The coolest place on earth.

[Iron-Iceberg]

This has to be the coolest place on earth.

http://www.techshop.ws/index.html

If it wasnt an hour and a half away I would live there.

 

[hitek]

Now that is not a bad idea at all...cool

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

When I read the title, I was expecting something like this:

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

When I read the title, I was expecting something like this:

Whats that? What are all those colors? I just always thought it was the Great White North?

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

From the site it looks like they have at least 4 bridgeports. Wow. I just told the wife we are selling the house and garage and moving nextstore. For a $100 a month I could never have any of those machines.

 

[wilbilt]

It's definitely a unique idea, although I wonder how they deal with the liability issues.

 

[ImportTuner]

Cool ... I live 20 minutes from that address ... didn't know that it existed ..

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Cool ... I live 20 minutes from that address ... didn't know that it existed ..

I'm coming over, you got a spare room or couch.

I stopped in San Fran for a few days a couple of years ago and could have stayed ; then spent a couple of days in DC, couldn't leave fast enough .

 

[Hades12]

I had thought about opening a place kind of like that, General automotive garage with lift in each bay or open bays, Rent by the day, week or month. I think it would work very well in Large cities, But I am now in the country and dont think many would pay the price.

I see it all the time that a kid wants to do his brakes but has no place to do them. 5 Cars of oil changes one saturday of rent.

 

[kbs2244]

I looked into converting a 5 bay with lifts garage that went under to this idea.
Rental of space, tools and sales of directions, etc.
It was in a town that was real blue collar, so the market was there.
Libilty costs shut the idea down.
By making it a club, where you probley sign off on your ability to sue, they may be getting around that problem. They also get some control over who joins. They can set membership qualifications, etc.
But it is a good idea.

 

[BoostAddiction]

It's more than just a place to work on cars- they have stuff like mills, lathes, even roto-blowing machines for plastics!

I think this place exists where it does in part because land is so expensive in that area that not many people can afford to devote space at home for such stuff, and also that half of the readership of Make magazine probably live in that area (i'm guessing about that last statistic, but I bet there are lots of people there like me that find the non-automotive stuff just as interesting as the lift, the welders, etc).

My guess is that they are expecting more non-auto uses, based on the number and quantity of the tools they have or plan to have. If I owned such a shop, that's probably what I'd stress as well, since one guy in a 64 Chevy Lowrider will consume the same amount of space as 4 people machining parts for their kit car, their robots, a broken gate, etc. That greater density means greater revenue and better machine utilization in the same amount of space. The risks of non-auto uses are probably also lower as a piece of steel being polished on a lathe typically isn't at risk of erupting into fire (as might happen when people get a torch and decide to just cut that stuck tailpipe off).

The company structure seems to be an LLC, so that gives as much protection to the owners and investors as can reasonably be expected.

If they are the least bit clever, they will see other ways to make money, including stocking raw materials, consumables for the equipment, more billable classes, a "platinum circle" for members that offers more benefits, hosted competitions for robot fights where the machines had to have been substantially made at the shop, offering skilled labor at an hourly rate when a person who is good at welding but needs machining help just needs a part done quickly, fee-based storage of cars, parts, projects, etc. The possibilities are endless for an engaged marketer.

I wish they'd open one here in the DC area. I'd sign up.

-Will

 

[Iron-Iceberg]

Yes, Will, the guy I talked to said they where looking at having Tap Plastics stock materials for sale on site and someone with metals ect for projects.
I am going to try to get their next week and see just how the place works for sure. It looks like a fun place to work on your projects and probaly see some others with good ideas.

 

[kbs2244]

You are right about keeping the cars out of the mix. Cars would take too much room, for a bad return. You would also need a one story building. This way they can go 2 or even 3 story. The Bay area has the highest real estate costs in the country, so going up makes sense. It also has the highest number of company start-ups. Most people think of all as computer stuff, but there is a lot of medical, mechincal, and even hot rod parts start ups. (Across the bay is Oakland, of the Oakland Rodster Show fame.)
It will be a fun place to keep track of.

 

[Bradley Miller]

Kansas City has something like that for cars . . . a park and play type place . . . which surprised me when I saw it. I'm trying to find the link now . . . I saw it a few weeks ago on the local news.

BTW: Found the link -- http://www.yourclassicride.com/index.htm

 

[greaseball]

Arrrgh!
I just got out of that city!