The Rochester Makerspace is located at 850 St. Paul Street in almost 4,000 square feet of workspace. We’re a new volunteer-run nonprofit organization (soon to be a 501c3) that wants to encourage learning, creativity and collaboration by providing the Rochester community with low-cost access to a wide variety of sophisticated tools, shared and private workspaces, and classes in technology and the industrial and fine arts. Our goal is to create an organization and facility that the entire community can use and be proud of.
Upcoming classes & Events
Thursday nights are OPEN nights! You are invited to come and use the Rochester Makerspace for free. Bring something to make or work on, help us with one of our group projects, or just come to meet other “makers” and see what we have to offer. (Sorry, but nonmembers won’t be able to use some of our tools because of safety concerns).
3D Printing Meetup & Demonstration - Free event and demonstration. Will be held on June 27th from 7-10pm. Please bring your 3D printers and prints. Also, Kevin Besig will be hosting a demonstration on the technology during the event. Please check our Eventbrite page for more info.
Table Saw Basics & Demo - Free instructional demonstration on basic table saw techniques by experienced woodworker Jeff Faust. Will be held on July 11th during two sessions starting at 7 and 8 pm.
Intro to Screen Printing for Adults - 4 week course beginning July 14th on basic screen printing and photo emulsion techniques. Taught by Harold Copp, an experienced screen printing artist with numerous gallery associations in the area. Age 18 and up.
Intro to Screen Printing for Youths - 4 week course beginning July 15th with same course work as adult course, but specifically aimed at youths aged 12-17. Taught by Harold Copp, who has experience teaching screen printing to kids.
We are now running free Safety Orientations for new members. The first of which will be held this week 06/13 during our weekly Open House, and the other being held at the same time next week 06/20. Safety orientations are required for membership so please sign up via our Eventbrite page. Also please bring your signed Liability Waiver and Membership agreement, both of which are available in the New Member Orientation Packet via our Membership Page.
For updates or to sign up for any of these courses, please use our Eventbrite page.
More classes are coming soon. We’re always looking for instructors. Please let us know if you’d like to teach something.
Membership
Individual, family & student memberships are $40/month. This is an introductory rate because we’re new, our makerspace is not fully equipped yet and we’re not open every day yet. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.
Tools & Equipment
- A woodworking shop with a new SawStop professional cabinet table saw, a new Rikon Deluxe 14-inch bandsaw, a Jet 6-inch planer, a Grizzly 15-inch thickness planer, a chop saw, a drill press, two scroll saws, a central dust collection system, and an air filtration unit. We’re also building a 25×25-inch CNC (computer controlled) router that is about 70% done.
- A Solidoodle 3D printer. We’re building a second 3D printer that should be available soon.
- An electronics bench with oscilloscopes, power supplies, soldering irons, and more.
- A small machine shop with an 8×12 lathe and a mini-mill.
- Sewing machines
- Tools and a workstation for doing stained glass.
- A MIG welder, plasma cutter, jump shear and some other metal fabrication equipment that won’t be installed until we have more time and help.
Hours
Our members can use a keycard system to access and use the makerspace everyday from 8 AM to 10 PM.
In addition, we have staff and volunteers at the space on:
- Monday, Tuesday & Thursday nights from 6 PM to about 10 PM
- Saturday from 9 AM to about 3 PM
We hope to expand these hours soon.
We Need Your Help
Volunteer
We are a completely volunteer-run organization that is trying to do something big, ambitious and complicated. We could really use some more help so we hope you’ll volunteer if you can. We have a variety tasks and jobs ranging from quick and simple, to long-term and challenging. By volunteering you’ll make a big difference, gain knowledge, experience and skills, meet others, and develop contacts in the community. At the moment we especially need:
- A Volunteer Coordinator – recruit new volunteers and help keep them focused on our top priorities
- Writing / Marketing / Promotional Help – Almost no one knows about us yet or what a makerspace is. We need help telling the community who we are and what we offer.
- Instructors / Mentors / Shop Managers – We need artists, craftsmen, techs, woodworkers, machinists, welders, designers and others who are willing to share their knowledge and experience. You can teach a class (for free or for pay), lead group projects, or just be available in the makerspace to help or answer questions.
- Repair & Maintenance Help – To help us keep our tools working properly.
Donate
We don’t like having to ask you to donate money and other things. But we’re just getting started and we still need some essential things that we need to grow and thrive. So please consider donating money or something on our wishlist.
If you’re one of the first 100 to donate $100 or more you’ll become a member of our Founder’s Club which will get you bragging rights and your name on a commemorative commemorative plaque that will be prominently displayed in the Rochester Makerspace.
For More Information
Please see our FAQ and news pages for more information. You can also contact us by email or phone, and you’re always welcome to visit us at the Rochester Makerspace. We also encourage you to sign up for our email announcement list.