Hello and welcome to a new series where we introduce our very own Stockholm Makerspace makers and their projects! Please let us know if you enjoy this content, and also let us know any feedback that you may have.
Our third interviewee is Alex. He is a relatively new member and has been at the Makerspace for just over a year. You may have noticed him hauling 2-meter planks around the space when he was making a bed in the small wood workshop (the old one). That’s quite a feat in itself, and lucky for him, he can use the larger wood workshop for his next projects.
What do you work on when you’re at the makerspace?
The main thing I have made here is a bed frame. I bought countertop slabs at Hornbach and asked them to cut out the rough dimensions, then I took it from there.
Another member then helped me with templates for routing the corners, and I sawed out the legs and other parts. There was lots of routing and sawing!
How did you manage to make that in the old wood workshop? The bed is quite large!
A central idea and key to success was to build the bed frame in a way that it could be easily disassembled. So I took it one part at a time. But it was a bit tight with the 2-meter planks. Also, I didn’t store anything at the Makerspace, instead I transported all the pieces back and forth from home to the space every time I worked on them.
How does it feel like joining the Makerspace?
It’s awesome! I didn’t know the Makerspace existed before I became a member. But I thought it would be nice to have a workshop. You also get more ideas when you come here and see what machines are available and what other people are making.
At first, I was making in my apartment, but it was a bit of a hassle to mill and saw there, it’s better here.
Tell me about your journey to becoming a maker?
At school, I liked woodworking, but then I didn’t do much of it until I went to university. Then at university, it felt like everything was theoretical. I then realised that I liked making things with my hands, too, so I started making small things.
When things really started was when I moved into an apartment and wanted to have nice things. It’s a special feeling when you make something, like now, when you sleep in something you’ve built yourself!
Soon, around 70% of the furniture in my apartment will have been made by me. I’ve built a bed, outdoor furniture, a coffee table, a TV stand, for example.
What are you working on now?
I feel like I haven’t started to use everything that’s available to me at the Makerspace. I could do most things in the old wood workshop, and the new workshop will be even better!
The laser cutter opens up a lot of possibilities when it comes to working with wood. You can cut out templates and everything. It makes a lot of things much easier.
I’ve also taken the welding course, so I want to try my hand at that a bit, too. It’s hard to know what settings to use.
Next I might make a shoe rack or chairs, we’ll see.
Do you have any other learnings or pieces of advice or resources to share with our members?
JUST TRY. You don’t need to have all the knowledge or all the tools. To some extent, you have to make mistakes.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK OTHER MEMBERS.
Thanks Alex, we hope you manage to make your home 100% own-made.