Have you ever completed a project only to realize that the finished product looked nothing like you had envisioned it would? Do you have a mind full of design ideas, but no clue how to make them a reality? Have you been known to sit with an IKEA catalogue in quiet contemplation? If any of these are true, our two-part Introduction to Design workshop series is for you! Participants are invited to bring their ideas for a small personal project – a piece of furniture, for example – and will plan their projects from start to finish with the guidance of DIY enthusiast and architectural graduate Laura McMurran. Participants are welcome to register for either one or both workshops, although attending both workshops is recommended to see your project from start to finish.
Introduction to Design I: Design Basics and Starting Your Project
In the first workshop of this two-part series, participants will learn the principles of design and how to apply them to their own personal project. Using drawing exercises and simple design tools, Laura will make the process of project design fun and accessible for those with little or no design experience. Using the inspiration images brought in, Laura will teach participants how to analyze and reverse engineer the designs in order to apply the techniques to your own design. Participants will leave with the tools to get you started on your design and complete plans for their own project.
Following Intro to Design I, Laura will hold a Design Drop-In at the VTL. Participants are invited to come by to have their designs reviewed, to have any questions answered and to receive feedback with Laura free-of-charge, on a first-come, first-served basis on November 9th from 10:00am-2:00pm.
Facilitator: Laura McMurran
When: Saturday, November 2nd, 1:00-3:00pm
Where: Community Room, Vancouver Public Library-Kensington Branch (1428 Cedar Cottage Mews)
Cost: VTL Members: $30 for Design I Only | $50 for both Design I & Design II
Non-Members: $40 for Design I Only | $65 for both Design I & Design II
What to Bring: Pen, pencil with eraser, ruler, one to three ideas of items you would like to design (chair, table, etc), and images from magazines, Pinterest, etc of designs and styles you like (on your phone is fine). All other materials will be provided.
Questions? E-mail: manager [at] vancouvertoollibrary [dot] com
Advance registration is required. Participants may register for one or both workshops. Please pre-pay and sign up through the PayPal button below or come into the shop to register. Refunds are available up to 48 hours before the workshop begins. VTL members must present their member cards on the day of the workshop to be eligible for the member rate.
Workshop Registrants: Please include your email address in the PayPal form! This is how we’ll contact you with any workshop updates and to confirm your registration. Note that VTL Members will be required to present their member cards at the workshop.
Introduction to Design II: Designing Your Project; Materials and Connections
In the second workshop of our two-part Design series, DIY enthusiast and architectural graduate, Laura McMurran, will introduce students to the many available choices of connections, joints, fastening and attaching techniques, basic structural needs, building materials, finishes, qualities and their associated general costs. Participants from Design I will acquire the information and knowledge required to complete their design and can then move on to the construction stage of their project.
Following Intro to Design I, Laura will hold a Design Drop-In at the VTL. Participants are invited to come by to have their designs reviewed, to have any questions answered and to receive feedback with Laura free-of-charge, on a first-come, first-served basis on November 9th from 10:00am-2:00pm.
Facilitator: Laura McMurran
When: Sunday, December 1st, 1:00-3:00pm
Where: Community Room, Vancouver Public Library-Kensington Branch (1428 Cedar Cottage Mews)
Cost: VTL Members: $30 for Design II Only | $50 for both Design I and Design II
Non-Members: $40 for Design II Only | $65 for both Design I and Design II
What to Bring: Pen, pencil with eraser, ruler, your design plan (if you attended Design I), and images from magazines, Pinterest, etc of designs and styles you like (on your phone is fine). All other materials will be provided.
Questions? E-mail: manager [at] vancouvertoollibrary [dot] com
Advance registration is required. Participants may register for one or both workshops. Please pre-pay and sign up through the PayPal button below or come into the shop to register. Refunds are available up to 48 hours before the workshop begins. VTL members must present their member cards on the day of the workshop to be eligible for the member rate.
Workshop Registrants: Please include your email address in the PayPal form! This is how we’ll contact you with any workshop updates and to confirm your registration. Note that VTL Members will be required to present their member cards at the workshop.
