[jpetito]

Hi RoboChair--

The idea of the temporary shop has a lot of merit- pretty hard to justify 50K of gear sitting in a trailer all year and used for only two months on weekends. The Holy Cow example cited previously uses equipment that's installed temporarily for the competition season, then moved back out to wherever it's normally used.

The ideas are endless: Community associations of interested machinists donating gear, local junior college support, temporary contributions by various individuals, outright donations, etc. The BigTable idea could be the same, with gear unbolted and put back in the shop or classroom as needed. Most large venues have forklifts, or one can be rented to move it.

A barrier exists to our good intentions: Liability. Many are restrained from putting their personal stuff out there for other's use for fear of violence by lawyers and courts. Creative policy and associations will probably need to be created to counteract this- non-profit organizations, limitations on who will use the equipment, etc., a fundamental issue to be decided before committing time and money to the effort. Get a good accountant and non-profit lawyer to fight the fights.

The main focus though is not getting geeked out with gear (which I tend to get), but how it points back to skill transference (teaching & learning).

Joe
Middle School Teacher