/ Xeni Jardin / 11:53 am Wed Jun 26, 2013

TechShop offers US military veterans one year free membership

Huh, here's something cool I didn't know: DIY workspace TechShop offers US military veterans of all eras and all branches of service free one-year memberships, good at any and all TechShop locations across the country. "Veterans will have full membership privileges with access to a world class workspace and over $1 million worth of design software and equipment for milling, forming, cutting, welding, woodworking, electronics and much, much more."

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  3. It would be coolER if TechShop gave everyone a free year. I realize the site is extending this offer as its “way of saying thank you” to veterans, but I’ve always found that position a little lacking – do the people who keep your power running, who provide the food that keeps you alive, who give you medicine when you’re sick not deserve as much, if not more thanks than “the troops?”

    Mainly, though, I just wish I had free access.

  4. First of all, I’m happy TechShop is doing this for military veterans.  It’s a great public relations move gesture.

    That said… what about veterans of activist organizations who’ve been spied upon, endangered, threatened, beaten, harassed, jailed and all along performed their activism (often thanklessly) without any pay?
    Are we ever going to give these American heros any special privileges for their service to their country?  Seems like we take them for granted and worse, dismiss their service to our country entirely.

    1. Thanks Cowicide, I came here to roughly say the same thing.  How about a free year to anyone who occupied Wall St.?

  5. I’ve visited the Pittsburgh TechShop and I don’t see how they are going to succeed. The place seems under utilized and while they offer lots of courses many have nobody signing up to take them.

    I don’t find their pricing scheme particularly attractive. Membership is $175/month which is a good deal if you are going to be there all the time but is pretty lousy if you only want 6 hour/month machine time. (the infrequent users subsidize the frequent ones). Maybe this pricing scheme is to build up attendance by people trying to get their membership price worth.

     

    1.  I think two months of membership costs about the same as the parts needed for a mill. Personally, I’d rather have my own mill. HackPittsburgh pays for the most expensive garage in Pennsylvania. If I have to pay to play, I might as well do it at home, where it’s cheaper, and I have beer. Back in the day, hackers would help each other put together projects.

    2. They do have Day Passes available… $50 for the general public and $25 for “Friends of Members” and they’re open 15 hours a day (9am to Midnight). So you should be able to get your 6 hours/month in really affordably. Even more so if you have the ability to make friends and I bet you do.

  6.  I must make a public apology. I understand now that this is something that Techshop is doing out of the goodness of their heart. When I heard about this the first time, I  assumed it was some sort of sweet deal that TS had gotten out of tax money or a gov grant (some sort of back-to-civilian life something), and I was in envy on how could we get that also for our Hackerspace.
    Last time I visited TS in Austin it was actually quite full, every room busy, maybe 40-50 people (quite a change from 6 months ago, when indeed it was quite empty, as mentioned above).
    If they just got the injection molding machine going, even I might join. I also learned that they offer 50% off to Hackerspace people. BTW, a friend of mine, a veteran, is waiting already several weeks for his paperwork to go through.
    Count also in their pricing the mandatory trainings for pretty much every thing – though they will give you a “free” class for each contribution to Instructables.
    OTOH, our Hackerspace is $50 a month, and somehow not that many people (is it that here we expect people to clean after themselves? :-p but we have Tesla coil music live!). I don’t get it, this is supposed to be Silicon Hills, I’d expect we would be swamped.

    1. Techshop is doing out of the goodness of their heart. When I heard about
      this the first time, I  assumed it was some sort of sweet deal that TS
      had gotten out of tax money or a gov grant

      Huh? The announcement says:

      In partnership with General Electric (GE) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation (VACI)

      so that is where the money is coming from.

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