Metal Shop in Boston?

December 9, 2006 8:51 AM

I need to find a public use metal shop near Boston.

Back in college we a student machine shop - open access to any student on campus. I was a teaching assistant in there for three years, and in that time I got to really enjoy working with the machines.

Now that I'm out of college I want to continue with my hobby, but I have no idea where to go! I remember seeing an ad on CL about a year ago for just what I'm looking for, but I can't remember the name or where it is.

So, does anyone know where I can find a place like this? It should have metalworking facilities at the very least - welding equipment and CNC would be a plus.

posted by backseatpilot to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

Try Diablo Glass & Metal in Mission Hill, or perhaps Metalwerx in Waltham.
posted by mykescipark at 9:04 AM on December 9, 2006

I don't know the specifics in Boston, but when I was in Seattle the way to get access to a good machine shop was to take a class at one of the community colleges that had a welding series of classes. While I know you want to use tools not sit in class, I found that I was able to take a "special topics" welding class by arrangement with the prof, pay for two credits and pretty much have access to the shop when I wanted it, within reason. This was cheaper than renting space in a shared studio and it came with a lot of huge excellent machines that smaller studios wouldn't have even had in addition to a lot of spare metal lying around.

So, in Boston you might want to try Bunker Hill Community College, Suffolk University and Northeatern. Just give them a call and talk to their welding teachers. If they don't have what you're looking for, I bet they'll know who does. Even in Boston the welding and metalworking community won't be too gigantic.
posted by jessamyn at 9:05 AM on December 9, 2006 [1 favorite]

There was an open-access shop like this called Sparks in Woburn. My boyfriend tells me--with heavy irritation in his voice--that it's gone out of business and was only around about a year. He's also looking for a shop with CNC capabilities. I do know that Harvard is not likely to let you use theirs.
posted by cocoagirl at 6:32 PM on December 9, 2006

You might get in touch with the New England Model Engineering Society (NEMES), which is an active group of model makers, and hobbyist machinists, who might be able to direct you to people willing to give you time on their tools, or do some custom work for you.
posted by paulsc at 7:54 PM on December 9, 2006