Written by The Vancouver Tool Library, October 09th, 2013 | No Comments »
Our Introduction to Tools workshop is back! Participants will become familiar with some of the most common and widely applicable tools in the VTL inventory in a fun and inclusive environment. Participants will learn proper tool use, application, and safety, leave with the confidence to name and use basic tools necessary for everyday projects AND an item they’ve built themselves!
We will be running two instalments of Intro to Tools in October: Intro to Tools (available to all folks aged 18+), and a trial run of Intro to Tools for Women (a trans-inclusive workshop available to all women aged 18+).
Introduction to Tools
Facilitator: Andrew Janzen
When: Saturday, October 19th, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Where: The Vancouver Tool Library, 3448 Commercial Street
Cost: $15 for VTL Members | $20 for Non-Members
What to Bring: All materials will be provided. Part of the workshop will take place outside so wear comfortable, tighter-fitting clothing that is weather appropriate. Avoid dangly accessories for safety reasons.
Questions? E-mail: manager [at] vancouvertoollibrary [dot] com
Advance registration is required. Please pre-pay and sign up through the PayPal button below or come into the shop to register. Refunds are available up to 48 hours before the workshop begins. VTL members must present their member cards on the day of the workshop to be eligible for the member rate.
Workshop Registrants: Please include your email address in the PayPal form! This is how we’ll contact you with any workshop updates and to confirm your registration. Note that VTL Members will be required to present their member cards at the workshop.
We’re sorry, this workshop is FULL! Stay tuned for future dates!
Written by The Vancouver Tool Library, October 08th, 2013 | No Comments »
Chainwhips and spanners and spoke tools, oh my! The Vancouver Tool Library stocks a substantial selection of tools for bicycle maintenance and repair. Come get familiar with naming, handling, and applying standard bicycle tools in this fun and friendly workshop for beginners. Together, we will disassemble and re-assemble a bicycle from start to finish, and learn some fun physics along the way. Workshop participants can take their new knowledge of bicycle systems, tool names, and tool applications to Our Community Bikes and receive $5 off an Introduction to Bicycle Maintenance workshop!
Introduction to Bike Tools
Facilitator: Lauren Warbeck
When: Sunday, November 10th, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Where: East Van Kickstand, 1739 Venables St. at Commercial Dr
Cost: $15 for VTL Members | $20 for Non-Members
What to Bring: All materials will be provided. Part of the workshop will take place outside so wear comfortable, tighter-fitting clothing that is weather appropriate.
Questions? E-mail: manager [at] vancouvertoollibrary [dot] com
Advance registration is required. Please pre-pay and sign up through the PayPal button below or come into the shop to register. Refunds are available up to 48 hours before the workshop begins. VTL members must present their member cards on the day of the workshop to be eligible for the member rate.
Workshop Registrants: Please include your email address in the PayPal form! This is how we’ll contact you with any workshop updates and to confirm your registration. Note that VTL Members will be required to present their member cards at the workshop.
REGISTRATION FOR THIS WORKSHOP IS NOW CLOSED. Stay tuned for future dates!
Written by The Vancouver Tool Library, October 08th, 2013 | No Comments »
Our Introduction to Tools workshop is back! Participants will become familiar with some of the most common and widely applicable tools in the VTL inventory in a fun and inclusive environment. Participants will learn proper tool use, application, and safety, leave with the confidence to name and use basic tools necessary for everyday projects AND an item they’ve built themselves!
We will be running two instalments of Intro to Tools in October: Intro to Tools (available to all folks aged 18+), and a trial run of Intro to Tools for Women (a trans-inclusive workshop available to all women aged 18+).
Introduction to Tools for Women (Trans-Inclusive)
Facilitator: Kate Richardson
When: Thursday, October 17th, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: The Vancouver Tool Library, 3448 Commercial Street
Cost: $15 for VTL Members | $20 for Non-Members
What to Bring: All materials will be provided. Part of the workshop will take place outside so wear comfortable, tighter-fitting clothing that is weather appropriate. Avoid dangly accessories for safety reasons.
