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This is precisely what makerspaces are for. There are many operating models. Some are attached to another organization (a library, a university), some are comm

This is precisely what makerspaces are for. There are many operating models. Some are attached to another organization (a library, a university), some are commercial (RIP Techshop), some are completely DIY and member-run. Any given city might have a handful of different ones, but you'll have to dig around and visit a few to see what you vibe with. Caveat, it's very easy to get focused on the ooh-shiny tools, and forget to pay attention to the community energy and expectations. Some of the more professional spaces, you just pay for what you want, and staff takes care of the rest. At the other end of the scale, the fully-DIY places are very much a case of "you get out of it what you put into it", and may offer cheaper memberships but expect a lot more involvement. Visit as many as you can.

ChickeNES 10d ago
> forget to pay attention to the community energy and expectations My problem is that I just...don't care about the community that much, and ended up just buying the tools I needed/outsourcing as needed. Though travel time/cost made it really uncompetitive (I don't drive, and neither of the large makerspaces in my city bothered to take transit accessibility into account...sigh). Even if I did drive, to me the commute time is just time better spent actually working on project du jour. All of that, plus the rise of sites like JLC(PCB|3DP) and sendcutsend where I can just get the part I want without any hassle really killed the value proposition for me. I still like the idea of makerspaces, but it feels to me that the community has become the product. Which is all well and good, but if you don't particularly value that part, cheap tools + online fabrication services are already a tough comparison, and that's before burning a couple of hours on transit, before I've even touched a tool, well, the practical case completely falls apart for me.

ChickeNES 10d ago

> forget to pay attention to the community energy and expectations My problem is that I just...don't care about the community that much, and ended up just buying the tools I needed/outsourcing as needed. Though travel time/cost made it really uncompetitive (I don't drive, and neither of the large makerspaces in my city bothered to take transit accessibility into account...sigh). Even if I did drive, to me the commute time is just time better spent actually working on project du jour. All of that, plus the rise of sites like JLC(PCB|3DP) and sendcutsend where I can just get the part I want without any hassle really killed the value proposition for me. I still like the idea of makerspaces, but it feels to me that the community has become the product. Which is all well and good, but if you don't particularly value that part, cheap tools + online fabrication services are already a tough comparison, and that's before burning a couple of hours on transit, before I've even touched a tool, well, the practical case completely falls apart for me.