TechShop

This place has a lot of great equipment but the management is horrible. Last week one of the staff threatened and harassed me. I emailed the manager to inform him of his employees threatening behavior. Rather than addressing the problem, the manager told me I was no longer allowed on the premise. I had been a member for approximately 6 months with no issues. As a disabled veteran I found it especially insulting to be kicked out on Veterans Day all because a staff member could not act in a professional manner.

The tech shop is awesome!!! I took the laser cutting class to make some signs for burningman. Everyone is friendly, and Alex was extremely helpful showing me how to convert my illustrator file to Corel. I came home with some awesome stuff!

I spent a total of six months with my TechShop membership, about 5 of them very actively using primarily their laser cutter, but also used wood shop a bit.
Overall my experience has been very positive — staff is very friendly, I never had to wait too long for anything, equipment reservation system is a-​ok, would have been better to have a fully online version, but hey this works.
The biggest benefit of being at TechShop and creating cool stuff there, is that you get to mingle and meet some awesome people, who are highly creative, do all sorts of crazy things. Keep in mind the place gets very busy before Christmas and Burning Man.
As far as lessons are concerned, yes they are a overpriced. I would love to see them at $ 40 each, no more. What they are charging is definitely too much. And in general I feel that TechShop is suffering from the problem of needing to bring more cash, but doing it by trying to pull money from existing members, instead of dropping prices and getting more members involved. I do not agree with that policy, but I am not on their Board of Directors, so what do they care.
There is an African American big curly-​haired guy that teaches wood shop classes, which are very good. His own wood work that he showed us was nothing short of phenomenal. I wish I remembered his name :)
Overall — great idea, great place, great people, some things are overpriced (like lessons), but buy membership in bulk (3 months promotions) and you’ll be paying around $ 100/​month.

This place has made me miss my hubby lately, as he spends lots of days and nights taking classes, brainstorming, creating, building, laser cutting, etc. I don’t like missing him, but I do love all the cool stuff he comes home with! He’s learned how to make some really awesome things at tech shop, and I’ve been the lucky recipient of some of it! My favorite is a necklace he designed and then laser cut. I think this place makes him feel like a kid again! And as the saying goes, happy hubby, happy life!

In a nutshell, it seems that Tech Shop is really a business selling memberships for access to its tools. This is not a bad thing, but I did feel that paying $ 75 for a two hour class (one hour of which was discussing safety) was not inexpensive.
I took a welding class, and by the end of the two hours, had welded for a total of 20 minutes. I realize one needs to know how to operate potentially dangerous machinery, but the teacher went on and on.
Also, the schedules for classes are difficult if one works. Nights are hard as I have two kids. They also only post schedules one month in advance, so that makes it harder to book a class.
Overall I’m not sure I would go back.

I took 2 classes (Laser Cutting and Etching SBU — Epilog & Adobe Illustrator for CNC) I must admit after I took each class I had very little hope that I was actually prepared to create a vector drawing via illustrator and even less hopeful that I would be able to use the laser cutter. Glad I was wrong, with the knowledge I gained from the illustrator class I was able to create a vector drawing that I used to make stencils using the laser cutter. I am happy to say I was wrong these classes prepared and I am looking forward to taking the advance laser cutting class.

great people, and service!!! dream come true for the inventor. You could make your own spaceship in this place.

This is a really cool place. I took a TIG welding class here and found it to be great. I think it would be better if the class was a little longer, but you can always go back and take it again. The people are very friendly and it’s a really cool creative environment with all sorts of different people. It felt welcoming, and I look forward to taking more classes.

I completely agree with Ben G.
Same experience in Michigan TS;
Classes are necessary to use,
Classes are never given.
Have had classes canceled several times.
Big waste of money.

