You like building stuff. Sure LEGOs can get you off on most days but there are times when you have a pestering need to build something that resembles a real world thing — like your own Robocop armor or a flying saucer blimp that you will use to get airborne when the polar ice caps melt. Unfortunately, your limited workshop space and even more limited budget for tools make it impossible. That’s where TechShop comes in.
Know how gym equipment is so expensive and so space-restrictive that it makes sense to enroll in a fitness center to get your regular workouts? The TechShop works the same way, giving you access to large space with industrial-quality tools for building the evil robot empire of your mad scientist dreams.
What kind of facilities should you expect? First off, you get a 15,000 square foot workshop that you will share with other builders, tinkerers, artists and inventors. Inside that space sit $750,000 worth of heavy-duty machines, professional tools and other equipment, all of which you can use to create whatever projects you’ve spent hours dreaming up while pretending to do stuff at work. The huge list of available machinery cover the gamut of creative endeavors, from automotive projects to woodworking to laser prototyping to sewing to metal machining.
They offer training for all the equipment, as well as free use of conference rooms, PC workstations, WiFi and other amenities.  You can also rent storage space for your projects, so you don’t have to keep bringing that 10-foot killer robot you’re building home everyday (especially with the neighbors being nosy and all).
TechShop currently has three branches in California (Menlo Park, San Francisco, San Jose), as well as one each in Detroit and Raleigh, North Carolina. Scheduled to open are locations in Portland, New York and Los Angeles.
We can’t wait for the NY one to open its doors!
[TechShop]