How to form a shop co-op and teaching center?

May 18, 2007 7:17 AM

How can I pull this off? I would like to start a communal shop for metal-working, wood working, electronics, etc that also helps kids?

In addition to being a place where adults could use equipment that would otherwise be outside of their price range, the club would be a non-profit that teaches kids how to use the equipment and gives them the chance to learn a skill or trade.

There are a few hitches though. I personally don't have much money so I couldn't just get the ball rolling myself. I also think I would be the wrong person to spearhead it, as I'm not outgoing and don't thrive in a leadership position.

I've heard of bike shops that do something similar to what I wish to do, but I wonder if anyone knows of places that have done this for more shop class style places.

What should I do to make this a reality? Where should I start?

posted by drezdn to grab bag (28 comments total)

Currently, I don't even know many people with interests in these areas, nor in general. However, there are a few people I know, who are really involved in the community.
posted by drezdn at 7:20 AM on May 18, 2007

Have you spoken to anyone in the MAKE universe? This kind of thing is right up their alley; someone that frequents their site/events/whatever might be able to hook you up with people that have done this before, so you could get some tips etc.
posted by aramaic at 7:35 AM on May 18, 2007

Aramaic, as a subscriber to make, I've considered it, but I'm not really sure the best way to find other fans in my area.
posted by drezdn at 7:38 AM on May 18, 2007

This might sound really unorthodox, but the closest thing I know to this is the Eli Whitney Museum. They don't have the heavy machinery, but they work as a sort of...mechanical science lab for school groups, and programs in the summer and throughout the year that one can pay for. Not too much with adults, although they work with clubs. But I wonder if you could persuade your local industrial museums to do a 'learn and work' program - work it so that the schools will come and visit, because the schools want things that will fit their curriculum requirements - and that means more money for the museums in the long run.

They're the only regional museum that's got increased attendance and money from school groups in the last five years. It's because Dr Brown is AWESOME and believes in work, rather than the usual museum experience. He's the kind of guy who pushes for the urban kids to go to vocational school, because he believes the opportunities are there (and less likely to go away when the economy goes kind of crappy.)

You'll need to find someone like that.
posted by cobaltnine at 7:45 AM on May 18, 2007

I think that is a fantastic idea! Seeing as you don't see yourself as comfortable in a leadership role, I would suggest finding a good community partner. The partner could be for instance, could be focused on a particular neighbourhood, or on youth. That way they can handle some of the admin, and finding people who want to learn from the co-op, where you could be focused on stocking it, teaching it, etc. They can help to access funds from your city council or charitable foundations to get the equipment and space. So that is how I would start, find a well-run non-profit that likes your idea. Try to come in with your idea quite clearly written out, and if you can some estimation of how much it might cost (broken down).Maybe even your local Habitat for Humanity might be interested!
posted by typewriter at 7:48 AM on May 18, 2007

There are a few hitches though. I personally don't have much money so I couldn't just get the ball rolling myself. I also think I would be the wrong person to spearhead it, as I'm not outgoing and don't thrive in a leadership position.

I have a friend who has had great success in starting up community projects like this. He has zero money, but he's incredibly outgoing. I'd say the latter characteristic is more important in getting things started -- you begin with the vision, then pester people for the money. So, sounds like step one is finding someone outgoing to team up with.

Another step is finding an established nonprofit to hook up with. You may be able to convince them to take on your project themselves. More importantly, an established nonprofit can help with your fundraising.
posted by footnote at 7:50 AM on May 18, 2007

On preview, what typewriter said!

Also, even though you may need an outgoing partner, for success you'd need to dedicate yourself to seeing the project through. Your job as a founder is to have the vision and keep on pushing people to help with their little piece. The people who help you will only be partially committed; it's your job to be the one who consistently applies the pressure and follows through to bring all the pieces together.
posted by footnote at 7:54 AM on May 18, 2007

Find out about insurance early on. You are basically going to allow people to use a lot of dangerous equipment. The cost of insurance might be very high, if you can even get it at all.
posted by caddis at 8:07 AM on May 18, 2007

You may want to look up Providence's Steelyard
posted by mkb at 8:07 AM on May 18, 2007

Regarding the Make angle, start by actually e-mailing some of the people on the masthead with your idea and see if they wouldn't be willing to send e-mail for you or something. In their larger markets, Make/O'Reilly sponsor and organize community building events (like IgniteSeattle.com), so it's not crazy to think that they wouldn't want to promote something that would bring Makers together where you are.

