Tennessee Makerspace Worth Checking Out

A couple of weeks ago while I was traveling in Tennessee I was fortunate enough to make contact with James Broyles from the Knoxville maker space named Knoxmakers.  James and I emailed one another a couple of times to coordinate my visit while I was on vacation near Knoxville and we met for the first time at the Knoxmakers site which is located in a large industrial park.  My sister Velma had been also traveling with me on that day and so we were treated to a tour of the maker space and shown some of the interesting projects that were on display. 

The logo for the maker space as seen in the photo above was proudly hung on the wall in the brightly lit work space.  Velma and I both liked the design and it seem to give a good idea of the creativity that comes from the members of the group.

One of the walls in the work space had these hand drawn and computer drawn images.  Some real talent here to admire. 

One of the outstanding projects that I found at the maker space was this hand built canoe!  This was hung proudly in the work space and looked ready to be covered so that it could be used.  James informed me that the covering would be a Dacron cloth that would be glued to the boat and then heat shrunk to get a nice tight skin.  Then it would be sealed to make it water tight.  This is the exact way I skinned the wings on an airplane I built many years ago.  This would make the boat very light weight and easy to transport.  Also with care the Dacron covering should last for years of use.  

Here are a couple photos from the Knoxmakers website of a smaller canoe that was built in the same fashion as is planned for the larger boat.  I really like the white skin as it looks so nice and bright. This process of building would make an excellent kayak as well and the ribs of the boat give it a very distinctive look.  

After spending an hour or so with James at the maker space it was time for me to once again jump into my Mini Cooper and head down the road.  James informed me that the Knoxmakers maker space would be moving in the coming months to a larger site and in doing so would have much more room than the small work space they now occupy.  Either way the next time I am in Knoxville I will have to check out their new digs and catch up with James once again to see what other interesting projects this Knoxville Tennessee site is working on.  Hopefully I will get to spend more than an hour with them on my next visit.

To find out more about the Knoxmakers maker space visit Knoxmakers.org online or better still give them a shout or send them an email if you are in their neck of the woods.  I was glad I did and plan on seeing them again when I can make the next trip.  Thanks James!  Nice of you to give me the tour!