(((I wonder what the heck guys like this do for litigation protection and health insurance. These social hassles seem like much more of an operational problem than stacking tools in bins and sharing floorspace.)))
Link: How to Change the World: TechShop: Geek Heaven.
"One of the challenges that geeks, inventors, hobbyists, hackers, burners, and artists who are trying to change the world face is finding a place to do their work. Ideally, it would have lots of equipment, supplies, and other geeks. Until the last year, they would have to set up their own workshop or beg for space at a machine shop. Now they can go and hang out at TechShop in Menlo Park, California.
"Jim Newton founded TechShop in the summer of 2006 because he needed a world-class workshop so he could work on his projects and inventions. After having access to full machine shops at both the College of San Mateo when he taught a BattleBots class and at the studio set of the Discovery Channel’s MythBusters show when he was the science advisor, he found himself without a place to work on his projects after these positions. He was surprised to find that there were not any places like TechShop already, so he decided that he would open one himself. (...)
"This is TechShop’s “Bin Wall” which is essentially the world’s largest shared junk drawer. Members bring in their surplus items and materials and sort it into the bin wall. One member’s trash is another member’s treasure! All members can use the items for their own projects at TechShop for free. The TechShop Bin Wall is modeled after MythBusters host Jamie Hyneman’s wall of bins that can be seen on the show…Jim worked on MythBusters as the Science Advisor for season 3, and was so inspired by the value of the bin wall that he built his own for TechShop members.
This is part of the Tool Room at TechShop. The Tool Room is self-serve, and members take the tools they need and return them when they are done. Lots of members donate tools to the Tool Room, so the collection of tools actually grows, and there has been no “shrinkage.”
TechShop has a state-of-the-art 3D printer, the Dimension BST. It can make a part out of sturdy ABS plastic from any 3D CAD file, layer by layer, and can make a part up to 8” x 8” x 12” tall. The resulting model is nearly as strong as the final injection-molded plastic part would be. TechShop members can use this 3D printer whenever they want and only pay for the plastic they use....
