iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

We are pleased to announce we have been selected as the Council's preferred operator for Rochford Freight House, subject to final lease agreement etc. We'll be working with the community and other organisations to make the best use we can of the whole building. www.rochford.gov.uk/councillors-...

rochford.gov.uk

Councillors back East Essex Hackspace to lead future of Freight House

A new chapter for Freight House is a step closer after councillors voted to appoint East Essex Hackspace CIO as the preferred operator.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Today East Essex Hackspace celebrated its 8th birthday! 🎂🔥 We started with a handful of people in a Scout hut. Now we’re a community of nearly 400 members, and the Pavilion has been our home for almost six years. So naturally, we lit the cake with a MAP gas blowtorch. Happy birthday, EEH! 🎉

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

🏁 THE VELOCIRACER LIVES! 🦖⚡ Iain made it to the final Hacky Racers event of the year to challenge for the Scrumpy Cup! One burnt motor driver, one dead welder and a LOT of last-minute help later, the Velociracer has even been stretch limo-fied for better cornering. 😂 #HackyRacers #Hackspace

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Think you couldn't build something like this? Nobody starts knowing everything. At East Essex Hackspace, you learn by building, testing, breaking things, fixing them and asking the person next to you. Come and see us Tuesdays from 7:30pm. Tours at 8pm.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

It's Tuesday so it's Social/Open Night at the Hackspace today, come along from 19:30 to have a look around. If you would like a formal safety induction and to join up we start those at 20:00 and it takes about an hour.

A view of the Hackspace from the car park. The grass is very brown and dry.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

⚡ What does 35,000 volts do to a Haribo bear? We found out. One of our members built the Cockcroft Walton Multiplier kit from @ExtKits@mstdn.social — an electronic Van de Graaff, all through-hole soldering, very beginner-friendly. Follow, Like & Share so more people find out about the space!

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

From a flat sheet of copper to a hand-made bowl. 🔨🥣 While East Essex Hackspace was out in force at #EMF2026, I managed to grab a place on a coppersmithing workshop with Urban Crafts Foundation. #HeritageCrafts #CopperSmithing #Maker #Metalworking #Craftsmanship

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

It's Tuesday Night so it's Social/Open Night at the Hackspace today from 19:30. If you're looking for a joining induction we do those at 20:00. This week's excitement is that the Council installed new bins in the park outside!

A view of the Hackspace on a sunny June day. The Council have installed new bins right by the path.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Tuesday night means it's Social Night at the Hackspace from 19:30. Inductions at 20:00 if you're thinking of joining.

A picture of the Hackspace with the door open. The grass is greening up nicely and the tree in full leaf.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Tuesday night means it's open/social night at the Hackspace from 19:30. If you're interested in joining we do inductions at 20:00, please be on time as it takes about an hour we don't restart.

A picture of the Hackspace on a warm but windy day. The leaves are coming back on the trees now.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

We're running a Repair Café 10:00-13:00 today at the Hackspace.

A close view of the Hackspace with one of our flags planted outside.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

🎉 Welcome Sandrina, our newest Trustee! She joined via a repair café, got hooked, and now builds robots and gets stuck in across the whole space. Usually in Tues/Weds, go say hello 👋

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

It's Tuesday so that means it's social/open night from 19:30 today. If you'd like to be inducted to join we'll start this at 20:00 and it takes about an hour, don't be late as we don't restart inductions.

A view of the Hackspace on a sunny spring day.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

It's Tuesday so that means it's social/open night from 19:30 today. Also, exciting news there's a tractor out mowing the sports field! If you'd like to be inducted to join we'll start this at 20:00 and it takes about an hour, don't be late as we don't restart inductions.

A view of the Hackspace with a big orange tractor towing a mower attachment in the right of the frame.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

A quiet way to remember someone special. Local boy Henry Hall was just 6 when he passed away. For what would have been his 8th birthday, a tree has been planted at Hawkwell with a custom plaque. A small, lasting tribute made with care. 🌈🌳 #HenryHall #InMemory #TreePlanting #Memorial #UKMakers

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

It's Tuesday so that means it's Social/Open Night at the Hackspace from 19:30. If you're looking to join then inductions will start at 20:00 and last about an hour. Please be on time for induction as we don't restart them if somebody's 15 minutes late.

A view of the Hackspace on a dull March day.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

While members were representing the Hackspace at a District Council meeting last night, some work got done on our long-running shared Hacky Racer project. This is testing the 'state machine' for safe operation and differential mixing of the two drive motors when steering.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Tuesday night means Social Night from 19:30 at EEH but It'll be a quiet one as many members and Trustees are off to a District Council meeting where they are debating our bid for bigger premises. There will be at least one person around though if you'd like a tour/induction.

A view of the Hackspace on a bright March day. The trees are just starting to come back to life but the field is still very muddy.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

We were out on Hockley High Street promoting the Hackspace today. Not huge footfall given it was a sunny Saturday but we still managed to talk to lots of people who showed interest in what we do.

