New Member Tour

Last updated: March 2022

This tour is a brief orientation to the space to be given just after a new member picks up their Key Fob. They should already or soon should shortly be added to Slack and email mailing lists. Remind them that the Slack community is very active and our primary method of communication with email primarily being used for important announcements and archiving (e.g. things that require approval)

Please join the channel slack channel for all the rooms you use.

Entering the lab

Guest entrance is only open during events, and should stay locked at all other times. At all other times, use the member entrance.
See signage around the lab for current COVID requirements for entering the lab (e.g. vaccination required, signing in/out etc). See also: COVID-19 Restrictions
We have a lot of Parking available along the side of the building and the angled parking beside the loading dock area. Do not park in the loading dock area unless loading/unloading. Additionally street parking is available if necessary. Leave the first 5 or so spaces near the front entrance open during business hours for Screen Magic
You will use your Key Fob to enter the building at the member entrance. Do not share your fob with others/guests. Each member should key in each visit (no tailgating please)
Do not use Kwartzlab as a shipping address/mailing address for packages, mail or deliveries. Members are expressly forbidden from using Kwartzlab or Kwartzlab's address as their or their business's home or shipping address.

Front Room

3D Printer is the only area we provide materials (filament) which can be purchased. Bring your own PLA-I for large jobs, but for smaller jobs the lab sells filament at 10 cents a gram (this is for successful AND failed prints). Filament fees in the box on the printer, or in a LABELLED envelope in the locked box on the welcome desk. If you want to store your filament here, that’s not ideal but make sure it’s labelled regardless See also: Cubicon
If you want training on a tool that requires it, you can post on the relevant slack channel or mailing list, and someone will get back to you to arrange training. Some trainers have created online training in Google Classrooms which must be completed prior to in-lab training. You can also do this if you need help on a project or with a tool that may not need formal training but that you’re unfamiliar with anyway
Training requests will soon be through a webform on kOS - our membership site.

Fabtronics Room

We generally don’t allow member storage in this room, so you can usually assume that anything in here is free to use.
Consumables here function in a ‘take a penny, leave a penny’ system. If you use something, no problem, but when you next have left overs from a project consider donating those to the lab E.g. electronics components, fabric, paint, yarn, etc.
Out of Order tags are stored on the pegboard and explain the importance of tagging items and posting to the relevant slack channel - our tools get a lot of use so they will break (we won’t be angry), but we can’t fix what we don’t know about, and it’s frustrating if you come into the lab to use something only to find it’s broken and no one knew about it.
Point out fire extinguishers

Kitchen

The Drink Fridge is run by a member with profits donated to the lab. If you take a drink, pay the box. Many members choose to pre-pay a larger amount at once and draw from that (many keep a tab on the side of the fridge).
The drinks in the pantry and kitchen cabinets should be assumed as Drink Fridge overstock and treated the same as what’s in the fridge in regards to payment
You can use the regular Fridge to store your (human) food etc, so long as it’s labelled and dated. Don’t take up tons of space, and do not leave food to rot or get otherwise disgusting.
See also Drink Fridge and Fridge.

Hallway

Show them the light switches outside of the woodshop/studio area. The hallway/emergency lights stay on at all times.
If you’re the last to leave, turn off the rest of the lights including lights in the front room, fabtronics and kitchen.
There’s a number of automatic lights as you come in, in the locker area which should be enough light to get you to any other light switches you need.
Studios are to be considered the private space of the members who are renting them. Do not enter studios without their permission. If you are giving tours on Tuesday Open House and the doors to a studio are left open please remind visitors that they may look but should not enter the studio space.
See also Studios.

Member Entrance

The member entrance is the door you use to come in to the space day-to-day, using your Key Fob to unlock. It leads you to the loading dock area (the door has our logo on it)
This door should NEVER be propped open.
Your Key Fob takes about 15 minutes to sync and it should be tested before they leave for the evening.
Member chores are posted at the top of the stairs. Any member in the lab is expected to put in 1-2 hours per month through Chores, Build-out Participation, or by participating in a Team.

Freecycle and IT Room

The freecycle shelves are items other members thought may have been useful to others. Please take or leave stuff which you think may be useful for others as often as you like, though please do not use for broken e-waste or garbage.
We are currently using a clipboard log to track Freecycle items (in + out)
The IT room is taken care of by our IT Team. If you’re not on the team or Board of Directors then you shouldn’t have any reason to enter.

