have you tried or a member of a coop or shared workshop

i have noticed that the coops and shared work spaces are really sprouting up all over

How do you like the arrangement of the coop or shared space you're part of

some of them have quite a wide variety of machines available

powder coat booths, CNC router, and on and on

some have foundries, kilns, looms

Reply to
Electric Comet
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It was not a woodworking shop, but when I was living on Long Island there w as "shared shop" where you could rent a bay with a lift to do your auto rep airs/modifications. It came with a bunch of free tools at each bay, other f ree tools available from the tool crib and some specialized tools that had a rental fee. We used to do our own exhaust work, front end work, etc. I re member seeing a lot of guys use the shop to install lift kits and huge tire s on their pick-up trucks.

While I found the use of the shared space extremely convenient, I think the difference between a shared auto repair space and a shared woodworking sho p is that woodworking equipment needs a lot more individualized set-up than an auto shop bay. Let's say you need to cut hundreds of tenons for a bunch of cabinet doors. Ideally you would want to set up the table saw (or route r) once, cut them all, and them move on - even if you had to to take a brea k for a day or two. A shared shop may mean that you have spend (waste) a lo t of shop time setting up the equipment multiple times.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I have a large array of interests, so a coop or even several coops sound like a good idea on the surface, but I've found that whenever I have to count on others (even when I am paying them) my plans get derailed.

Example: I bought a Miller 212 and learned to weld aluminum because a local welding shop kept telling me two weeks for months on end. I'm not as good a welder as he is, but my aluminum boat doesn't sink, and my welds don't break.

I think that a core group in a coop probably gets great benefit from it, and others find that they are always waiting for their turn to use something. If there is a coop you are interested in I would see if you can hang around some at the times you might be working, and see how you are treated before ponying up any cash or equipment. If you can't size each other up ahead of time, or they only seem to want you to join because you have something they need then you might want to keep looking. A group should go both ways. Any group. There are some guys in my fishing clubs that I actively dislike, but if I saw them up high and dry on a sandbar or floating down river with a blown motor I'ld get out my heavy tow rope. That's the kind of group (club, coop, association, etc) you do want to be a member of.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

This list I got from the web one from the scheduling calendar where you schedule the machine

i don't know what they all are to me it's an impressive list

3D Printer #3 (UP!) 3D Printer (Printrbot) 3D Scanner CNC Desktop Router (ShopBot Desktop) CNC Embroiderer CNC Milling Machine (Tormach) CNC Wood Router (ShopBot Buddy) CNC Wood Router (ShopBot) Computer Lab Conference Room Heat Press Industrial Serger Machine Industrial Straight Stitch Industrial Walking Foot Injection Molding Machine Jointer/Planer Laser Cutter #1 Laser Cutter #2 Laser Cutter #3 Laser Rotary Attachment Lathe #1 (Jet) Lathe #2 (Jet) MakerBot Replicator (Dual Head) MakerBot Replicator (Single Head) MIG/TIG Welder #1 (Lincoln) MIG/TIG Welder #2 (Lincoln) Milling Machine #1 (Jet) Milling Machine #2 (Jet) Milling Machine #3 (Jet) Powder Coating Oven Quilting Machine Sandblaster Sewing Machine #1 Sewing Machine #2 Silk Screening Machine Spray Booth Table Saw/Router Vacuum Former Vehicle Bay Vinyl Cutter Waterjet (Flowjet) Wood Lathe
Reply to
Electric Comet

the shops i have looked at their websites of have scheduling they are strict about the scheduling which is good

