Anyone tried TechShop?

[solvarr]

Has anyone tried using a TechShop?
TechShop Open-Access Public Workshop

They are opening one near where I live and it looks intriguing and well a little too good to be true.

I checked and they have no power hammers (yet) and the forges run gas.

[Farmer Phil]

I've seen something like that at Hickham Airforce Base, but its just for military personnel. I sure like the idea of a well outfitted shop available. How do they bill out its time? Is it a flat hourly rate, or does different equipment bill out at different rates? Do they have sliding scale rates like so much per hour, with price breaks on pre-bought packages of x number of hours, or day, week, monthly or annual subscription rates? Very interesting. I could see where it would be great if I needed to do something that I don't have the machinery for, like some milling or something. Keep us posted on how it goes if you use them.

[solvarr]

It's 100$ a month plus consumables.
So if you run the gas forge.
You write what the pressure gauge on the tank says at the start and the end and they charge you for the gas.

The 3d printer they charge you for the used plastic.

And you have to pay for a safety training class for many of the tools (30-40$)

[evfreek]

Hi. I just took a tour of the Techshop in Menlo Park, CA a few weeks ago. The tour guide was very enthusiastic. The concept has been proved by the pilot and is considered very successful. That is the reason for the expansion. The website is a little out of date. The Marin expansion is on indefinite hold due to personnel reasons. Also, the Menlo Park site will be relocated in the next 18 months to a larger site, since they are bursting at the seams with tools. That place is packed!!!! But, as pointed out above, no power hammer. To tell you the truth, the corporate district that they are currently located in is not really an appropriate location for a power hammer. My smithy is an appropriate location for a power hammer. But not for a Bridgeport mill or a laser engraver.

As for the question about consumables, currently they are provided at no extra charge. When we toured the stockroom, nearly all the hard consumables were from Harbor Freight. If I ever worked in there, I would bring my own grinding disks/belts. It is not worth the inefficiency. Sure, Harbor Freight is cheap, but some of their abrasives are not worth the risk/slowdown. I especially made sure to ask the tour guide about gas. I know how much gas a goofball can blow through in one night. (By experience: I visited another co-op and saw a couple of greedy, inconsiderate, self-important gas hogs blow through $50-100 of gas.) Currently, there is no extra charge. Oddly enough, I did not see any gas hogs during the tour, although they only had one small Lincoln Precision Tig 175 there. Nobody was using it. There was one fellow using the Oxy-Ac torch, but the wasn't a hog.

I do not have a problem with the $40 (used to be $30) that they charge for the "lessons". This is more like certification, since you cannot learn much aluminum TIG in one hour with a bunch of other classmates. You will learn what the switches mean and how to grind a tung.

All in all, I believe that the Techshop is a great idea. At the urging of a fellow blacksmith, I once signed up for a co-op like this, since he said that it would "round out" my metalworking skills. It was a wonderful experience and a great deal, and I met some truly rotten people who I would never want to see again. I also decided that I do not want to be well-rounded. I want to be a better blacksmith. And I have a really long way to go still.

[Frostfly]

I'll check then out when they get to portland.

[Farmer Phil]

Originally Posted by solvarr

It's 100$ a month plus consumables.

Is there a limit on how much you can use the shop for your $100?

[solvarr]

you can reserve the tools for how ever many days in advance you have prepaid your membership in months.

a 12 month membership is 12 days out

But if nobody is on the tool you just have to play nice with others and not hog any one tool.

I'll post a review once it opens and I take the tour.

For some one off tool fabrications it seems like a great deal.

[Frosty]

An online aquaintance of mine is a member and loves it. Where else can you have access to a couple million worth of equipment for $100 a month? You should see the laser cut christmas gifts he made.

Too bad I live someplace unlikely to ever have a Techshop.

On the other hand, moose hang out in my yard, the Goshawks nest out back and I can target shoot off my back porch.

Frosty

[Farmer Phil]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Too bad I live someplace unlikely to ever have a Techshop. On the other hand, moose hang out in my yard, the Goshawks nest out back and I can target shoot off my back porch.

I like that target shooting of the porch feature. I doubt there'll be one here either. Of course our 365 day a year shorts and t-shirt weather is not too bad. But I sure would like access to all that stuff!

[fritzdecat]

I am glad it is coming to Durham NC.

I never learned how to use a Bridgeport Mill now I can. They will laso have a stout Tig machine capable of doing aluminum and a plasma cutter.The list goes on. We are lucky to have one in NC