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Frequently Asked Questions

You asked, we answered. Again. And again. So we put it up here, and pointed silently at this page…

What Does 'Bodgery' Mean, Anyway?

“To Bodge” is a British term, meaning “To make or repair hastily; to MacGyver; to hack together; to jury rig”.

What Is A Makerspace?

A makerspace, aka hackerspace, is a shared community workshop, where members and guests can use amazing tools, learn how to build almost anything, and find camaraderie doing so. In our case, we're democratically run, with our membership operating the ship. We are a friendly community of tinkerers, makers, hackers, educators, scientists, artists and crafters, and we welcome anyone who is, aspires to be, or just wants to hang around with folks like us!

Who Runs Everything?

The Bodgery has no paid staff. It is completely volunteer run by members, with a sanctioning board of 7 members.

Do I Have To Be A Member To Use The Shop?

No, but you may only use the shop for free when it is open to the public. One of the perks of membership is 24/7 access. Check our Calendar for scheduled events and open shop times.

May I Bring My Child?

Kids are absolutely welcome at the Bodgery! Kids under 16 need to be actively engaged with their adult while there. (“Sit here while I make stuff in the other room” is not allowed.) Young adults 16+ are allowed to work independently in the shop, but like any other guest or member, must follow our policies, and get trained on trickier tools. We also have a kids' shelf of activities, and we love it when they like to make things!

Keep in mind that it is a shop with tools and projects that sometimes involve fumes, hot things, and sharp things. It may not be the safest place for very young children unless diligently watched.

We have a 'tool difficulty' rating. Green tools are most hand tools and other easy to use items - anyone can use them immediately. Yellow tools require a check-off by trainers; these are most power tools. Both child and parent must be checked off on the tool, and use it together. Red tools are member-only, and require a more lengthy training. These are the more tricky/dangerous tools, and expensive to fix if used incorrectly. To use them, the parent would become a member, and both parent and child would go through the training, and use it together.

Can I use your (Laser Cutter/CNC Mill/Lathe/Serger) as a guest?

Unfortunately, we are not set up as a tool rental service, nor do we have a “day pass” to offer. We have two goals - to offer a robust workshop to our members, and to open that workshop to the public twice a week, where they can use most of our tools for free.

The key word there is most - we keep the expensive, tricky-to-learn tools for members only. The reason is two-fold: it's a member benefit, and these tools take time to learn, and are expensive to fix if used incorrectly.

That being said, there are two possible solutions for a guest wanting to use a member-only tool. A member might be willing to help a guest, and do the work alongside them. You'd have to ask someone to take the time to do that, and there's no guarantee. The other option is to sign up for one month of membership, as we don't require contracts for longer than a month. Some of our members sign up for a few months before Xmas, or in the summer, etc.

We're open to the public during our Open Shop nights - Mondays 6-8:30pm, and Fridays 7-10pm. That's an excellent time to see the tools, and ask around about options.

Is there a Day Pass?

No. See the answer above (Can I use member-only tools as a guest?) for more details.

How Do I Contact You Outside Public Hours?

Your best bet for a quick response is by email: contact@thebodgery.org. Our phone number is YAY-BODGERY, aka (929) 263-4379, but it's only checked a few times a week.

faq.1495657528.txt.gz · Last modified: 2022/05/29 16:01 (external edit)