I'm taking it that nobody has an objection. I'll bring up this suggestion at tomorrow's meeting.

I did some cleaning at the Hack Factory on Saturday; Pat (Noise) came by and helped for a while too. Some updates:

• The beverages that were in and around the office door are all now in the guest refrigerator or stacked between the refrigerators. The fridge is packed pretty full, it may take a little shuffling of cans and such to get what you want and find various brands.
• There were eight lawn mower wheels in the corner near the bay door where we often have the trash. I don't think these are to be thrown away, but they probably shouldn't remain there as they might accidentally get tossed. Sorry, I was going to move them from there but got involved with the rest of the work.
• There is a huge dust collection machine in the main space; I hadn't seen that before. Someone please say if that can be used generally or if it's only to be used with the nearby saw.
• All the trash and recycled materials were collected and put in proper cans or bags. The recycled goods are now in the middle of the main space between the office and basement doors. People will be more likely to use these cans if they're centrally located rather than near the bay door.
• We're going to need more paper towels soon, unless I'm unaware of a stash somewhere.
• Pat and I did some cleaning of the table undersides in the classroom. There seemed to be two to four of them that still needed work. All tables will still need inspection of the undersides and cleaning done as necessary. I was able to partially clean one but unable to finish; it is tipped on the side so the dirt is easier to see. We need someone to finish cleaning these tables.
• I didn't check real closely, but I think we still need a cable with two mini-stereo plugs in order to get the speakers for the office computer hooked up.
• There is a circular saw blade imbedded in the divider wall. Not sure, but this might have been a "souvenir" of sorts? It's kind of amusing, but then again not so much.
• I had to sweep quite a few foam peanuts off the floor. Not sure where they came from.
• Some power equipment and wheeled shelves were moved next to the divider wall or nearer the office. I know these are not necessarily the places where they're going to be used, but the arrangement makes for clean walkways in the meantime and it helped when sweeping the floors.
• We could use some smaller trash bags for the little trash cans.
• We need some clear plastic sheets or tarps to cover tables and tools when not in use and keep dust out.
• I didn't get down to the lounge or bathroom in the basement, so I don't know if they've been cleaned recently.
• It would be nice if someone would mop the classroom floor before Wednesday.
• Another appliance that might help the dust situation would be an electrostatic air filter or two. Easy enough to build.
• I think it's time we start furnishing the lounge and decide how we're using that space.

So... continuing the discussion about having regular cleaning events, how about we cater dinner for cleaning crews? I'm thinking that a good time for cleaning might be 4-7 PM on Saturdays.

It was a fine atmosphere at the Hack Factory on Saturday, with music from our fantastic speakers and sunshine coming through the windows. Too bad more people weren't there to enjoy it.

Pat, thanks again for helping out! And thanks to whoever it is that takes care of the trash and recyclables!

thanks guys

* There is a huge dust collection machine in the main space; I hadn't seen that before. Someone please say if that can be used generally or if it's only to be used with the nearby saw.

this is for wood dust only, not general shop cleaning, and needs some attachments sorted before it get's used. non wood dust creates a serious fire hazard with these (metal sparks in a dust rich environment = BOOM)

* There is a circular saw blade imbedded in the divider wall. Not sure, but this might have been a "souvenir" of sorts? It's kind of amusing, but then again not so much.

safety lesson on why safegaurds shouldn't be disabled. it came from the damaged compound miter saw on the operation board that needs some assessment, it may have a bad motor mount, bushing, or the blade may just have been bonked while in operation. the blade up there is missing teeth and is unbalanced, so shouldn't be used, but adds a nice "used" look to the shop w/o actually being dangerous.

* We need some clear plastic sheets or tarps to cover tables and tools when not in use and keep dust out.

do we want proper drop cloths instead? even old bedsheets would be tidier than plastic tarping i think. the other option is to just clean on a regular basis, which i think is better.

* I think it's time we start furnishing the lounge and decide how we're using that space.

personally i'd like to see it as an actual lounge. couches, hang out space with a few lap desks. soda stocked down there too?

sweeping compound;

it's that colored sawdusty looking stuff you see janitors sweeping in schools that doesn't look like regular floor detritus. it's a tacky powder that picks up dust while you sweep so you don't get the big cloud of dust moved in the air, you actually pick up the crap. you add more when you start to see dust being kicked up.

anyone have a source for a barrel of it? i think a weekly sweeping say at 630 wednesday will help the shop out a LOT.

Think we could make it?
Isn't it mostly sawdust with a bit of oil, sand and wax?

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn115.pdf

i suspect so, but i'm not sure the ROI would justify it. sure, we'll start to see some sawdust in the space, but uniformly mixing and adding all the other stuff will be a pain, and the bits will prolly cost as much as the compound in the quantities we need.

I think the lounge should be furnished too, I think it will be quite easy to get furniture off of craigslist.

I'm thinking a few couches, tables and things to lounge on.

I would advise against turning this into a "gaming" room with a television but that is my opinion.

The stuff with petroleum-based oil is actually illegal in MN:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=325E.40

Global Industrial sells a "non-petroleum based sweeping compound", $11.95 for 50#.

EDIT: plus $26.71 shipping -- ouch!

Side (philosophical) question: does a statute making something illegal to sell also make it illegal to make yourself and use?