.

Location

Morristown Makers is most easily found by typing our name into your mapping program. The map will bring you to the correct location. While the address is provided below, your map may not bring you to the correct building.

Morristown Makers
5065 W. Andrew Johnson Hwy.
Morristown, TN 37814

Lathe Class

June 30, 2022June 30, 2022 by dpeachNo Comments

Interested in learning how to turn wood on a lathe but unsure how to get started? Join Morristown Makers as we have local craftsman Ben “Bear” Lyle teach a class on how to safely set up and use the lathe at our shop. He will also teach what you should look for when shopping for your first lathe.

The class will be held from 7p to 9p on Friday evening, July 8 at the Morristown Makers shop.

Who should attend?

This class is for the woodworker who is new to wood turning, or for those who may have some experience, but want help in knowing what type of lathe to buy for their own purposes. Ben will also talk about various types of wood turning projects that can be done.

This class is available for ages 10 and up. Attendees 10 to 18 need to have a parent present. When registering just pay for the student.

Skills you will learn

Woodturning Capabilities
Lathe Anatomy (Headstock, Spindle, Tailstock, Tool Rest)
Lathe Setup
Workholding
Lathe Chisels
Tool Sharpening (grinding vs honing)
Spindle Speeds
Blank Preparation

To give you an idea of what will be taught in class, you can visit Ben’s website where he gives a more in-depth description of the class. He also gives specific lathe recommendations and tool suggestions for buying your first wood turning complement.

What to bring

We will have safety glasses available. If you have your own that you would prefer to wear, you may want to bring those.

Other than that, bring your own enthusiasm and questions.

Cost: $35

Class: Preparing Files for 3D Printing

April 4, 2022April 5, 2022 by dpeachNo Comments

While 3D printing is an exciting new technology that has become much cheaper and accessible to the maker market, it still requires a bit of knowledge on how to create and prepare files for printing. This class is focused on the preparation of 3D files. Whether you download files from the internet or create them yourself, you will have to “slice” them before printing.

Designing, slicing and printing are the three steps in getting a file from a digital format to a tangible one. As the name implies, slicing is how you take a 3D model and break it down (slice) into the individual layers that the printer can understand to create the file.

Since each printer needs a different set of parameters and each model can be printed with various settings to get the desired result, slicing can be confusing to someone new to 3D printing. This class will help take some of the confusion out of the process.

Who is the class for?

Those who have (or have access to) a 3D printer and have questions as to why some models print well and others don’t.
Those who are thinking about getting into 3D printing.
Those who would like to use the Morristown Makers printer to create models.
Anyone curious about the process of 3D printing but not sure you understand the process.

Any age is welcome to attend. We ask that children 13 and younger have an adult present with them.

What to bring

You do not need to bring anything to class. However, if you want help setting up your slicing software on your computer, bring it along and we can make sure it is working properly for you.

We will be using Cura for this class, but if you are using a different slicer and have questions, we would be happy to help you figure out how to make yours do what you need.

Cost: $20

Vinyl Cutting Class

September 20, 2020September 20, 2020 by dpeachNo Comments

This is a class on how to use the vinyl cutter at the shop. No previous experience necessary. There are many different software packages that can be used for controlling a vinyl cutter like this. For class, we will use the free Inkscape program.

What You Will Learn

Clock graphics made with the vinyl cutter.

to make vinyl stickers for decoration or advertisement
the differences in the types of vinyl
how to set up a cutting job and control the shop cutter
how to choose the right vinyl for a particular purpose

Who is This Class For?

Those wanting to use the shop vinyl cutter
Those curious about whether a home cutter is a good choice
Those wanting to understand how to use Inkscape to control a vinyl cutting machine

What to Bring

Computer with Inkscape installed
If you don’t have a computer, you can use the shop machine
Vinyl will be provided

Bringing your own computer is not a requirement, but doing so gives us a chance to help you work out any kinks in communication between your computer and the cutter. You can always use the shop computer for controlling the cutter, but it is much easier to prepare your files on a machine at home.

Cost: $25

If you are a member and plan to come to class, please let us know so we can prepare for the right number of people.

Inkscape Basics

August 14, 2020August 21, 2020 by dpeach4 Comments

Do you want to use the shop’s CNC router, vinyl cutter or laser engraver? Or maybe you can’t afford Adobe Illustrator at $240/year to create vector images? Join us for this Inkscape Basics class which will help you get started into the world of creating vector files for logos and online graphics.

Inkscape is a free, open source tool that runs on almost any computer (even an old Chromebook via an extension). It creates vector images that are infinitely scaleable. And, most relevant to us, is what we use at the shop for creating files for some of our tools.

Who is this class for?

This is a beginner class. You do not need to have previous experience with Inkscape or other graphic tools.

