We visited TechShop (techshop.ws) in Northern California, which is like a gym but with shop tools instead of workout equipment! This was our first view - reception desk and entry door to the work area. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Reception area. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Raw materials for sale might make it unnecessary to run out to the hardware store if you forgot something... [TechShop Menlo Park]

More materials for sale. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Workbenches with lots of room to spread out, each with AC lines and compressed air fed from overhead. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Main general work area. It looks empty first thing in the morning (9AM) but fills up steadily during the day. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Main general work area. Notice the elaborate masks in progress on the nearest workbench. Clearly, Halloween is approaching! [TechShop Menlo Park]

Sewing machine room. This area was being used a fair amount with the upcoming Halloween deadline. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Jean works on her project - conversion of a commercial giant duffle bag into a customized bag for her kendo gear. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Tool room with lots of bins of general use tools - pliers, drills, screwdrivers, etc., etc. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Tools for use by members. Just about everything you can think of... and then some! [TechShop Menlo Park]

Metal shop. Lots of traditional mills and lathes, and in the background, an NC mill. [TechShop Menlo Park]

More views of the metal shop. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Tools for doing whatever you can think of to sheet metal - punching, bending, cutting, ... [TechShop Menlo Park]

Wood shop, including an NC Shopbot router. Many of the TechShop's "furnishings" seem to have been made here. [TechShop Menlo Park]

More tools in the wood shop. [TechShop Menlo Park]

The "yard" behind TechShop is for working on big projects such as cars. [TechShop Menlo Park]

The "Bin Wall" is for donated parts and appliances. Members can freely scavenge for parts needed in their projects. [TechShop San Jose]

Small parts on the "Bin Wall". [TechShop Menlo Park]

The break area - a good place to get a snack while you get off your feet or brainstorm with your team. [TechShop Menlo Park]

[TechShop Menlo Park]

CAD workstations and a networked laser printer. The workstations are fully loaded with all the CAD and Adobe software you wish you could afford at home! [TechShop Menlo Park]

One of 3 laser cutters. These work almost like a normal paper laser printer, except you have to manually set speed and power and be ready to put out flames! These versatile machines are very popular, so they have to be reserved in 2-hour increments. [TechShop Menlo Park]

A test run on the laser cutter. A raster image is being produced by burning off the top colored layer of some poster board. [TechShop Menlo Park]

Open till midnight, 7 days a week! [TechShop Menlo Park]

Panoramic view of the 3rd floor of the San Francisco Tech shop. On this floor are the general work areas with benches, laser cutters, sewing machines, composites work area, and more. The first/second floors hold the "heavy" machine for wood and metal.

Lobby area - TechShop San Jose

Material for sale. [TechShop San Jose]

Work benches in the general work area, with the tool crib in the background. This location is the newest, having opened just a few months ago. [TechShop San Jose]

Another view of the work area, with the sewing machines in the rear. [TechShop San Jose]

The "Bin Wall" of parts available for scavenging. It's not as extensive as the wall in Menlo Park, but that's to be expected for this new location. [TechShop San Jose]

Sewing area, plus an NC vinyl cutting machine in the back. [TechShop San Jose]

Lounge, computer workstations, and large format printer. [TechShop San Jose]

Lounge and more workstations, all loaded with CAD software as at the other TechShop locations. [TechShop San Jose]

Another view of the lounge and workstations. WiFi at all TechShops also makes it convenient to bring your own computer and work on it. [TechShop San Jose]

Wood shop. [TechShop San Jose]

3D fabrication machine room. [TechShop San Jose]

Samples made with the 3D "printer". [TechShop San Jose]

Even more elaborate 3D printing examples. [TechShop San Jose]

Metal machining shop. [TechShop San Jose]

Mills in the metal machine shop. [TechShop San Jose]

Welders. [TechShop San Jose]

More shots of the metal shop. A fork lift is available for bringing in heavy material. The welding area is at the right rear of the photo. [TechShop San Jose]

Painting room. [TechShop San Jose]

Sheet metal working tools. [TechShop San Jose]

Water jet cutter for computer-controlled cutting of metals such as steel. [TechShop San Jose]