First Steps

Thanks for your interest in joining! The first step to becoming a member is to take care of all the paperwork and payment. You'll then complete our Orientation and Safety Training to become an active member. You can do this via two routes:

• Come by at your convenience during our normal business hours. We'll give you a tour if you like, and have you fill out the contract, take your photo for your badge and take care of payment. You can then go online to our Classes calendar and sign up for the Orientation and Safety Training session that fits your schedule (they're usually offered Saturdays and Sundays). Since you'll have completed all the paperwork, you will not need to arrive early, but please do arrive on time.
• You can also just go to our Classes calendar right now and sign up for the Orientation and Safety Training session that you'd like to attend. Please arrive 25-20 minutes before the start of class to complete all the required paperwork. If you do not arrive early enough to complete this, we may ask you to come back to another session as to not delay the course start time and inconvenience other members.

Most new members will also sign up for the Machine Shop Safety session offered that same day. Completing just the Orientation and Safety Training will give you access to the electronics room and workshop, and the hand tools located in the workshop. You will be allowed to sign up for any courses on equipment located in the workshop.

Completing Machine Shop Safety will give you access to the machine shop and will allow you to sign up for courses on any machine located in the machine shop. Most of our larger, louder, and advanced equipment is located in the machine shop, such as metal fabrication tools, the Trotec laser cutter, the ShopBot and many of our woodworking and metalworking tools. You must complete Machine Shop Safety in order to use these machines.

Both of these orientation sessions are included in the cost of your initiation/safety training fee that you pay upon joining.

What Next?

As we just mentioned, you'll need to complete Orientation and Workshop Safety Training in order to use any machine in the workshop and electronics room, and you'll need to complete Machine Shop Safety to use any machine located in the machine shop. Once you've completed these sessions, you will still need to take the particular class associated with whatever machine you want to use. Unfortunately, you won't be able to come in, join, and use our TIG welder, large-format printer and laser cutter all on the same day.

Further information on signing up for classes, reserving machine time, and accessing your network storage will be given to you when you join.