The other thing I would do is find reps for various tool/equipment makers and pitch them on your idea and see if they'd be willing to donate equipment (like last years demo models). Also, see if there are manufacturing firms in your area who might be willing to donate equipment that you might be upgrading.

Good luck, sounds like a cool idea.
posted by Good Brain at 8:41 AM on May 18, 2007

Another proto-model that might inspire you in terms of philosophy or structure or tools are the Fab Labs, started by the Media Lab's Center for Bits and Atoms. How effective they are is anybody's guess, but it's something to look imto. I admit, though, my first thought was about liability. eek.
posted by whatzit at 8:51 AM on May 18, 2007

What you're describing sounds pretty much like a tool library. Generally they lend tools to people in their community, and quite often hold free workshops for people to learn how to use the tools to fix up their houses.

I'd suggest contacting some tool libraries and tell them what you're planning. I'm sure they'd be willing to give you the info you need to set one up of your own (where to get tools from, insurance costs, help from local government). Even if it is all specific to their city/state it would give you an idea of where to go.

When I googled "tool library" this is the first link I got: http://www.northportlandtoollibrary.org/
So hit them up for some info and let us know how it all turns out.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 8:59 AM on May 18, 2007

Here in Salt Lake we have the Bike Collective. They have a pretty good community shop, good advice, and free bike parts from salvaged bikes. You can build yourself a bike for nothing, but, please make whatever donation you feel appropriate.
posted by trbrts at 9:09 AM on May 18, 2007

Sounds a lot like the Crucible in Oakland -- classes, tools, artist workspaces, etc. You might try emailing some folks there, it's not unlikely they'd have some advice on starting something in your neighborhood.
posted by Xelf at 9:32 AM on May 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Ten years ago, some women in the town where I live started an art studio along those lines--making the big, expensive equipment like kilns available in a communal way for a nominal fee. They were able to get development grants from the city, because they located in an "improving" neighborhood, because they were women, and because they were looking to provide a service to the community at low cost. I don't know much about the details, but you might look into whether there are similar grant programs where you are.
posted by not that girl at 9:48 AM on May 18, 2007

Tom and Ray of Car Talk tried to do this a long time ago in the form of a DIY garage where you could rent tools and have access to a shop environment to do your own work on your own car. They had to close it after a couple of years of operation; they said it was just unworkable. I think insurance was way too expensive and they had lots of overhead dealing with loaning tools.

This sounds like the kind of thing that can work between friends or with some existing trust relationship or organization, but as far as letting the general public come in off the street and use it, forget it.
posted by Rhomboid at 10:11 AM on May 18, 2007

And not to mention their stories of when they were running the DIY garage and walking in a bay and seeing someone doing something that was just horribly wrong and horribly dangerous made them cringe. The thing about a auto shop or metalworking shop is that you actually need training to be able to do things correctly and safely. I am positive that if you just let somebody walk in and start using your Bridgeport, you will quickly find people losing limbs or damaging the equipment. That is why you need some preexisting trust relationship to guarantee that people won't try to do things they aren't skilled or trained for.
posted by Rhomboid at 10:15 AM on May 18, 2007

Rhomboid, there would be certain requirements (say needing to be trained on a machine before you can use it, general safety before you can use anything). It is definitely something that would need to be addressed though.

What I have in mind isn't so much a chance to check out tools, as to learn and use tools that would be out of the budget of the average hobbyist, or student. Say CNC wood and metal work, lathes, forges, etc. All of them are definitely really dangerous.
posted by drezdn at 10:24 AM on May 18, 2007

It changes the scope of the project though. You're no longer really talking about just finding a space and filling it with equipment, but also finding mentors/teachers to handle the task of judging people's competancy levels and allowing or denying them access to machinery, providing training and help, maintaining/calibrating equipment, making sure the space is cleaned up, etc. And unless you happen to already have fabulous volunteer shop teachers lined up with all this expertise and free time, you're probably going to have to hire. What you're really talking about starting is much closer to a community college, and in fact you may already have viable community colleges in your area. I have read many times on DIY-oriented mailing lists/forums of people taking inexpensive welding classes at their local community college before buying their first MIG unit, for example.
posted by Rhomboid at 10:58 AM on May 18, 2007

Ideally it's not a community college in that the non profit aspect would be aimed at low income high school students (maybe middle school). Community college courses (at least here) tend to cost upwards of a hundred dollars and aren't aimed at younger students.

