#factory3 — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

I saw this story in a local newspaper (print edition), and found it online. Wow!

#PortlandME - #Makers Share their Skills at #Factory3

By: Nancy English, July 31, 2026

"When Patrick Russell decided to start Factory 3 in 2017, his goal was to create an affordable place for crafts people to do their work in Portland. He bought the building at 103 St. James Street in 2021.

" 'From 2014 to 2021, creatives were being pushed out of the city,' he said, as he showed off the array of equipment his maker space holds inside its warehouse walls. He found much of the machinery online, slightly used. Now, dozens of Factory 3 members and class participants get to build skills using a planer, a bench drill, or a metal inert gas welding tool.

"A new air compressor and a plasma cutter that’s like a 'light saber,' he said, will be part of the available machinery soon.

"In Welding 1, students can learn how to create clean weld beads for about $180. Factory 3 offers the 3.5-hour class two or three times a month. 'Factory 3 has taught over a thousand how to weld,' Patrick Russell said."

Factory3 website:
https://factory3.org/

#SolarPunkSunday #LearnSkills #MakerSpace #Workshops #DIY #Hackerspace #ToolAccess