Some Hackspace clutter set out on tables. There's an "arcade machine" running RetroPie, an Antweight fighting robot arena with several bots, a 3D printer, our traffic light game and various random objects made at the Hackspace.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Member Iain was getting familiar with our Cricut last night. He has plans to build up a design using many layers of leather into a 3D relief. This will also involve using our 3D scanner to scan the original object. The Cricut did really well with the 1mm leather he tried.

A piece of leather with the name "Iain" cut out of it. The leather and the resulting letters are on the tacky backing sheet used by the Cricut.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

It's Tuesday so Social Night at the Hackspace from 19:30 and potentially safety inductions from 20:00 if you're looking to join up. Pop down and see what we get up to.

A picture of the Hackspace on a slightly dull day.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Member Stuart is experimenting with turning wood/resin "eggs" on the lathe today. This has wood placed in a 3D printed mould of roughly the right shape, filled with resin then turned down removing the mould. This apparently saves a lot of resin, which is much more expensive than 3D printer filament.

Stuart turning the "egg" on the lathe. He is wearing an impressive positive pressure face mask.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Spring appears to be springing in Hawkwell and tonight it's also the Hackspace AGM from 20:00. Note this means there won't be time for the usual member general inductions.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Member Sunel has been busy creating this beautiful fused glass art at the Hackspace. The glass pieces were cut on our Wazer waterjet into intricate shapes that would be incredibly difficult by hand. They were then arranged and kiln fused to create these vibrant designs full of colour and light.

A circular piece of glass art showing tall blades of grass with a stylised dragonfly and butterflies above. Nestled in the grass is a ladybird.

A circular piece of glass art showing a tall daisy-like flower with tiny bees buzzing around it.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

It's Tuesday and that can only mean one thing: Social Night at the Hackspace from 19:30. I've been away a couple of weeks so don't know what anybody's plans and projects for today are but pop down to see what we down if you fancy it.

A view of the Hackspace on an afternoon where the first signs of the coming spring abound. The field is very muddy.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Trustee Nick visited the @raspberrypi.com store today and picked up a couple of Pico 2W to use in the Hacky Racer motor controller. We had a Pico W but felt like updating and having a spare.

The storefront of the Raspberry Pi store which is minimalistic white & wood a bit like an Apple store.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

This coming Tuesday 17th February we're running another Social/Induction evening at the Hackspace. We also plan to fire up the pancake machine so there will be automated pancakes available as well as the usual tea/coffee and biscuits.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Sometimes we get people asking if we can fix/make/modify things. It's not a 'service' we can guarantee but luckily last night member Matt had time to help somebody with a clothes rail which wasn't tall enough for long dresses. They'd bought longer poles that didn't fit and Matt was able to oblige.

A tall clothes rail with garment bags hanging.

The metal poles that make up the clothes rail.

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Reposted by East Essex Hackspace

Thangs3D @thangs3d.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Join us for a session with guest speaker Patrick 4D - the digital chef 🔪 Tomorrow - February 11th, 5pm CET / 11pm EST / 8am PST RSVP! forms.gle/NUM7v2bErQGA... Check out Patrick's work: instagram.com/patrick_4d/

forms.gle

Guest Speaker: Patrick_4D February 11, 2026

We are very excited to have Patrick_4D, the digital chef and Z-Brush expert, come talk with us about his experience working in 3D. He found his niche, doubled-down and made a name for himself while cr...

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Reposted by East Essex Hackspace

Hitchin Hackspace @hackhitchin.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

If you are interested in finding out a bit more about #HitchinHackspace and are free this evening why not come along to our Monthly Social evening at The Victoria pub....

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Reposted by East Essex Hackspace

Ballarat Hackerspace @ballarathackerspace.org.au · 10/02/2026

Live in Ballarat and interested in learning about 3D Printing or Laser Cutting (wood/acrylic)? We run regular introductory workshops on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of every month. All skill levels welcome, tickets essential. More info: ballarathackerspace.tidyhq.com/public/sched...

ballarathackerspace.tidyhq.com

Events | Ballarat Hackerspace | TidyHQ

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Sometimes you can augment old techniques with new equipment. Member Dan wanted to engrave a pint glass so used the Cricut at the Hackspace to cut out some stencils from some stencil film, then applied glass etching cream.

A piece of plastic film stuck to the side of a pint glass.

A toothpaste-looking paste applied to the stencil. Probably best not to use this as toothpaste.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

🏆 Volunteer Group of the Year 🏆 This recognition belongs to our amazing volunteers, members, and wider community. Every repair, every workshop, every hour given freely is what makes this place special. Thank you for believing in what we do and for helping build something truly community-led 💙

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

We're proud to say that last night the Hackspace won "Volunteer Group of the Year" in Rochford District Council's citizen awards. Thank you everyone who nominated us and thanks to RDC for the support!

