The Bodgery

A Makerspace in Madison, WI

News

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Grand Opening Sept 21!

Bodgery makerspace front door
It totally looks like this every day

What started as two people teaching classes in the library has evolved over the last five years to become a 14,000 square foot workshop on the former Oscar Mayer property. With an astounding array of tools–from WWII era, industrial machining equipment to computer-driven laser cutters, Madison’s community workshop has taken their non-profit to a whole new level.  

Imagine a space where knitters and welders hang out over pizza, talking about their latest projects and lending an extra pair of hands when needed.  Where 3D printers are making forms for jewelry casting, and electronics wizards are building arduino tool controls for the woodshop. Where a creative mind can walk in with one skill and a year later have more than they can count. 

On Saturday, September 21st, from 12-5pm, the Bodgery members put out the welcome mat to show people around our wonderful new shop, gave demonstrations of amazing tools and techniques, ate cake, and socialized with others who like to make things!  Hope you had a chance to join us!

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We’re Open Again!!

Free public access twice a week
Monday (6-8pm) and Friday (7-10pm)
910 Mayer Ave – parking out front

That totally needed two exclamation points, amiright? 🙂

After six long weeks of building walls and workbenches, hanging doors and laying floors, adding all the phases and levels of power, dust collection, painting, permitting, and inspections – we have our City approval and we’re ready for the public again!

We’re still finishing up (like the front door – still being installed), and there’s a lot of organization and beautification left to do … but we’re open to the public for tool use and hanging out. Bring your ideas and projects, meet other makers, and help us crank the creativity up to 11.

With 20 studios, several new tool areas, and a vast new workshop space, it’s a whole new Bodgery. Come check it out! (And for a peek at what it took to get here, scroll down…)

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Renovations Progress

We moved out of our Robertson location at the end of May, and have been getting the Oscar Mayer space ready since. With the layers of permits required for our renovations, and the use of volunteer labor, we will be closed for public tool use until mid July. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The good news is that we’re mostly done! Our members are crushing it. Walls have been built between shop areas, the shop has been wired with delicious industrial power, the painting is going well, and we’re setting up all the new tool areas. It doesn’t quite look like a finished product, but we’re very close!

wall building
Future areas for machining, CNC, jewelry/glass, metalshop, and a spray room!

We’ll post updates on this News page (link from the banner across the top of our site), and progress photos on Instagram. We’re starting with public tours (every Friday night), and will hopefully be open fully for guest tool use in mid-July!

And in case you wondered how much work it is to move literal tons of tools, equipment, and materials, check out the time lapse below! My back hurts just watching it…

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Help More People Get Hands On

In order to create new programming and community outreach, to better serve our growing membership, and to introduce a larger group of people to the skills of making things, we are moving to a larger building on the former Oscar Mayer campus! It’s an exciting time, and this space will not only be wonderful to work in, but allow us to create many more opportunities for youth at risk, laid-off workers, etc.

That said, renovating this space will require a significant investment in wiring, plumbing, and interior construction. We are boot-strapping as much as we can, adding our members’ considerable expertise and donated time to the build-out. But as a commercial space, we need to work with licensed contractors and within building codes. We have been saving for several years for these kind of costs, but this will exceed our savings.

We are turning to the community, to those that know us already, and those who just like the idea of a community workshop, with free access by the public, and education designed to lift up people from all walks of life. We have started a GoFundMe campaign, and we hope that you consider adding a donation to it, and sharing it with your networks. Spreading the word really helps this campaign grow! And any amount you can spare will help us turn this vision into a reality. Click here for more details.

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Bodgery 3.0

The lease is signed, trucks and forklifts are being rented – we’re preparing for the big move! We’ll expand to four times our size, and be part of the exciting Oscar Mayer renovation. Stay tuned!