TechShop sounds great in theory. Heck, as a military veteran, I even got a free 1-​year membership. So why the 1 star?
Well, I have had my membership for 3 months now and have yet to be able to schedule the beginner safety and basic use classes. These are required classes that one must take before being able to use the facilities on your own. I have called them, I have talked to their schedule coordinator, and I have emailed the founder of TechShop (he didn’t reply). A friend of mine is also having the same issue.
The problem is that they don’t have a defined beginner track of regularly scheduled classes. All I want to do is to go in on a weekend (or two) and take all the required welding, woodworking, and metalworking classes. But instead of scheduling them back to back so you can get them out of the way easily, they are at all kinds of random times of the week. 10am Tuesday, 4pm Thursday, 11am Friday, etc.
Don’t they realize that most people have jobs during the week? Why not offer the required beginner safety classes on a regularly scheduled basis on weekends? Not all of us live down the street from TechShop and are free on Tuesday mornings. Their excuse is that instructors are not always available — you’re telling me you can’t find a competent welding instructor in ALL OF SAN FRANCISCO to teach a basic welding class on a Saturday morning? Right.
They also don’t post their schedule until 1 month out, which makes it impossible to schedule taking a class next month or the month after that.
Like I said, I haven’t been there yet, but based on my encounters with them over the phone and email, TechShop seems like a more ragtag operation than they appear to be in their promotional materials. If you don’t live within a 15 minute commute of the facility and aren’t available on week days — FORGET IT.
If they can’t help me resolve this and get my safety classes out of the way by November, I am going to cancel my membership and give it back. I am also going to complain to the Veteran’s Administration because I believe TechShop received a grant from the government to be able to offer the free — and so far useless — memberships to veterans.

Yesterday evening 9÷4÷13 I attended their class; CNC Machining Level 1. Dan, the instructor was very knowledgeable about machining, and knows how to teach. He kept it upbeat and the class moved along quickly.
I look forward to taking more classes, and taking my project to the next level.

Have taken TIG welding class and Laser Cutting class there. Each time I have arrived early so had much time to interact with employees, they have been very polite and eager to help. The class instructors have been very knowledgeable.
If you need to to weld, you should have no problem getting time on the equipment. The easier to use laser cutters/​etcher (Epilog Lasers), do indeed seem very popular and all 4 were in use the 2 hours that we had class. The Trotec machines had un-​used machines the whole time (but I believe you need to pay a little extra to use these)

This review is for the class only, not the membership or facilities. I am not a member, but was able to register for a class.
I enrolled for the Wood Shop SBU class in San Francisco. Class duration was listed at 2.5 hours but the registration page noted it was 2 hours. When phoned for details, they said that «it is a 2 hour class, but we would have additional time after class to finish our projects, if necessary.»
The class started 15 minutes late. No biggie. There were only 4 of us (max class size is 5) so I figured we’d have plenty of time to learn about and practice using the equipment. I figured wrong.
We had plenty of time to use a table saw (twice) and the compound miter saw, but the band saw needed some adjustments to ensure our safety. (One thing I really liked was the instructor was very concerned about safety and doing things the proper way.)
Unfortunately the band saw issue took 15 minutes to fix. Between the equipment and the late start, time was running short. The instruction on how to use the other pieces of equipment was super rushed as the instructor raced to get through it all before the end of class.
Needless to say, we didn’t have nearly enough time to finish up because TechShop closed at 5 pm (Easter, even though it was Saturday?). I thought it was rather bizarre that the instructor literally gave us 5 minutes to use 5 pieces of equipment and finish our projects. And fill out the class evaluation.
If we had started on time, if Tech Shop didn’t close early, and if the band saw was in good working order, maybe my experience would have been more positive. Should have, could have been, wasn’t. Yeah, stuff happens. But the instructor and front desk staff seemed pretty unconcerned about our learning experience.
The class duration should not be 2 hours with an extra 30 minutes «if you need it». Three hours seems to be more appropriate (especially if you have a full 5-​person class).
Tech Shop might be a good place to get a membership and use the equipment. But if you’re looking for instruction, you’re better off registering in classes at CCSF.

