The DIFFERENT USER TYPES OF A METAL WORK Space
A VIEW WITHIN OUR METAL WORKSHOP
By Ulli & Paul
This article is nothing more than a love letter to our community who sometimes have rather different personalities when it comes to the usage of different makerspaces and machines. But it is these people who make each workshop and MotionLab.Berlin quite unique and enjoyable. Over the years we were able to identify these 4 very special user types within our metal workshop. We are looking out for more to come.
Which type are you?
THE CRAZY HOBBYIST
You are a metal work hobbyist when you have countless ideas, but only one set of hands.
What may seem like disorganisation to many on the outside is actually creative chaos.
You may take detours in the use of metal work machines – you turn, then sand, then paint, or the other way around. Regardless, the journey is the destination. There is always a new project and always a new drive. The big cart with the metal scraps is your muse. Oh, a half-assed bicycle frame with questionable modifications. Away with the old metal work project and a new start into the unknown. You have no idea that the frame is one of his old projects that another hobbyist has been working on for the last few months. Maybe even you yourself? But who cares. Every now and then you complete a metal work project and impress even the hardcore heavy metal lab users with your unique way of working. Everybody likes you because your pocket contains at least one 13mm open-end wrench, although you swear you put it back the last time.
THE PROFESSIONAL PRO
The metal work professional is focused. Everything revolves around efficiency and effectiveness.
You get in the shop, get the job done, iterate, repeat. Reaching for the metal work tool of choice works with your eyes closed. Your own state of the art welder stands gleaming on the homemade welding trolley in pole position right next to the welding table. After each use, your small cleaning cloth with your initials flies over the chrome to make it shine again. Small oil stains, dust and aluminium chips on the metal work machines are your biggest annoyance. You are the only one in the metal lab who isn’t looking for the size 13mm open-end wrench because you always have your own personal with you. You are a heavy user, but the moment the project is finished, you are not around for a while. Nevertheless, you are in all other community spaces constantly running around with protective goggles and ear protectors.
THE GENEROUS HELPER
The helper virtually lives in the metal workshop. 2 am, 8 pm.
It feels like you are always there. Time is relative for you, because you have no deadline, no project. The people are your project. You are always supportive and altruistic. Whether it’s helping a professional prototyping development by ironing out the last kinks or giving a beginner a little metal work guidance on how to use “this freakin’ monster” of a lathe. You are solid as a rock in an otherwise very rock-less and dry metal workshop. As an all-rounder on pretty much every piece of metal work equipment, you inform every user in good time of any quirks and the right tricks to use in order to keep the machine running smoothly. Your goal: to help every user to help themselves and to give them the necessary self-confidence and respect for the workshop. You know every nut, every bolt and the inner workings of every machine in the metal lab. You express your affection for the machines through a thorough maintenance and cleaning one day in advance of the workshop manager who is supposed to do it.
THE NAIVE NEWBY
The newby has freshly completed all of our beginner metalworking courses. Full of beans, you spend a lot of time in the metal lab because you want to use every tool, machine and material.
What should it be? Turning, drilling, sawing, welding, bending, cutting, flexing. You watch the other metal workshop users with great interest. The first steps may be hard, but it’s time to just start metalworking. Remembering the workshop instructors words: Build, iterate, repeat! Time to get to metal work. Time to start the lathe. Where was the power switch again? Nervously, you look at the pro, the hobbyist and the helper, who all simultaneously make a „switch-on motion“ with their left hand and point to the right corner of the machine.
WHICH METAL WORK SPACE USER ARE YOU?
If you want to find out if you fit into one of these descriptions or a mix of all of them, just follow these simple steps.
Which metal work type are you? See you in our MotionLab.Berlin metal lab.
You are interested in our entire makerspace Berlin or special machines? Here you can find our machines and labs.
