Anyone check this place out?

So not knowing anything about machining other than the little bit I did in the one metal shop class in high school seven thousand years ago, I started looking for a metal lathe intro class.

Ran across this place in Menlo Park, CA - http://techshop.ws/

So, I guess it is a membership based community machine shop with classes. Has anyone checked this out? They have classes on the weekends and was thinking about signing up for something.

I was mainly looking at their lathe and milling classes, but they have a 9 hour 3D modeling class that looks pretty awesome. You get to use their 3D MODELER?!?!??!

laser cutting and etching... cnc... vacuum forming... carbon fiber... welding...

 

It is legit. A guy a work with is a member there. He does some SLA rapid prototyping projects as a side job.

They are trying to expand, and open a few other shops around the country. You can also rent storage and office space from them...run an entire business with their stuff!

 

Yeah, they've been talking about opening a Sacramento location since like 2006.

 

i've been thinking about becoming a member here for a couple of years. the electronics testing equipment is really handy for projects if you really only need them for like a month like me. no use in buying an oscilloscope.

 

I was a member back in school when I did some fab work. Techshop is fairly expensive. You pay for the classes on top of the machines, and you really have to have like... a lot of projects to make it worth it.

*edit* actually just browsed the site again, I guess you don't have to be a member to take classes! Damnit, I didn't know that. Wasted several hundred dollars...

You don't get to use the CNC machine. With the training course you just learn to export Solidworks to a compatible format, and if you need to use it you have to give your design to the staff.


Tech shop is worth it if you have a lot of extra time and money on your hands, but you need to go into it with the mentality that you're doing it "just for the heck of it"

For the kind of stuff us auto enthusiasts are interested in like
- machining
- CF and fiberglass
- welding,
the concept and instructions are relatively simple and easy, the hard part is in the the hundreds of hours of practice since there's a lot of eyeballing and human skill involved. Tech shop you have to sign up for blocks of time so it would be more economical to have your own equipment if you were really inclined to get good at something.

And for stuff like powder coating that we might need once in a while, it's much easier to just get it done.

 

I took several classes at TechShop and purchased a few months' membership. I think it was well worth it. I took MIG Welding 1 & 2, Lathe, Mill, and Solidworks.

If you don't have a MIG or TIG welder at home, or a lathe, mill, etc., then it is well worth it to join and use their equipment to complete a project. Realize that everything is shared, so oftentimes equipment is abused, broken, or left dirty (I'll spare everyone my 'proof communism doesn't work' speech here). For any specialized tools like mill and lathe bits, you'll likely need to purchase your own and bring it with you. Also, call ahead and book specific mills or lathes or you may get there and find yourself with no machines to use.

Overall I'd recommend joining. Here's some of the items I either made there or made after taking their classes:

http://www.joe250.com/cars/mini/rebu...27/step27.html

http://www.joe250.com/cars/mini/rebu...30/step30.html

http://www.joe250.com/cars/mini/rebu...37/step37.html

Joe

 

This thread has renewed my interest in DIY metal crap. I just went to techshop last night and renewed my membership and am planning some projects since I have a lot of free time on my hands lately.

Ryball or anyone else, if you want we can collaborate on some stuff at Techshop


I'm planning on basically making all the chassis braces + maybe even a roll cage, which would cost several thousand dollars to buy from Cusco, Beatrush, Perrin, Carbing, etc. and make them for a few hundred bucks of materials.

All this stuff is pretty simple to make with raw materials if you have access to a welder and some metal working equipment like a metal brake and taps (and also aren't critical parts so it's not like you'll crash/burn/die if they don't work):
- strut bars
- Beatrush trunk cage: http://www.gruppe-s.com/beatrush/bea...trunk_cage.jpg (it's $599)
- Fender braces http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop...ce-p-2012.html
- The sparco harness bar http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop...TIbackseat.jpg
- This subframe brace http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop...ce-p-3258.html
- This floor brace http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop...ar-p-3074.html


Basically all the stuff here http://www.gruppe-s.com/Subaru/subsus.htm under LOWER ARM BARS should be doable via "eyeballing it" given you have the time to fit it right and take good measurements.


Another thing I might want to try making is a short ratio steering column. You basically take the 1.5:1 ratio unit here http://www.stockcarproducts.com/steer4.htm and modify your steering column, turns your steering ratio from 16:1 for a WRX to 11:1 (evo is 13:1 and sti is 14:1 I think)

Nasioc thread on the DIY steering column is here, fair amount of welding and cutting: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1734365



- Underbody tray and diffusers like they have on race cars would also be pretty easy

- Carbon fiber body stuff is doable but I wouldn't try it. I've tried a fiberglass hood before and it's pretty hard to make LARGE composite stuff because (1) the mold is difficult and (2) you need to vacuum form the product. CF dash trim and interior bits, engine bay covers you could def make at techshop

 

And I also take back what I said in my first post about the CNC stuff.

They expanded the CNC program since I was last there so you can now freely use it yourself.

 

This class is actually not worth it. If you have a .edu email address (you could get one cheaply by say enrolling in community college) you can get the Solidworks student edition for free.

And then Solidworks has a bunch of free tutorials that from what I can tell from the website class description, covers pretty much the same material as the techshop class, except minus $350