Membership at The Bodgery

Resources for members

Member Signup

Thank you for considering membership at the Bodgery! Your membership provides 24/7 key fob access to the space.

What’s required

  • We only accept payments through a recurring/subscription monthly payment in PayPal but you can cancel (and rejoin) at any time. Be sure you have a PayPal account, or create one.
  • You must be considerate and respectful of others, their property, the tools and the space. You must help out sometimes and clean up after yourself.
  • You must be at least 16 years old.

Steps to Becoming a Member

  1. Read about the Bodgery and what it means to be a member
  2. Make a member account
    • Next you need to make a member account. This is essentially a placeholder account until you pay for your regular membership. You will be asked for some basic information like email, name, address, phone, emergency contact and what you plan to do at the Bodgery. You will also be asked to make a password. When you’re done, you will be sent a welcome email and will be prompted to complete the next step.
    • CLICK/TAP HERE to make a member account
  3. Sign up for a Friday Bodgery orientation
    • The Bodgery is controlling the rate of absorbing new members by limiting the number of spaces available for orientation. It may be hard to find an open space. If you sign up for an orientation, be sure to complete the payment process beforehand and attend the orientation. Signing up for orientation but not following through prevents someone else from joining. Please be conscientious and considerate. To see how far booked out spaces are, look for the next New Member Orientation event with spaces available on the Events page but do not sign up before completing the first two steps.
    • To sign up for an orientation, go to the Bodgery’s Events page and look for a New Member Orientation event that says “spaces available” by it and that works with your schedule. Then choose Sign In (if not already signed in) and use your email for the username and your password from the previous step. Do NOT fill out the blank form — you cannot use the same email address with the form.
    • CLICK/TAP HERE for the Events page for Friday new member orientation signup
  4. One to two days prior to your scheduled orientation, pay for your membership
    • Before (perhaps the day before or a few days before) your Friday orientation session, pay for your membership by choosing one of the membership levels below. You will be asked to Sign In with your email address and password from step 2, and you will be asked to pay using PayPal.
    • WARNING: You will be paying the Bodgery every month (until you cancel membership) after you complete the following step, so don’t complete this step right away. Do it just before your Friday orientation. Choose one:
      • Regular $50/month
      • Student $25/month – Must provide a list of classes showing full time status with a minimum of 12 credit hours from the most recent semester
      • Senior $25/month – Must be at least 65 years old
      • Family Member – $25/month – A spouse, domestic partner or federal-tax dependent of a member. The family member must be paid using the same PayPal account as the member who has a non-family membership. They must also have a separate membership account (only one member per login).
      • Supported Level – $25/month – Must meet one of the low income qualifications shown in membership rates. Please contact the membership coordinator (membership@thebodgery.org) to verify qualification.
  5. Attend the Bodgery orientation you signed up for — it’s an hour or so long
  6. Contact an Area Captain and/or attend one or more shop area trainings/classes
    • Tool training/classes/checkout is required before using almost all power tools and almost all shop areas. It will take a little time to get that scheduled, and there is a fee for checkout/training of some tools, so please plan accordingly.
    • For example, the woodshop is popular but requires a four hour, $49 woodshop orientation before a new member can use tools in the woodshop.
    • If you’re ready for step 6, you’ve got your key fob and you know how things work. It’s time to get bodging at the Bodgery. Remember to be patient but persistent — patient with your fellow members and volunteer area captains, but also don’t be afraid to ask for help.
    • If you don’t know what to do, review the information in Step 1 above, look at other web pages (FAQ, Standing Rules, etc.) or ask on Slack. People are happy to help!