While we will be talking about file creation for the purposes of using the CNC router, laser and vinyl cutter, everything learned in the class is generally applicable for creating vector images. Besides our tools, vector images are used for creating logos, graphics and illustrations.

The class is open to anyone 13 years old and up. Attendees under 19 years old must have a parent or guardian present.

What to bring?

A computer.
If possible, install Inkscape previous to the class.
If you have trouble installing Inkscape before class, come to the Open Shop time on Friday with your computer and we will help get you set up.

Cost: $25

Class is free for members, but please let us know through email or text if you are coming. Class is limited to 8 attendees.

Date and Time: September 12, 10am.

CNC Router Class

July 26, 2020July 27, 2020 by dpeachNo Comments

In this class you will learn how to control the CNC router, how to create files for it and how to send those files to the machine. This is a basic class, but it is recommended that the student read about how CNC machines work, or watch a few videos. Resources will be listed below.

CNC project examples — CNC projects created on the Morristown Makers CNC router.

Class will be held August 1 at 10am. We request that everyone wear a mask for classes and public shop activities during this time.

Software Used for Class

We will create some basic shapes with Inkscape. You do not have to be an advanced user. It would be helpful for you to create a free account with Easel before class. Universal Gcode Sender will already be installed on the shop machine that is used to control the CNC router.

Resources

Like using a laser or 3D printer, the CNC router will require a good amount of practice, patience and learning to get right. It is recommended that you plan to practice on small jobs before tackling an important project.

Cost: $25

If you are a member coming to the class, please send us a text or email to let us know.

CNC Router Class

Class: Shelf With Bent Metal Brackets

July 8, 2020July 8, 2020 by dpeachNo Comments

Saturday, July 11, come learn how to use the metal bending tool by making this simple shelf with metal brackets. You will make a wooden shelf about 30″ long (customizable for your needs).

During the class you will learn to use the tools safely while building this beautiful shelf unit. If you know where you will put the shelf, you can choose your self length and finish it with paint or stain while at the class.

Tools You Will Use

Metal cutting chop saw
Metal bender
Grinder
Drill press
Jointer
Planer
Sander

Skills You Will Learn

Preparing, drilling and bending metal stock
Using the jointer to square up two sides of a board
Using a planer and drum sander to square up other two sides

This is not necessarily an advanced class (difficulty wise), but many of the tools should be considered advanced tools. Suggested age is 15 years old and up. Those under 19 must have a parent or guardian present during the class.

Cost: $35

Members can send an email to let us know if you are planning to attend.

Table and Miter Saw Class: Hexagon Shelf

November 27, 2019November 27, 2019 by dpeachNo Comments

Do you want to learn how to use a table and miter saw while building a great project? This class is what you are looking for!

The class will be held Saturday morning December 14 from 10a to noon. During the class you will build a honeybee inspired hexagon shelf.

Who Should Attend

The class is targeted towards the beginning power tools user who wants more than just a nice shelf at the end of the class. But rather, is looking to actually learn how to use woodworking equipment properly and safely.

Young people ages 13 and up are welcome to attend. Anyone under the age of 19 must have a parent or guardian with them.

Skills You Will Learn

Using a table saw to cut down lumber into properly sized strips
Using a miter saw to cut boards to length
Using different types of sanders to achieve finished results
Use of a nail or screw gun

What to Bring

You won’t need to bring anything to the class other than yourself and your desire to learn some new skills. All materials will be provided at class.

Cost: $25

Sewing Class: Cutting

November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 by dpeachNo Comments

This sewing class builds on the basics we learned in the previous class. This time we will continue to practice our sewing skills but add information about cutting material down to the sizes you need for your project.

Skills You Will Learn

Cutting fabric
Machine setup
Cutting tool options and use

Who Should Attend

This is still a basic sewing class; therefore, it is appropriate for anyone who feels like they need a bit more instruction before being turned loose on a machine by themselves. Or, you may be curious about how to sew but have never even tried it. This class is for you.

You do not have to have attended the previous class to attend this one.

What to Bring

Bring a sewing machine if you have one available to you. We will try to have an extra machine or two, but our preference would be that you practice on the machine you will actually be using at home. If your machine does not work, or does not work well, bring it along and we will try to help you get it up and running.

If your machine does not run, send us an email or a message through our contact form and we will see if we can get together for a short time before class to get everything working properly before class begins.

Quantity:	Name:	Price:	Next Class Date:
	Photography Class	20.00 USD	Saturday March 25: 10a-Noon

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	Preparing Files for 3D Printing	20.00 USD	May 14, 2022: 10a to 12p

Quantity:	Name:	Price:	Next Class:
	Vinyl Cutter Class	25.00 USD	September 26: 10a to Noon

Quantity:	Name:	Price:	Next Class:
	Inkscape Basics	25.00 USD	September 12: 10a to Noon

Quantity:	Name:	Price:	Description:
	CNC Router Class	25.00 USD	August 1: 10a to Noon