in another post i listed all the machines that can be scheduled

this list is also what you can schedule but from a different co opp

Available Tools

4 axis CNC mill manual mill metal lathe 6 needle embroidery machine CNC router sand blasting cabinet CNC plasma cutter planishing hammer English wheel TIG welder gas welder MIG welder shear (16 gauge) metal belt sander horizontal band saw metal and wood bandsaw permitted paint booth wood belt sander 3D printer (abs plastic) Corner Notcher Shrinker/ Stretcher 35 Ton Press Brake Grinder/ Polisher metal and wood drill presses Saw Stop table saw 15" planer miter saw panel saw cnc router with vacuum table assorted hand tools VIC Engrave Corel Software Suite V Carve Pro EagleCAD, Rhino Fritzing, Alibre Mach3 Cut 3D, SketchUp DecoraStudio Arduino, PCB 123 large format laser cutters laser engravers CNC Plasma oscilloscopes function generator variable power supplies multi-meters soldering irons large format vinyl cutter industrial sewing machine large format inkjet printer free wireless internet service conference room w/projector 4 color silk screen and dryer and much more...
Reply to
Electric Comet

i only found out recently how many there are it's not a fad and they are well managed and organized and can be big $$$

posted equipment lists in other posts it is impressive

Reply to
Electric Comet

I would not like the travel aspect of using the equipment. Even if it is a n impressive list of equipment and is available at any hour. You have to s pend 30-60 minutes each way getting to the shop. My woodworking is usually done in short intervals. 1 or 2 hours at a time to accomplish one aspect of the project. Never 8-10-12 hours straight completing the whole project. And if you are traveling to and from the shop, you would feel you need to spend an entire day there to justify it. Its a hobby to me. I want to do it when I want to do it for as long as I want. Short or long. The travel makes it more of a job. You spend 30 minutes getting to the shop/job. Yo u work all day at the shop/job. Then spend 30 minutes going home. And is the co-op shop open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? Who knows when I will want to cut a board.

Reply to
russellseaton1

you would not like the payments you'd have to make to have those tools available to you

here's a list from two different shops:

3D Printer #3 (UP!) 3D Printer (Printrbot) 3D Scanner CNC Desktop Router (ShopBot Desktop) CNC Embroiderer CNC Milling Machine (Tormach) CNC Wood Router (ShopBot Buddy) CNC Wood Router (ShopBot) Computer Lab Conference Room Heat Press Industrial Serger Machine Industrial Straight Stitch Industrial Walking Foot Injection Molding Machine Jointer/Planer Laser Cutter #1 Laser Cutter #2 Laser Cutter #3 Laser Rotary Attachment Lathe #1 (Jet) Lathe #2 (Jet) MakerBot Replicator (Dual Head) MakerBot Replicator (Single Head) MIG/TIG Welder #1 (Lincoln) MIG/TIG Welder #2 (Lincoln) Milling Machine #1 (Jet) Milling Machine #2 (Jet) Milling Machine #3 (Jet) Powder Coating Oven Quilting Machine Sandblaster Sewing Machine #1 Sewing Machine #2 Silk Screening Machine Spray Booth Table Saw/Router Vacuum Former Vehicle Bay Vinyl Cutter Waterjet (Flowjet) Wood Lathe

other shop list

4 axis CNC mill manual mill metal lathe 6 needle embroidery machine CNC router sand blasting cabinet CNC plasma cutter planishing hammer English wheel TIG welder gas welder MIG welder shear (16 gauge) metal belt sander horizontal band saw metal and wood bandsaw permitted paint booth wood belt sander 3D printer (abs plastic) Corner Notcher Shrinker/ Stretcher 35 Ton Press Brake Grinder/ Polisher metal and wood drill presses Saw Stop table saw 15" planer miter saw panel saw cnc router with vacuum table assorted hand tools VIC Engrave Corel Software Suite V Carve Pro EagleCAD Rhino Fritzing Alibre Mach3 Cut 3D SketchUp DecoraStudio Arduino PCB 123 large format laser cutters laser engravers CNC Plasma oscilloscopes function generator variable power supplies multi-meters soldering irons large format vinyl cutter industrial sewing machine large format inkjet printer free wireless internet service conference room w/projector 4 color silk screen and dryer and much more...
Reply to
Electric Comet

" snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com:

Obviously it's not a replacement for having your own tools and stuff. However, considering they make access to otherwise inaccessible equipment it might be worth joining. (Do you have space for a CNC mill, 3D printer, laser cutter, injection molding machine etc?)