Bathrooms + First Aid

We’re all responsible for keeping the bathrooms clean and stocked - simple things like replacing the paper towel or toilet paper when empty, taking out the garbage, or giving the sink quick wipe down can go a long way to helping keep the lab clean.
Cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels etc. in the white cabinet in the larger bathroom.
If we are completely out of something send a message to the list either asking someone to pick up the thing, or saying you will pick it up
The key to the dumpster is hanging on the wall inside the back stairwell, and explain where the dumpster is. Please help by taking out full garbage bags and putting a new garbage bag in the bin you emptied.
The main first aid kit is located between the bathrooms as well and should be fully stocked at all times. Mini-kits in each room may be only partially stocked. The first aid locker with additional supplies to restock is across from the bathrooms and is marked with a red plus
In general, leave the the whole space in the same or better condition than when you came to it

Lay-up Area and Storage

The lay-up tables are for work-in progress. If you need to leave something to dry, you can leave your project here provided it is well-labeled with your name, current date AND date it’s safe to move.
Shelves in the lay-up area are for very short-term storage.
Main storage area has additional storage shelves - shelves are labeled for how long you are permitted to store (the more accessible the shelf, the shorter the storage time)
Laser Storage and there is some room to store materials here.
Label your materials/work - regardless if it’s on the lay-up table, lay-up storage, laser storage or main storage, EVERYTHING must be labeled with name and date, preferably with a designated storage label. EACH PIECE SHOULD BE LISTED WITH YOUR NAME AND DATE
We may in the future start charging a nominal fee for storage - not to nickel and dime members but to make sure that storage doesn’t become a graveyard of dead projects.

Again, just be considerate that you’re sharing the space with others.

Laser

Laser requires training - request on Slack channel for the laser, or mailing list.
Show the card box and explain how it will use your same Key Fob, will be enabled once you’ve passed training. This style of lock-out system will be expanded to other tools in the future.
No material storage within the laser area - our laser team will toss it out
Feel free to use scraps from scrap bin, or materials from the free materials shelf.
Laser is one of the few tools in the lab that we as that you not attempt maintenance on unless cleared by the laser team specifically to do maintenance"
See also Laser Cutters

Paint Booth and Storage

If you need to use spray paint, or glue or anything that makes unpleasant fumes, you can do so in the paint booth, turn it on and it sucks the fumes up and sends them outside.
If you are going to use the lay-up tables for larger pieces of higher-fume finishes like Polyurethane, please post to the general slack channel.
The following materials are BANNED from the entire lab: Chlorinated degreasers, and 2-part isocyanate paint. No cutting or sanding of Fiberglass, carbon fiber. Refer to the finishing cabinet for posted rules about bringing in new solvents, solutions and materials. Refer to the the binder of safety information.

Metal Shop

No member storage allowed - use storage areas for projects
Same ‘take a penny leave a penny’ system for fasteners etc, but the metal shop is well stocked for fasteners - please feel free to use!
Many of the tools require formal training - e.g. Metal Lathe, Welding, and more. (Check the wiki for the current list for [which Require Training] and pay attention to the yellow "Requires Training" plaques on the tools themselves.
Please clean up after yourself, including clearing the benches completely when finished, clearing debris off of tools and on the floor all around the tools. There's a special shop vac for (metal) chip collection.
Basic PPE is available - safety glasses, face shields, ear muffs and disposable ear plugs, welding helmet etc. Feel free to bring in your own as well. Safety is your responsibility, but we very strongly recommend the use of PPE and will stop those doing anything bl
FIRE WATCH for 30 minutes after any hot work (that’s anything that produces sparks or flame)
If a machine breaks while you’re using it (or you find it broken), please tag it as out of order and what’s wrong post to the appropriate Slack Channel for the tool. No one will be upset at you for breaking something if you were using it safely, but they will get upset if you knew it was broken and didn’t say anything as that’s time lost we could have been fixing it for everyone else.
See also Metal Shop

