About

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Hi my name is Simon and I work in the fields of product design and custom fabrication. I have an obsession with learning fabrication techniques, manufacturing processes, and the stories that objects tell. Above all, I am driven to create design solutions that are both practical and elegant.

I have 10 years of experience designing and building custom displays, retail environments, and furniture.

I am proficient in all stages of the product design process, and utilize hand tools and digital fabrication tools to bring projects to life.

Let’s work together. 

resume:  click to download

instagram:  simon_makey

Always #DumplingWeek here Just a quickie Saturday afternoon monitor stand build. #plywood #diy #carpentry #standingdesk One of my fav spots in town @psychicbarpdx will be closing and reopening under new ownership in just a few days. Grab a drink n snack and take some bathroom #infinitymirror selfies while ya still can 🪟🪟🪟🔮 While replacing the switch on my tablesaw I'm realizing that life would be a lot more interesting if it were full of comically large switches that you could just smash. WET HAPPENS Quickie 1 minute edit of my aluminum roof rack build. Scroll back a few months to see the full build or search "Simon Makey Aluminum Roof Rack" on youtube. New #toolbox vibe. Are 12 caster wheels enough? Here is an exercise on how not to design a rolling tool base. I used 1x1x.065'' square steel tubing with six caster wheels on the perimeter for the structure and 1/2'' osb plywood for the top. Once the table saw was on there I felt the steel frame bending. The plywood also was bending in the middle where it wasn't supported. Routing sled guides with a pattern bit. I like to use 23ga pin nails for holding down templates because they come out really easy and don't leave any mess like you get with tape. Picking back up on my rolling table saw workstation project. Yesterday I added this outfeed table with sled guides. Next steps are to make proper legs (the current ones are placeholders) and add in a right-side extension table with a built-in router. Trying out a new video editing app (@filmora_editor Filmora Go). I've got hours of workshop video footage that I've shot over the years that i want to share but just can't stand sitting at a computer editing video anymore 😵‍💫. Editing this was pretty easy though, so I'm inspired to at least try to publish videos on a more consistent basis. Giving a shout out to Luclac Vietnamese Kitchen @luclackitchen Back in January 2020 I got to be part of the design and fabrication team (@pvsinstore ) building these awesome custom lighting fixtures. They finally recently reopened for indoor seating after a long hiatus. Made a large swoopy thing this week. I hated doing this cut but it seemed like the only way to do it accurately. Aluminum LED channel with a plastic diffuser cut at a pretty funky angle. I used a custom sled I made with @microjig hold down clamps, turned the @sawstopsaws safety off, and unfortunately had to keep my fingers quite close to the blade to hold the plastic diffuser down or else it would get knocked loose while cutting. Rolly polly table saw workstation phase one complete. Welded up a steel base with six casters and slapped together a plywood box to bring the saw up to working height. Next steps include reinforcing it a bit more, adding an outfeed table, and a right extension wing with a built-in router. #diy #woodworking #tablesaw #powertools .9mm graph gear mechanical pencil, sharpie marker, ballpoint pen, olfa retractable knife, precision screwdriver set. Always. Latest in custom tool holding shirt pocket technology. #lasercut #workwear #diy #digitalfabrication #sewing #mrpocket #sewing Clamp Clamp Clamp Rack #diy #woodworking #carpentry #microjig @microjig Cutting acrylic rod with friggin laser beams man. 9.5 psi mushroom cleaning When the overspray and masking tape looks cooler than the final product. Yop! I got much better at #tigwelding... I just had to melt a hole in my hand in the process (hot torch fell off table and burned right through the leather glove and into my hand). When adding the final bracing on the patio i didn't want to just toenail screw them in because it would be kinda ugly and less structurally sound. I made this jig for drilling a 90 degree hole on the 45 degree faces using a forstner bit. When assembling I used bolts through the beam and posts instead of screws which carries the load more equally across the structure. #Yardwork amirite???? Patio cover in process part 2: set horizontal beam, cut and attach rafters, add in two rows of blocking, cut and pre-drill diagonal bracing, attach bracing, lots of touch-up paint, fasten polygal roof (no process pics of this because I was moving FAST trying to beat the incoming rain). Patio cover in process part 1: measure and layout with full-scale mock-up, attach ledger to house, SO much priming and painting, anchor into concrete and set posts, level posts and cut to length. Spent the last few weekends building this patio covering for my backyard. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. In retrospect I would change a few things but if I spent any more time designing it I would still be building this in December. All the framing is painted 4x4 and 2x6 Fir, and the covering is 1/2'' twinwall polycarbonate (polygal). It's much more expensive than the wavy polycarbonate but I think it looks a lot better and the additional air layers act as an insulator. In the future I may frame in the structure with removable walls so I can have a sunroom in the winter and an open patio in the summer 🥶🥵. I finished this thing just in time as it has been raining for a week straight now. Anytime I need to add a seam to a plywood project I usually add this joint. Not sure if there's a name for it. I've always informally called it the Snugly Dovetail 🤷‍♂️. Feeling cute, decided to make a pretty pink pegboard for the home office. Won't delete later. WIP: torsion plywood box portable work table. The table surface is done I just need to decide whether I want to put levelers or rolling casters on the one by one inch steel tubing legs 🤷🏻‍♂️.