Questions? E-mail: manager [at] vancouvertoollibrary [dot] com
Advance registration is required. Please pre-pay and sign up through the PayPal button below or come into the shop to register. Refunds are available up to 48 hours before the workshop begins. VTL members must present their member cards on the day of the workshop to be eligible for the member rate.
Workshop Registrants: Please include your email address in the PayPal form! This is how we’ll contact you with any workshop updates and to confirm your registration. Note that VTL Members will be required to present their member cards at the workshop.
We’re sorry, this workshop is FULL. Stay tuned for future dates!
Written by The Vancouver Tool Library, September 28th, 2013 | No Comments »
Every month, we feature a project created by a different Vancouver Tool Library member. This month, we’re talking to Pip about her summer projects. Read on:
We’ve been seeing a lot of Pip at The VTL recently. She’s been borrowing a wide variety of tools, and every time we ask her what she’s working on, she tells us something different. That’s because this summer, Pip took on three distinct projects to spruce up her 100-year-old home. She refinished her floors, created an inlaid floor in her kitchen, and embellished an opening between two rooms – an impressive undertaking! Moreover, while Pip has some experience working with wood, she did not have experience with any of these particular projects!
Motivated by curiosity about what lay beneath her 1970s laminate floor, Pip used a pry bar to lift the laminate, and then the 1950s checkered tiles that lay beneath that. Her hard work revealed a wide-planked firshiplap floor. Pip scraped the residual paper and glue from the wood and removed as many nails as she could (and there were A LOT). She used a nail punch to push the most stubborn nails below the surface. Next, she moved on to addressing the shiplap joints, which according to Pip, “…are cool, but the gaps just gather dirt!” Inspired by her memories of beautiful teak sailboat decks in Greece, she recreated their appearance using black caulk to fill the gaps between the planks. “It’s a slightly messy and very time consuming job,” Pip warns, but she maintains, “now it’s so easy to clean and mop.” Then Pip began the sanding – the seemingly endless sanding. Because the VTL doesn’t currently have a floor sander in our inventory, Pip rented one from Home Depot (approx.$60/day), and then used a palm sander for all the hard to reach places. Finally, she applied three coats (about 8L) of Minwax floor sealer. Her floor was complete!
Well…almost complete. You might think she’d have called it done after that. But no. Not Pip. Because if you’ve already learned how to refinish floors, why not just go ahead and learn how to create an inlaid floor as well? Pip used a mitre saw (her favorite tool) to cut walnut planks to her desired size. Then, she used areciprocating saw to cut out the floorboards, andblind nailed the new tongue and groove flooring in place to create an inlaid walnut floor in her kitchen. When we asked Pip how she learned the techniques she used for her flooring projects, she told us, “Internet how-tos, speaking with skilled people, the VTL for how to work the tools, books, Youtube – and a bit of trial and error.”
Pip’s final project was to embellish the opening between two rooms. She created the posts using spruce 2x4s to add bulk, and then covered them with 1X6 baseboard material. She used a miter saw to cut baseboard detailing for the bottom of the posts, and glued and nailed it in place. Next, Pip used a router to shape the top of the post, and attached routered moulding under the post top. She screwed 1×4 baseboard stock to the wall edges, and across the ceiling, leaving appropriate space to install the corner pieces she had salvaged. Lastly, Pip applied caulk to each joint, wiping away the excess to make the joints appear seamless. Her work transformed the boring opening into an elegant heritage centerpiece. “Every time I notice some nice design,” Pip tells us, “I take a picture or save the photo. I have a big library on my computer about all types of creative stuff. From crazy-cool colours to paint the exterior of a house, to how to build window seats, to other nice details like faux exposed rafters…one of my next projects.”
When we asked Pip about the decision to take on all of this seemingly intimidating work, she told us, “Some people have said to me, ‘I wouldn’t know where to start!’ But I just quote Alice in Wonderland: ‘Start at the beginning, and when you’re finished – stop.’ It’s all about starting with a need, or getting some inspiration, and just trying to do it. Why not?”
–VTL
Written by The Vancouver Tool Library, September 18th, 2013 | No Comments »