I travel 30 minutes each way to get to the local model railroad club. I usually spend the evening down there on meeting nights, so the travel isn't bad at all.

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

Is that English?

That doesn't change my thoughts on issues related individualized setup. In fact, it actually supports my point. If I have 120 tenons to cut for a kitc hen project, I can set up my table saw once and knock them off in a matter of hours or a matter of weeks, depending on *my* schedule. If I have to sha re a table saw and schedule my time based on when it's available, I may hav e to set up the saw multiple times. If I can't schedule a block of time lon g enough to do the set up (install the dado stack, do some test cuts, etc.) then cut my tenons then put the saw back to whatever they consider "origin al condition" before my time is up, I would have to set-up and take down th e saw multiple times.

...Snip...

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Even if it is an impressive list of equipment and is available at any hour.

Unless you are close, it is not practical for most projects. OTOH, I'd use it for specialty stuff. I've never been able to justify a wide belt sander, but once a year it would be handy. I'd invest an hour and a few bucks to have a perfect table top.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I was a member of a local woodworking/craft club foe a couple of years and will likely rejoin when I retire. They had a good assortment of power woodworking tools as well as upholstery tools (industrial sewing machine etc)

Reply to
clare

On 5/1/2015 11:54 AM, Electric Comet wrote: > > i have noticed that the coops and shared work spaces are really > sprouting up all over > > How do you like the arrangement of the coop or shared space you're > part of > > > some of them have quite a wide variety of machines available > > powder coat booths, CNC router, and on and on > > some have foundries, kilns, looms > There's a place in Norwalk Connecticut that I stumbled on because it is attached to a Woodcraft dealership. They have a spacious shop; 5000 sq. feet if memory serves, with a fair amount of gear and workstations. Here's the interesting bit: you don't necessarily need to become a member to use it. They sell "time cards", which (again, from memory) work out to something like $15/hour if bought in 10-hour increments.

[all of this information is a couple of years old)

I was there on a Saturday or Sunday at around midday, presumably "rush hour". There were a half dozen people working. The fellow I spoke to said that some people come there at the beginning of a project to use their (very large) table saw, jointer, planer, bandsaw, etc. Then they take the parts home and continue in their own (presumably small, less well-equipped) shops.

They give classes there as well. If you join, you can not only use the shop whenever you please, but you can store your work there; I believe they have a locked area.

The pay-as-you-go option seemed pretty attractive for an under-equipped guy like me. If the place wasn't an hour from home I might have tried it by now. You can apparently even have lumber delivered directly to the place.

One of the people who does that was a woman in her late sixties (at least). She apparently takes the train there every weekend from NY City. I'm not sure what she was building; when I was there she was cutting up some small parts. Maybe she rents a car once in a while to bring the work home.

I just took a look at their site:

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Turns out the prices I remember are still accurate. You can actually get

25 hours for $210. I remember a giant old table saw, but now they apparently have two SawStops. I probably really should get my "planning" act in gear and start a project there, but my free time is kind of hit-or-miss. It would be awfully efficient though.
Reply to
Greg Guarino

they make a lot of sense to me and they open up opportunities for a lot of folks that don't have the space, money or know-how

i recently checked pricing on powder coating a metal cabinet and the price was just not worth it but in a coo op it's within range

there seem to be many different membership models for the different co ops i have looked at

i talked to someone new to woodworking and he joined one and was excited because there were always people willing to help out when there was a technical problem

some seem to force expensive classes but i am not sure how that works

Reply to
Electric Comet

that is not bad some of the shops require monthly commitments

there are lots of different usage/subscription models

Reply to
Electric Comet

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