Wow....Things are really coming together. What a treat to see a bunch of wild ideas finally take shape. Please note that our trusty foam gear on the side of the building made it through rain, sleet and snow but was blown to smithereens by the windstorm last month...it is now a victim of dumpsterside.  We kept the patterns from last time and now a clone adorns the front of our new cafe. 

 

The Textiles, Softgoods and Upholstery section is up and running, headed up by Kathy Andrews "seamstress for the band".  

 

 

Very nice first shot on the CNC Embroidery machine.   

 

 

 

 

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Fun in the Snow... 

We sent out a little inquiry to see who might be available to knock out the walls, and scheduled a work party for Saturday, December 20th, not knowing who might be able to come (on account of the weather.  Here is a drive-by shot of the Flaming Gear).

 

 

What a pleasant surprise!

People showed up with axes and chainsaws and we were able to tear out offices and open up the the area where the reception lobby is going to be.  

 

 

 

The "Techshop Shuttle" truck was filled to overflowing with debris and what wouldn't fit, we loaded up on pallets, waiting for the eventual arrival of a 30 yard dump box (once the snow cleared) 

 

The most stubborn part was the old Shop Foreman's office.  

This was knocked down in preparation for the Members' Breakroom/Meeting area.  The roof was lifted using the fork lift, support posts chain sawed out and the whole assembly gently lowered.

 

Once the mess was cleared, the carpet was ripped out only to reveal a layer of tile.  This stuff was really stuck. Jerry (Blowtorch) Biehler tried a variety of methods to loosen it up. Fire seemed to work for most of it.  

 

Then he MacGyver'ed a crowbar to the forklift and applied a little pressure to get the rest.

 

Last Saturday, we were finally able to get the truck out to the dump and schlep off 2,950 pounds of  plaster board and junk.  Our onboard architect/counselor is showing the before and after plans of the build out.

 

Main features are:

  Bigger Lobby/Reception area

  "TechShack" in-house store

  Rentable office spaces

  Dedicate Computer workstation room 

  Members' Cafe and Gathering Place

  Dedicated Members' locker room

  Large Conference/Training room