​​Our guest host for Episode Five is Jo Ellis, the Founder and Director of Make.Do. Graduating from Harding with a degree in interior design and her MBA, Jo wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to do after her time at Harding was over. While spending three years in Ireland as a missionary, Jo was a camp counselor during the summer. After being a counselor for a group of girls who challenged her, she offered to let the girls visit her in Dublin, not really believing they’d accept. They did. With three teenage girls in her house and unsure of what to do to keep them occupied, Jo set the girls on a task that has forever changed her own life: make pillowcases.
              Jo watched the girls create something that was uniquely theirs, their struggle with the creative process, and the impact the affirmation they received had on the girls. Believing that creativity is a fundamental aspect of who God is and how it is a restorative process where we find our identity, integrity, and value, Jo realized this mission could become something truly incredible. At times, Jo faced immense challenges and self-doubt, and started actually running a variation of Make.Do. out of the back of her car, loading and unloading ten sewing machines at whatever venue she was in that night.

In this episode of the Build Guild Podcast, Mark Bates, a local carpenter who has spent the last thirteen years operating his own business. Mark’s clientele comes from a mix of referrals from Lowe’s™ and word-of-mouth around the community. Mark began working in the contracting industry working as an installer for Lowe’s™, and then became an installer himself. New to social media, Mark is learning how to advertise his business by showcasing his projects for both his business and his own home.
Similar to Coty’s family, Mark’s family is involved in the foster care system. Recognizing the juggernaut of emotions surrounding a foster child’s first day in his or her new home, Mark constructed a castle at the front of his house to make that difficult first day a little easier. The second floor of his home contains a hidden passage, spiral staircase and hidden room to add a whimsical touch to his children’s childhood.
 Mark’s perspective is completely unique from the other makers of the Build Guild podcast. Most notably, Mark’s tools differ from the fine woodworking tools the other Build Guild makers utilize in their daily business. As a general contractor, Mark’s tool investments occur often and are focused on transportation and durability, whereas Ben, Brian, and Coty all see their tools as lasting investments that can (hopefully) last for years before being passed on to novice makers. 
 Mark is an incredible example of how making isn’t limited to fine woodworking but is an all-encompassing field with room for anyone with an idea or just a little bit of whimsy. His 9-5 work is impeccable, but after hours he’s created an environment where his children have a place to make their daydreams a reality.
 Episode 4 brings us up to speed with Coty’s journey in the Small Business Revolution™, Brian’s current (secret) projects he’s spending the summer on, and Ben’s hair-brained YouTube ideas for Mark’s house. 

 

It’s all about family for Peter Romano. Growing up in Delaware, Peter’s father and mother operated a successful masonry business. Peter’s father ran the business ends and contracts, and his mother kept the books. At its peak, Romano’s Masonry had around sixty employees. Today, the business has shifted its business model to include subcontracting but manages to maintain its identity.
Peter left Delaware to attend Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. After meeting his wife at Harding, Peter and his wife moved to Colorado for a few years before Peter returned to the family business. Working at Romano’s Masonry for a few years expanded the knowledge Peter had gained through his childhood. However, after returning to Delaware, Peter felt God calling him to raise a family elsewhere. Peter and his family left Delaware to move back to Searcy with little planning and a whole lotta faith. He had no job secured, no leads on any open positions, and eventually he and his family were able to move into an old family home. The home had been in his wife’s family since the 1940s and was in desperate need of renovations. Determined to make the best of life in Searcy, Peter began teaching high school history, became a volunteer fireman, attending graduate school for his master’s degree in counseling, and renovating the family home. When Peter was unsure about how to properly renovate his home, he often turned to YouTube to help guide him along.
This week’s guest host talks shop with The Build Guild about being raised by parents who owned a successful business, how YouTube has evolved the world of making, and even how each of the guys asked their girlfriend’s dad for permission to marry his daughter.
5 HP Sawstop
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1.75 HP Sawstop
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StoneFly Nets
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It's been a while since I've had any t-shirts available.  I opened a store on TeeSpring so you can get your Myers Woodshop merchandise.  There are super comfortable t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs, and stickers available.
We also started a merchandise store for our podcast show, The Build Guild Podcast.  Hopefully you're listening and enjoying it.  If you haven't listened yet, it's available on all your major podcast apps, just search for 'the build guild podcast.'  More episodes coming soon!
-Ben

After using the Creality Ender 3, I love this printer the more time I spent with it. The experience did include a few speed bumps along the way, but none of the issues we had were insurmountable. All in all, the Creality Ender 3 is an extraordinary 3D printer when you take the ~$200 price tag into consideration.
There are a number of features that make the Creality Ender 3 one of the most popular machines currently on the market. It has a build volume of 220 x 220 x 250mm, a BuildTak-like heated build plate, power recovery mode and a tight filament pathway that makes it easier to print with flexible materials. These are attributes that are difficult to find in even more expensive printers…
As for printing performance, the Creality Ender 3 exceeded our initial expectations. We experimented with PLA, PETG, ABS, flexible and exotic filaments, and while there were some adhesion and warping issues with ABS, along with some wood filament difficulties, we managed to print successfully with all of the materials at the end of the day.
The 3D printer is easy to assemble and–although it requires manual calibration–the enlarged bed leveling knobs make the process convenient. Once calibration is perfected (it might take a few attempts), the Creality Ender 3 ultimately became indistinguishable from printers that are closer to the $1000 range.
The most glaring issue presented by the Creality Ender 3 is the uneven base, which causes a slight wobble to the entire 3D printer. I was able to solve this by placing a wedge under one corner, but still, this initial problem was definitely a cause for concern as stability is a critical part to a quality 3D printer.
Otherwise, I didn’t have many other qualms with the Creality Ender 3. There were some bed adhesion issues with certain materials, such as ABS, but adding some adhesive solution to the build plate solved this rather quickly, or switch to a glass bed.
The Creality Ender 3 is an excellent option for beginners or makers on a budget. While this 3D printer does have its flaws, the affordability makes it a worthwhile investment. Unlike other budget options in this price range, like the Anet A8, the Creality Ender 3 is prepared for high-quality 3D printing right out of the box. On top of that, the growing community surrounding this 3D printer has led to more and more upgrades.
Creality also offers an “Ender 3 Pro”, which has a detachable magnetic heated bed and improvements to the Y-axis to achieve a better print quality. This makes the Ender 3 Pro more expensive.
There are certainly better 3D printers available on the market, but none seem to fuse quality and affordable quite like the Creality Ender 3. It might require a bit of tweaking and patience to achieve the ideal print quality, but the high potential that this budget 3D printer offers makes well worth the battle.