Any chance of seeing a ceramics work area?
It would need a kiln, a wheel, a glazing sink type area and a sculpting table.
Materials like glaze and clay would have be brought in by the user.
if this is already a thing, sorry. I haven’t actually been to the maker-space yet, i was just browsing the site and looking at the tools available.
There’s always a chance 
I was thinking we could probably fit a reasonable electric kiln in the autobay area (home of all homeless machines). It’d need wiring and ventilation work, but would be totally doable. and useful for things other than ceramics too.
I hadn’t thought of a wheel and wet area, but that would be in keeping with the purpose of the space (assuming enough members would make use of it)
Basically, a member needs to write up a proposal, gather support, and bring it to a meeting. Finding outside funding is always a plus. The workshop committee can help with details.
I’d be very excited in expanding our craft facilities. Would we need to have a kiln to make it work, or can you bring work to an outside one? I don’t know that much about craft stuff.
Best ways to turn a proposal into a feature of the space:
Anything that broadens our audience or lets us add new classes is a big win.
ceramic working was a big deal when i visited the Dallas maker space years ago.
When i went for a quick tour, there were 6 people all using the ceramic wheels at once.
personally i wouldn’t use it much, but i wouldn’t mind taking a class on it if somebody offered one.
Did some Googling - Armadillo Clay will fire work for a small fee, and Austin Pottery does something with classes and studio access, though I’m not sure of the details.
That said, I think the kiln would be the most marketable to get started. A smallish multipurpose kiln with a digital controller would be an interesting tool to experiment with - ceramics, glass, enamel, and probably a ton of other things I’ve never heard of. You might be able to put together an interesting coalition interested in procuring and maintaining a kiln.
What else could we use a 1200ºC kiln for? casting aluminum? Heat treating steel parts?
Im not sure how practical it is to have the kiln on site. IT d be a safety hazard, as for ceramics and pottery the kiln has to run for several days at different stages. Leaving something with hazardous heat un-attended for days i think is an issue.
Having the pottery and ceramic work area i don’t think would be problematic, just a matter of space. I think it’d be best to just forward people to the Armadillo Clay place to do the firing for them.
Alot of the electric kilns are fairly small, maybe able to handle something the size of a large coffee mug but that’s about it, and aren’t great for melting metals.
[ as a side note I do have a aluminum smelting furnace that runs on charcoal/ propane, and alot of the supplies there for if people would be interested in it]
Im not sure how practical it is to have the kiln on site.
Well you’re no fun at all 
After speaking with someone who knows more about ceramics and pottery than I do, the kiln seems to be not as important. While having the ability to fire stuff is nice, you are right, there is an inherent risk to it. However they did mention that simply having a wheel a sculpting area and a drying area would help the space stand out. People can still take their pieces to other places to glaze and fire until, if ever, a safe way to have the kiln is found.
That being said, the person I was speaking with is also interested in joining eventually, and with them comes knowledge of maintaining and working in a ceramics studio.
A ceramics area would be a boon as it’s a popular craft. I think the challenge would be setting aside space not only for wheel(s) but also clay storage and drying racks. There are a lot of accoutrements with tools, plaster things wet clay dries on after throwing something. It needs space to live at the Hackerspace and it can be a bit messy - water, clay, plaster.
Worth exploring
We’ve got the area under the crafts booth that just seems to be a storage area for abandoned projects.
It’s not big but could set up a couple wheels and dry racks there I think.
An electric kiln uses a lot of electricity. We explored it a couple of years ago. The electrical usage would drive /kwh price up into the next bracket.
It’s not big but could set up a couple wheels and dry racks there I think.
A slab roller would be handy too.
The electrical usage would drive /kwh price up into the next bracket.
Nuts. didn’t even think of that. I imagine our landlord wouldn’t be too keen on a gas kiln outside, either?
I’m a fairly new member and just wanted to add that I would definitely be very excited about getting a ceramics area. I think the wheel would be a great resource even if we can’t have a kiln.