Woodshop

No member storage allowed - use storage areas for projects
Many of the tools require formal training - e.g. Wood CNC Router, Disc Sander, and more, with more tools transitioning to requiring training in the near future. (Check the wiki for the current list for and pay attention to the yellow "Requires Training" plaques on the tools themselves.
If a machine breaks while you’re using it (or you find it broken), please tag it as out of order and what’s wrong post to the appropriate Slack Channel for the tool. No one will be upset at you for breaking something if you were using it safely, but they will get upset if you knew it was broken and didn’t say anything as that’s time lost we could have been fixing it for everyone else.
There is an out of order tag box in each of the wood and metal shops.
FIRE WATCH for 30 minutes after any hot work (that’s anything that produces sparks or flame) (specifically applies to the grinding wheel for those sharpening tools in a room full of sawdust)
Point out scrap wood area - feel free to use anything there, or leave behind useful cutoffs.
If your cutoffs aren't useful, please dispose of in the black bins, cutting any large piece down to fit if needed. When full, these need to be taken down to the dumpster. Although it can sometimes be one of the assigned chores, it's everyone's responsibility to empty full bins and full garbage cans as needed as well everywhere in the lab
Basic PPE is available - safety glasses, face shields, ear muffs and disposable ear plugs. Feel free to bring in your own as well. Safety is your responsibility, but we very strongly recommend the use of PPE.
Most tools now have dust collection - please make sure the right gate is open for your tool and the collector running.
Please clean up after yourself - all tools should be clear of debris and the floor around the tools should be swept. All hand tools should be put away, and benches left clear when you're finished. If you altered a tool from what would be the "default" setup, please put it back to the default set up (e.g. leaving the mitre saw at 90 degrees, table saw safety guards replaced if they were removed, etc), ready for the next person to use.
Tools from the woodshop are marked with red and white striped tape and shouldn't be removed from the woodshop. If you do find a tool marked with that tape outside of the woodshop, please return it to the woodshop
See also Woodshop (Area)

Hoist

We have a hoist, which can be used to bring large + heavy items up from the loading dock level - Board approval is required.
We also have a pallet lifter - training still TBD, please contact the board if you have any heavy lifting needs.
Don't stand on the hole cover. No humans in the hoist or on the pallet lifter. Ever.
See also Hoist

Lockers

Each member gets one locker. You can claim one by labelling it with your name. A lock is optional, but your name is not. Unlabelled lockers run the risk of having their lock cut off by the board if we can’t identify who it belongs to, but we really don’t want to have to do that
Same general storage rules apply - nothing dangerous, nothing that could rot and stink up the place, just be aware that this is a shared space, and you should be fine

Emergency Exit, loading dock and Blacksmithing

There are 3 exits to the space - the member door, the guest/front door and the emergency exit which is down the stairwell by the main lockers and the door is on the left right at the bottom of the stairs.
The loading dock is down the same locker stairs and to the right - you can use the right hand loading dock (the one that doesn’t say Screen Magic) to bring in materials. * Make sure everything is locked up tight when you’re done and that someone is watching the door whenever it is open. The doors should NEVER be propped open.
Blacksmithing has some storage space on the loading dock for outdoor blacksmithing. Blacksmithing requires training - request via the #area-blacksmithing channel. See also Coal Forge

Guests

You are welcome to bring in guests, but they remain your responsibility at all times. It is your responsibility they adhere to the Code of Conduct (i.e. don’t be a jerk)
They must be escorted while in the wood and metal shops and laser area.
They are not permitted to use a tool which requires training or is marked as for member use only.

COVID-19 Rules

Refer to signage around the lab for the most current COVID-19 rules which could include restrictions on the number of people in the lab, masks, vaccinations required, etc. See also COVID-19 Restrictions

Miscellaneous

Please check with the appropriate teams before dropping off donations. Although donations are often welcome, we need to make sure we know what we have, how to use it, and make sure we don't already have too many of the same thing.
You are welcome to bring your own tools, but please do label them with your name. Tools should be stored in your own locker (or studio, or member storage shelf but only for the duration of the project not on an ongoing basis). Unlabeled tools forgotten at the lab often get put away with other tools.
Please check with the appropriate team if you would like to lend a tool to the lab. We try to discourage lending tools to the lab as tools at the lab can get a lot of wear and tear even if used properly and may break. The lab generally won't take on that liability. We also need to make sure the tool is safe for the lab, etc.
We do permit members in good standing to suspend their membership temporarily by applying for hiatus. Hiatus must be for a minimum 2 months and approved by the board. Please remember to take all projects with you and clear out your locker before starting hiatus. See Hiatus Request and Withdrawal Guidelines
When you join you the lab you would have been added to slack and two mailing lists. The Announce mailing list is required and we do our best to keep the number of messages there to just the absolute bare minimum. The Members mailing list is optional. It's quite a bit noisier as it's where all the new member applications are sent to. If you would like to unsubscribe from the Members mailing list, you can do so via the link at the bottom of every message sent to the mailing list.
Slack is by far our primary form of communication. Please browse the channels and add join the channels for the tools and rooms you use so you don't miss anything. We do still send the most critical of messages via the Announce, but you will be missing everything from people showing off their cool projects, people helping each other find materials, people getting help for specific tools, etc.