An etched glass block style awards trophy with the crest of Rochford District Council and showing the Hackspace as "Volunteer group of the year".

A certificate from Rochford District Council showing the Hackspace as "Volunteer group of the year".

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

At the weekend we had a rocket launch that very much fell into the “excellent learning opportunity” category. Made by one of our members using our laser cutter and based on a Pringles tube it has four small motors instead of one large one. Clever idea, tricky execution. youtube.com/clip/Ugkx5YZ...

youtube.com

YouTube

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Progress on our Hacky Racer is slow but yesterday things got done. We've got a MakerBase ODrive v3.6-56V to run our dual motor setup. This is going to need some mixing of the two based off throttle and steering and also the brake switches to cut drive when braking. So we've connected a Pi Pico.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

It's Tuesday today so that means it's Social Night at the Hackspace tonight from 19:30. Pop in and see what we're up to.

A view of the Hackspace on a full day. The field is very muddy.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Yesterday, after Repair Café, two members did a bit of a rearrange in the metalshop. One workbench got modified so our new and improved welding table could be stored underneath. The old Welding bench is being repurposed for glasswork with the kiln and oxygen concentrator on it.

A welding bench that stands on casters tucked underneath another bench. The welding bench carries a large Parweld welded.

A welding bench with a blue kiln on top to the left and a mounted gas torch to the right. Underneath is a large machine, which is an oxygen concentrator. Various pipes are coiled on the lower shelf.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

At the weekend we ran a Repair Café at East Essex Hackspace. People brought along broken household items, electronics, bikes, and battery-powered kit. Together we diagnosed faults, repaired what we could, and explained what was going on so people could learn in the process.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Repair Cafe at the Hackspace this morning!

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Yesterday, Tim was looking at turning a luggage cart into a powered one with the idea of eventually having several in a 'wagon train'. Motive power will be hoverboard hub motors but fitted with pneumatic tyres. Good progress was made, next it will involve chopping the rear frame and some welding.

The partially assembled luggage trolley sitting on a table.

A stripped down hoverboard chassis offered up to the rear 'bogie'.

A hoverboard hub motor with the solid rubber tyre removed and pneumatic tyre fitted.

The beginnings of a mounting for the hub motors. It is constructed from chopped down axle mount sections from the original hoverboard chassis and a piece of steel to bolt them to.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

We've been equipping the Hackspace for jewellery and glassworking recently. We now have things like an oxygen concentrator and small kiln available. Members have been getting to grips with these and developing the practical skills to use them.

A piece of worked glass that looks like a flower bud.

A little sheepy looking guy made of glass

A piece of worked glass looking like a flower petal.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

It's cold and wet outside but warm and dry in the Hackspace tonight for our regular Social Night from 19:30. This weekend members had a big tidy and reorganise of the woodshop and we might make further progress on that so we can get the table saw back into operation.

A view of the Hackspace on a cold grey day.

The Hackspace woodshop looking less crowded than usual.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

The process of creating a design from scratch for our new embroidery machine is quite fiddly and the supplied software limited. Members have been coming up with a workflow for inkstitch.org that means we can use open source software to produce designs for it. We're almost there...

The embroidery machine doing the design on some green fleece material.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Tidying is contagious, today another member had a go at our metal shop bench and the area around the mill. Also our 3-jaw lathe chuck had picked up some runout so they stripped and cleaned it, reducing the runout.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Last night members tidied and rearranged the 3D print lab to make it much less messy and more ordered. We often get asked how it works for the 3D printers. We used to charge by the hour for filament but thanks to many generous donations, you just print and make a donation if you want.

A picture of the 3D print lab, which is a long narrow room. There are two Bambu Lab printers in the foreground, rows of shelves covered in filament down ones side and more printers at the far end.

The desk in the 3D print lab which has a keyboard, mouse and screen for the computer in there. Behind it are shelves covered in boxes of filament.

A picture of the 3D print lab, which is a long narrow room. This is a view of the end where we have our FLSun V400 delta printer and some out of service printers including and Ender 5 Pro.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Tuesday means it's Social Night at the Hackspace from 19:30. Tonight I suspect there will be more work on the BC250 'Steam Machine' and some looking at our new SawStop table saw to see what's needed to get it commissioned.

A picture of the Hackspace on a bright winter's day.

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

This was meant for toddlers, not race tracks 🚗⚡ At the hackspace, a kid’s electric car became a racing EV, just because someone said “why not?” That’s what happens when slightly mad ideas meet the right people and a space that encourages experimenting Come and join our social night on Tues at 7:30pm

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East Essex Hackspace @eehackspace.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

There's been a bit of buzz recently about using cheap AMD BC250 boards from AliExpress to build a DIY "Steam Machine" for gaming. It's not going to be a patch on the real thing but Trustee Steve picked one up for a fun project. First job was to get the BIOS flashed and this was pretty easy!

The BC250 sat on a desk with a fan perched on top and various USB leads plugged in.

A monitor showing the BC250 BIOS settings

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