TechShop

Techshop Mid-​Peninsula has moved to new quarters.
Their new location is 2415 Bay Road in Redwood City.
They are 1 ½ blocks south of Woodside Road.
They are now open around the clock.
The new location is much more accessible.
This is a good place to do craft hobbies.
This is a good place to build a prototype of a new product.
This is a good place to find out about how to use tools to build things.
They have all kinds of metal and wood finishing tools. They also have welding
equipment and cnc mills, routers and lasers.

Tech Shop is the greatest idea since the chop saw. I’d spend every day here if I could. Memberships are not cheap, but worth every penny. You do have to take a safety class before using a machine, so I would recommend taking a bunch of classes before starting your membership. I kinda felt like the first few months of my membership were wasted because I couldn’t really do anything until I took the classes and the membership class discounts didn’t really add up to what I was spending.
But that’s just a tip, and didn’t really make much difference money wise. I don’t regret buying a membership right off the bat as it is still a great place to go to work on a project and be inspired by an environment full of makers and tools. I can decompress after work or spend an entire weekend building a project. I love it!

This is the «temporary» location of TechShop, conveniently located next to the garbage transfer station in San Carlos. It’s the grimmest of the three Bay Area TechShop locations.
Unlike the old Menlo Park location, or SJ and SF, it’s not very busy. So there’s little waiting for equipment; whatever you need will probably be idle. If you know how to use the tools, and don’t need much help, it’s a good place to get work done. All the tools and work tables are now inside the «must wear eye protection» area with the machine tools. So even for hand tool work and electronics work, you have to wear eye protection.
Nobody hangs out there any more. You go there, work, and leave. The other locations are more social.

Was closed Monday and Saturday this week.
Why were they closed Saturday? To have an employee party.
Real nice.

After moving from the old Menlo Park location to this temporary (next 1 – 2 years) San Carlos location, Tech Shop mid-​peninsula is still going strong.
At Tech Shop, I have learned metal working and plastics, and can build things that I can’t build in my garage. I also get access to a workshop with tools, although most of the «interesting» tools need a safety class before use. Investing in the membership fees, and the classes for the tools you need, is a long-​term investment in personal development and skills. Like a gym for your hands and mind.
The San Francisco and San Jose locations were all started on loans, with new-​everything, whereas mid-​peninsula (while being the headquarters) is organically grown. and has more of a mish-​mash feel to it. If you want Starbucks level interior decorating, this is not the place for you. But that’s not what it’s for.