If I were to go through with this, I figure I could convince local companies to donate older machines by pointing out how we're offering a program that offers the community a skilled workforce. In turn they might be willing to donate some time on the part of a few employees to show how to use the machines.

Our city has a slew of manufacturing companies, ones that often complain that the local workforce isn't skilled enough to address their needs. This Co-op could address that.

Skilled hobbyists at the adult level could be required to put in time overseeing/cleaning the shop/or training in order to use the equipment. This would be in their best interest, because they would have access to things that would be otherwise outside of their means.

Non-Local companies could be interested in helping the en devour, because it creates good will for their name. In addition, it might bring in more customers for them. Say we teach kids robotics using brand x micro-controllers, they will probably buy more brand x microcontrollers if they continue in the field.

Local donors might be interested in donating because it's another way to keep kids away from the temptations that continue the cycle of poverty.

The city might be interested in helping out because it's a way to make the city a nicer place, decrease crime, and help its residents.

Mentally, I'm trying to work out the steps towards implementing the idea.

So far, the most immediate step I can think of is to come up with a short accurate description of what I want the co-op to be and do.
posted by drezdn at 11:30 AM on May 18, 2007

I also think that it might be a distinct possibility that someone (or several people) may need to be paid to oversee the programs and shop, but there's many things that would have to happen before then.
posted by drezdn at 11:34 AM on May 18, 2007

There is a place on Martin Luther King Jr drive and McKinley (pretty near your listed location) called BucketWorks. I visited them on one of their open houses and they have something similar to what you describe. I saw wood working, ceramics, and some theater stuff. Had they a better metal working shop, I probably would have become a member.

I sincerely hope you pull this off. I'd definitely use something like this.
posted by quin at 11:49 AM on May 18, 2007

I can't help with the funding aspect, but back when I was in high school, I did FIRST Robotics, and we were always desperate both for access to metalworking / electronics tools, and for good mentors to help us out. A lot of our mentors told us later that they found it extremely rewarding. Just as far as finding kids to mentor, there's a great avenue.

It sounds like it'll be a lot of work to get it off the ground, but, despite that, stick to it! It sounds like a fantastic idea.
posted by fogster at 11:52 AM on May 18, 2007

TechShop. Not expressly for kids, but they do get a lot of kids in (mostly jr high and high-school).
posted by oats at 12:04 PM on May 18, 2007

I've wanted to do the same thing for years - you are definately not alone.

As to money? Form a real co-op or charitable org, members can donate, you could have fundraisers - teach classes, etc.

As others issues about insurance & skill levels - yes, you would have to definately have insurance and of course some serious disclaimers.

As to keeping non-trained individuals off dangerous equipment? Rig all power outlets near each peice of equipment with a lockbox and a seperate key for that machine - then only give keys to people who have passed a skill test. (Idea needs more work - but the grain of it is there)
posted by jkaczor at 1:09 PM on May 18, 2007

Yep, I've also thought about this kind of arrangement. I agree with caddis, insurance is the biggest issue. Since there isn't an established network of businesses like the one you describe, it will be really difficult.

I wouldn't get hung up on the non-profit or coop aspect. I mean, it will be non-profit regardless of how you design your business model (non-profit, but a hell of a nice life), but I just don't think calling it non-profit gets you any advantage. Donate time to students and what have you, and leverage that to get freebies from companies, but that is a side issue.

I think the venture needs to be seen as a serious business. You want to attract local inventors, small business operators, and serious adult hobbyists. They will be a resource for knowledge, they have money, and they are relatively responsible. Also, your biggest expenses will be ongoing monthly bills - rent, staff, whatever. So, attract enough people to keep the doors open first, then worry about profit status, corporate structure, and etc.
Who knows though, maybe a more focused business model is better..
posted by Chuckles at 3:42 PM on May 18, 2007

There is one in the bay area called Sawdust Shop. They have classes and you can use their equipment for a fee. I suppose it is similar to TechShop that Oats mentioned.
posted by idiotfactory at 4:18 PM on May 18, 2007

There is a men's group near me that does nearly exactly this.
Their web site is not built, but if you wanted to get in touch for tips etc. let me know and I can help track down a phone number:
http://kms.org.au/ Katoomba Men's Shed
posted by bystander at 3:33 AM on May 19, 2007