I’m very sorry for the people who have had negative experiences here, but I simply can’t say enough good things about this place — so I’m going to go on a bit of a rant. I’m not just some fan-​boy in love with the concept, and I’m not an employee, I’m just a loyal member that has been coming here for over a year and loves the place.
Okay, let’s back up a little bit and start with the one major, objective downside. This place is pretty pricey. $ 125 /​month (less for students, or if you buy multi-​month pass). And on top of that you have to pay anywhere from $ 50 — $ 100 to take basic classes in how to use the equipment. It can be hard, especially for those on a budget.
But please, let’s put this in perspective — for that $ 125 /​month plus classes you get access to a crazy amount of gear, completely out of the price range of any home hobbyist or start up builder. Where else are you going to get a complete wood shop, metal shop, $ 20,000 robotic router, $ 30,000 professional laser cutter and $ 100,000 water jet under one roof? Plus access to dozens of pieces of software to design and code it all?
The sheer array of cool things that people build here blows my mind. A guy making a wooden computer out of laser cut gears, six people competing to make the best carbon fiber acoustic guitar, a team making a robotic submarine camera drone, a woman making a fine chess set, 3D printed plastic toys, a giant whirly-​gig bicycle for burning man, a «flying machine» for the Red Bull Flugtag, bamboo bicycles, vinyl wall art, screen printed wrapping paper, a kayak that folds into a suitcase —
;
Every time I walk through the door I’m looking for someone cooking up the next awesome thing.
If you need help getting started, I have one tip. Ask. If the person you ask doesn’t know how to help you — ask someone else. I started here and barely knew how to swing a hammer straight. It was hard getting started, hard and sometimes embarrassing, but people helped me out all along the way.
And don’t just ask the staff — ask the other members. This is a shop full of people who love making things — be friendly and you’ll probably find someone who loves your pet project as much as you do, and will be willing to give you advice. Start by walking up to someone and asking what THEY are making — people often love to talk about their own work. Then introduce yourself and make a new friend who may help you down the road.
Billing problems? I can’t speak for others, but I’ve had no problem with billing over the past year.
Bad staff? I did have one very negative experience with a «dream coach» just after joining. He was not helpful when I really needed help, and spoke to me in a very condescending manner. BUT — he was fired just one month after my incident, and I’ve had nothing but good experiences since.
Some people have complained that staff has a bad attitude and treat people who don’t know how to build like idiots. I’ll admit, most of them know their way around a wrench and a saw, and sometimes that comes across in the way they talk — I think it’s hard for them to relate to complete beginners. Put on some thick skin, deflate your ego a bit, and muddle through.
I came here knowing next to nothing about building, and after 1 year of intense work and study, I’m teaching a workshop there once a month (freelance — not an employee) and seriously considering starting a side business with my own woodworking. This place isn’t for everyone, but if you like making things, or just the idea of making things, and you can afford the membership — you MUST at least take a look at the place.

I’m kind of shocked by all of the 1-​star reviews, so I guess I will chime in.
I’ve never had a billing issue, but I have always gone month-​to-​month because I can’t guarantee that I will consistently have time and projects to make it worth while, and they are really accommodating to that. I show up with my expired membership, and within five minutes, I’m renewed and back to work.
They’ve even gone so far as to allow me to pay for renewal, so that I could reserve equipment, but they didn’t start the month until the day of my next reservation. I think that’s really classy. I’ve seen some complaints about needing a membership to sign up for classes, which sometimes aren’t available for a few weeks, but that’s BS, because you don’t need a membership to take classes. In fact, the smart thing to do would be to take a couple of classes, and then decided if you want to be a member.
Is it perfect? No. You have to plan a week or more in advance if you want time on the lasers, and because they are being used nonstop all week by hundreds of people, they don’t all work perfectly, but the staff do their best to troubleshoot with you and keep things working smoothly. Sometimes, some of the staff are a little smug and aloof, but I don’t care because I don’t need someone to hold my hand, and most of the folks who work here are straight-​up awesome. My biggest complaint: the website gives you the option to select your default city, but it never actually sticks.
I think the system is amazing, because everyone pays a similar rate, so it’s affordable for the hobbyist, and what they pay essentially subsidizes the entrepreneurs who are launching businesses from TechShop. For a couple hundred bucks a month, they have a multimillion dollar workshop, lab and office available to them, and a network of potential collaborators. There have already been several successful businesses launched from Techshop, so it’s not just a resource for crafters, makers and hobbyists; it’s really stimulating the economy.

