Welcome to the metal shop!

The Ace Makerspace Metal shop is set up for various metal fabrication! Predominantly manual and CNC machining, with improvements to sheet metal handling in the near future.

Hot work is not available due to limitations of our current location.

In the Metal shop you can make things from various metals and plastics with a variety of hand-held, bench-top, and free-standing machines. The shop is fairly open-access, with only the more complex/dangerous machines requiring certification. Each tool’s wiki entry will tell you if certification is required. Even if a tool doesn’t require certification, it’s always best to ask for advice before jumping onto a new one.

Some of our machines include hand and bench-top grinders, hand drills, a drill-press, a Whitney punch, small sheet brake, vertical and horizontal bandsaws, a vertical CNC mill, a metal lathe, and jeweler’s lathe.

You can bend, grind, cut, and solder to create a great variety of things! Need a custom bracket to hold something to your bike? Custom replacement metal parts for a thing? The machines and techniques of the Metal shop make it possible at Ace Makerspace!

See the latest events, classes, and more on the Ace Makerspace website.

General Shop Disclaimer(s)

Please always wear eye and ear protection, when working with dangerous / loud tools.

When working with standing / fixed machines, gloves should generally not be worn due to risk of getting caught. You will get oil on your hands, it’s part of the shop experience. Don’t forget to apply lotion if you wash your hands often.

All material being worked on, should be held down with some form of work-holding whether that’s clamps, vices, jigs, etc. Always avoid using your hands to hold a piece as the forces acting on them will likely surpass your strength / reaction time.