Tech Shop is amazing!

[Garrett.d.w]

Along those same lines is ADX here in portland. Its a wood/ metal shop set up as a creative space. Its geared more towards artists rather than manufacturing, but its still decent for making the parts that I need for my dad's car. Oh, and lets just say that its nice that my dad is footing the bill. They make all of their money based on membership and not classes (most classes are around $10, just enough to cover material, while a full membership with unlimited shop access is $175 a month).
If anyone is interested you can check them out here:
http://www.adxportland.com/about-adx/

People are really friendly and help each other out, though I do suggest keeping your eyes open as there are always a few people around who have no idea what they are doing.

[techhelpbb]

I want to add to this that if you are near Philadelphia there is NextFab.
http://nextfabstudio.com/

1. It costs generally a few hundred to join.
2. You can pay them to make parts for you or you can take the classes to prove you can use the tools and then do it yourself (there are a few exceptions like their waterjet).
3. They offer some materials on site but you have to check what those materials are and the quantity.

I've recommended this to a few people in their immediate area it would be very expensive to replicate the collection of tools they have on hand unless you can justify it as a routine production expense.

Fair note: I am a member but I am not directly involved with their operations this is not an advertisement.