Questions? Email: contact@thebodgery.org

Step 1 – Info

  1. Welcome! Members make this space happen. Membership dues and volunteer time are both needed to keep the Bodgery going.
  2. Access: Members have access at any time (24/7) via key fob. There’s access front and back. The back area is accessed through a gate using a key code. More Info
  3. The Prime Directive: Be excellent to each other. Be welcoming and respectful. Refrain from harassing or domineering behavior.
    • Leave the space at least as good as when you arrived
    • If you see something that needs doing, just do it. Like sweeping, cleaning, emptying trash (dumpsters are out back), or reloading restroom dispensers. Garbage bags, brooms, and other tools/supplies are by the bathroom.
    • There are many other ways to Help Out.
  4. Organization Structure:
    • The Board has overall responsibility including what does not fall within Shop Areas (example shop areas are Woodshop, Metalworking, Jewelry)
    • Area Captains and Area Crews have primary responsibility for the various Shop Areas
    • Members use the space, help run the space and provide feedback to the Board and Area Captains
    • The best way to communicate is using the Slack messaging app. After your in-person Bodgery orientation, you will receive an email inviting you to the Bodgery’s Slack workspace.
    • Bodgery leadership info and contact emails
  5. Tool and Area Training/Checkoff:
    • Most Area Captains would like you to contact them before using their Shop Area
    • Many Shop Areas have tools requiring a checkoff, training, or a class
      • This varies from a few minutes and no cost to many hours and some cost. Sometimes it’s one-on-one as needed, sometimes it’s as a group as needed, sometimes it’s scheduled on a periodic basis.
      • Example: Before using the woodshop, a 4-hour $49 class is required, usually scheduled for Sunday mornings but also available as needed other times.
    • For details, contact the corresponding Area Captain(s) by:
  6. Tools: Respect them, don’t abuse them, don’t over-tighten them
    • If something breaks, leave a note and tell the Area Captain. We all make mistakes; you won’t get yelled at (you might get an extra lesson though). Depending on where/what/how, you may offer or you may be asked to replace it or pay for it.
    • There are Red/Yellow/Green tool categories. But many tools are not labeled with a category color. Many tools are also color-coded by Shop Area.
      • Green: Can be used without training; mostly hand tools
      • Yellow: Some training/checkoff required
      • Red: Significant training/checkoff required; may not be used by your Guests
  7. Using Tools/Areas:
    • Some tools and Shop Areas have Scheduling Calendars. Be sure to use them. If you don’t, you might get bumped by someone who did. And it helps Area Captains know how much the tools/areas are used.
    • Area captains/crew are happy to help/give advice/teach. Don’t be shy; there’s no shame in admitting you need to learn. In contrast, it harms and annoys everyone if you damage a tool because you didn’t ask for help.
    • Some tools require a payment for time used or a payment for material used. You will learn which ones during your Area Captain training/checkoff.
    • There is also material available to purchase in some Shop Areas.
    • How to Pay? Cash payment boxes in the respective Shop Areas, or
    • There are also some free supplies. For those,
      • If you use a little, no worries
      • If you use a lot or use the last, please replace or tell an Area Captain
    • There’s also other Do’s and (mostly) Don’ts regarding spray aerosols, rags, dust, vehicles, working outside, etc., etc. See the Standing Rules and FAQ in the wiki.
    • When you’re done at the shop, don’t just leave!
      • Leave the space as clean or cleaner than when you came
      • Don’t leave the premises with outside doors open
      • Walk around and turn off lights in empty areas. Notify others that you are leaving if you need to leave lights on for them, unless you are the last one in the building.
  8. Personal property
    • There are designated temporary spaces for projects being actively worked on.
    • There are spaces for permanent storage of personal projects and tools. Membership includes the option of having a shelf spot (~2’x2′) or a locker. There are several options for additional space with a monthly rental charge.
    • Important: Anything left in shared spaces without legible contact info may be used, moved or removed without notice.
    • See Storage Options for details
  9. Links to even more information…
  10. Safety
    • If you see something unsafe, say or do something.  No one wants to annoy others, but it’s important to help each other maintain a careful level of safety.
    • Emergencies:
      • Dial 911. Post info on Slack so we’re all in the loop
      • For other emergencies, like a water leak, post info on Slack
    • Security cameras are used to encourage members to be safe, honest and well-behaved
      • Used to help correct unsafe or incorrect tool usage
      • Used in case of member rule breaking
    • More Safety Info
  11. We want our culture to be friendly and welcoming. Everybody’s “cool enough” to be a “Bodger”. Diversity is welcomed and supported.
  12. Where to find more information:

Ready to continue? Then head back to the top to go on to steps 2 and 3.

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