The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

TechShop Arrives in Detroit

By

TechShopOn May 5th and 6th, TechShop will be opening its newest location in Detroit, a city where there are probably quite a few guys who would really appreciate it. Although we’ve mentioned TechShop on more than one occasion over the last several years, they haven’t been expanding anywhere near as fast as many of us had hoped. The completely equipped membership workshop is such a fantastic resource for anyone living near one, to see the shops expanding is great, but it sure would be nice to see more of them.

Glancing on their website, I noticed members now have the opportunity to take free classes for Autodesk Inventor, and they get a free 6 month license for the software, so they can use what they learn on their own time at home and design whatever they want to build. After designing it on the computer, they can then use the tools at TechShop to build it. Inventor is top of the line CAD software and having an opportunity like this for the price of membership, just $99 per month, along with all of the machine tools and guidance available is something anyone able to join should definitely take advantage of.

Like we’ve said so many times, the cost of learning anything you want to know is rapidly dropping to rock bottom levels. If you want to learn, there’s no reason why you can’t. With TechShop, you can even have access to the workshop of your dreams. Amazing.

Link: TechShop

Comments

  1. Brilliant !!! Especially for those living In the city proper : not having a garage etc . This almost gives me hope that we may not become a Nation incapable of DOING things . Almost . More of these Nationwide please !

    • Many projects The Kneeslider has featured over the years were built by amateurs. Some of them are extremely impressive.

      TechShops provide the motivated individual an opportunity to learn new skills and provide access to equipment very few have. Some may not go very far while others may use their membership as a launch pad to an extraordinary future. It’s up to each individual to go as far as he can.

      The professional vs amateur distinction is often no more than a piece of paper that says so, the comparative achievements of both will determine over time if the paper means anything.

          • Maybe it was not meant as a slam, in many area dominated by large corporations you can find huge amounts of skill and inventionin garage level puttering around. I’m no dremel master by any means, but I’ve put a server (2P) motherboard in a desktop case & setup watercooling…

    • So…….we should just “leave things to the professionals” then? Sorry chief but you’re off your friggin’ nut, so far off base you’re not even playing on the same field as the rest of us.

      How, in your highly skilled, ultimately knowledgeable and of course highly valuable opinion is the self improvement of the average kat a bad thing? Please explain.

      No. Really…..I gotta hear this.

  4. I do hope it works out for them. It’s a splendid idea that if managed well could really help bring back some hands on values….at least one could hope.

    I lost my membership fee to the one that was here in Portland, but apparently it was only ‘kinda(?)’ part of the techshop organization. Hopefully this one is on the up and up and everyone comes out on top.

  5. I’ve been a member of the TechShop in Detroit since January. I can attest that it’s a great thing. A real great thing. So much so I’ve been driving there, from Grand Rapids (156 miles each way), every weekend this year. Having a fully loaded shop at your disposal should be a right not a privilege.

    • Also I’m not an amateur. I have 20 years of prototyping experience. I just don’t have access to a shop, with CNC tools, where I can make anything I want.

      • Heh- they probebly love having you there! It’s one thing to see a CNC turret lathe (or whatever), but another thing entirely to wrap your brain around how much it is capable of… Until you see it in action.

  6. Glad to hear they’re doing well. There’s one of those two hours from me, but it’s simply too far away for me to take advantage of. So I’ve finally managed to make for my self a cramped shop, and now I’m building the tools to go in it. It’s slow, but coming along.

  7. We could sure use one in Chicago! Interesting that a TechShop is going up in Detroit, a city that still is in danger of shrinking even further than it has in recent years. But the residents remaining are devoted to their town and are working hard to bring it back from near-death. They’re razing entire, abandoned residential blocks and turning them into farmland. Adding TechShop to the mix can only be a good thing. Who would have imagined it 50 years ago? Turning parts of a one-time world powerhouse manufacturing city back into farms that exist alongside a resurgence of hi-tech activity. It’s like going backward, but in a good way, and proves that reality is far more fascinating than fiction.

  8. Before anyone rips an amateur they might want to read my definition of a professional: A professional is one who can inflict unbelievable harm on your person. “You’ll be fine – its only a little heart operation” “Of course the plane will fly – I designed it!” “That bridge will hold that weight easily” ” The wiring in you house is safe” “We designed the car with your safety in mind”
    …And the next time you visit your doctor’s office, remember he calls it his “practice” 🙂
    Happy to be an amateur

    • First off . Full disclosure . I’m all for ‘ Amateurs ‘ doing their thing , getting more opportunities , growing their skills and even attaining the ability to sell some of their works and graduating to ‘ Professional ‘ status .Heck I’m all over this TechShop company and would even consider investing if they prove themselves ‘ viable ‘ and offer an IPO .

      But as to all this stink downplaying and dissing professionals ? Well let me give you my mentor/teacher back in the day’s definition of what a ‘ Professional ‘ should be ;

      ” A professional is one who’s skills on his/her worst of days is equal and/or greater than those of an amateurs on their best : as well as a ‘ Professional ‘ being able to maintain a ‘ High ‘ level of consistency that an Amateur can never hope to attain ”

      e.g. A true ‘ professional ‘ can bang out the good stuff in his/her sleep if need be .

      Having said that you also need to realize/ recognize that far too many folks that would label themselves a ‘ Professional ‘ are hardly worth the moniker/title/ mantle they’ve assumed

      • I’m a firm believer in letting the work speak for itself. When people call attention to a label, amateur or professional, it’s usually to denigrate the skill or supposed capabilities of the person referenced.

        Consistent high performance speaks for itself, as does substandard work, there’s no need to say more about the person than to objectively evaluate what they’ve done. That says it all.

  9. Not to steel anyone’s thunder but Ann Arbor has Maker Works. The url: http://www.maker-works.com/

    They’re having a grand opening on May 12th between 12pm and 4pm at:

    Maker Works
    3765 Plaza Dr
    Ann Arbor, MI 48108

    They’ll have tool demos, food by San Street (of Mark’s Carts) and a raffle of two 1-month memberships and an annual membership.

    • I don’t think you could steal any thunder with that post. Maker Works’ hours are dismal. They must be targeting the unemployed for their membership. TechShop is open from 9am to Midnight every day.

    • +1 I really want one in Canberra.
      It is so irritating not having space for or access to tools. Leaving aside motorcycles, I currently want some custom bits for my water-cooling system in my PC and it would be an afternoons work to make them in a decent shop (even for an incompetent like me). Instead I am looking at suboptimal commercial products or a poorly designed system, either way performance suffers.

  11. I love the concept, it’s always more interesting to learn because something is at stake or you wan’t to reach a goal etc…Education in America has become absurd more like the school of hard knocks so I like it.