The innovators club

You don't need your own exercise equipment to get fit, so why do you need your own machine tools to build something cool? Such thinking led Jim Newton to found the first TechShop, a high-tech workshop open to anyone who pays a modest membership fee. Think of it as a health club for geeks. Instead of treadmills and elliptical trainers, you'll find laser and plasma cutters, milling machines and lathes, oscilloscopes and frequency generators. What's more, you'll run into like-minded folk who can give you tips on everything from tungsten inert-gas welding to computer-aided design, either through organized classes or informal coaching.