Just wanted to echo the same billing concerns as the many previous low-​star reviewers. Yes, this is an invaluable resource for a very adept do-​it-​yourselfer. For example, my husband built us a new kitchen using the Shopbot C&C after we had to rip ours out from a damp-​wood termite problem.
However, as noted also by previous reviewers, you have to be a member before you sign up for the classes (which are required) and scheduling a class is difficult and can take a number of weeks to get in. After that, you have to schedule time in advance on certain machines, like the Shopbot, which leads to even longer extended times on projects which (good for them, bad for you), greatly extends the number of months you are paying for membership.
Add to this your time at the shop is often wasted by delays caused by poorly maintained (and used) machines. For example, if the settings on a machine are messed up upon checking into your scheduled appointment, you have to wait forever for the one d-​bag working there in a Utili-​kilt to take their sweet time to come reset it (as only they can do for certain problems).
Most of all though is the billing issue. They are completely «incompetent» but we are starting to think it is not accidental any more. After finishing the kitchen reno, hubs thought he would sign up for a single month to do a little misc. laser cutting.
Surprise, surprise, even after NUMEROUS conversations with everyone at the shop, at the headquarters/​office, etc, our account is still being autobilled for the $ 125 per month. They won’t remove the charge or stop and we’re just going to have to take action with our bank. I’d say they should be careful with these shady practices and if it truly does originate from absolute incompetence and not money-​making malice, they’d better get their shit together.

TechShop has great facilities. They’ve got smart and talented staff. You’ll be surrounded by makers. All great.
There are some issues. To use any of the advanced equipment, you need to take classes. That’s fine — clearly there are insurance questions.
However, those classes are (a) surprisingly expensive –clearly, the classes make a profit, since $ 480 (8 people * $ 60) for a 2 hour wood working class isn’t just covering costs — and (b) surprisingly difficult to schedule. Getting the training necessary will take a long time, particularly if can’t get into a location easily during the week. So be prepared to spend a few (expensive) months getting the requisite training.
I’d also be careful on billing. I signed up for a 3 month program, and didn’t notice that I was automatically enrolled in a $ 100/​month program. When I got billed (without notification), I got in touch with their staff and was basically told «tough luck.» Pretty disappointing.

Genuinely the best discovery I’ve made in the Bay Area. This place is a GEM. See my review of the Menlo Park location:
The San Francisco location is SO much bigger, and therefore full of even more interesting projects and people. I met so many amazingly talented people over one weekend, I couldn’t believe it. I met a guy who makes laser printed leather jackets, and another who was laser printing The Last Supper on a tortilla. Genius. I left feeling inspired and crafty.
With all of those amazing tools at your fingertips, it’s hard not to scheme about all of the fabulous things you could make.
I HIGHLY recommend getting a membership if you have an ounce of DIY craftiness in you and you have the time and the money.
Pro Tip: if you’re driving to the SF location, just park at the garage on Mission @ 5^th and walk over. It’s a time-​saver.

Warrent Buffet once remarked that one of the best investments you can make in your life is who you marry! But he didn’t know about Tech Shop!
Certainly being in a workshop with access to more tools than your highschool woodshop, college machine shop, and Jay Lenos tool shop combined is not for everyone. But ANYONE can learn to use the tools in their simple SBU classes. Safety Basic Usage classes will allow you to use the tool immediately. After of course buying a membership.
I did think it was a bit expensive at first. But how much was your cell phone bill last month? How much is that daily latte or coffee? How much is your gym membership? Techshop has coffee, popcorn and you’ll work your ass off as you design and build anything you can dream up. Cancel your cell phone for a month, cancel your gym membership indefinitely, and get your coffee at Tech Shop.
Some of these tools cost more than whole countries GDP. Most of these tools I could never own not only for the price but the space and know how!
I just graduated San Francisco State University. For the 10K + tuition I paid in the past 4 years I could have learned the same thing at Techshop in about a months time for less than 1K. Do the math.
What I do is buy the student membership if you are currently or within the last semester have been a student. That gets you to $ 750 for the year. That gets you $ 62.50 a month. And if you wait for the Maker Faire and then around Xmas, techshop offers discounted class certificates. That $ 60 dollar hour long class is now $ 30.
They offer free tours all day long to show you whats available to you.
One of the best investments I’ll ever be making in my life.

Welcome nerds and future inventors,
come in and create something. If you have ever thought of creating something and needed a place to do it at, here’s your place. Go ahead and take a tour of tech shop to see if it is feasible, and what you need to create that awesome invention that is boggling in your mind.
The opportunity is endless, and it only takes a little bit of money and will power to create something that could be the next new thing :)
I am a member and you should be too!