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Sourcing Materials

We're starting a community contributed list of places and vendors. Login with your Neon account and add any vendors that you like to use.

This page is now in read-only mode - materials sources are being collected and organized in the Material and Services book, which any member can edit.

Woodworking

Tools

Wood and Lumber Suppliers

Metals

Tools

Suppliers

Plastics

3D Printing

Paint and Finishes

Abrasives

Tools

PPE

Shop rules and community guidelines

For a full list of rules and policies, see the Policies book.

Community Guidelines

1. Be Respectful

Our students, members, and partners bring with them a rich variety of experiences, perspectives, and aspirations. What brings us together is a shared interest in the process of making things. To create a welcoming, supportive environment, we ask each individual to treat one another with care and openness to diversity of race, gender, orientation, age, identity, and ability.

Actions that bully, degrade, or threaten any individual or group are not welcome in our community.

2. Be Mindful

As a member of the space, please be considerate of others that also make use of the space. While there is no time limit for using any of the tools or non-rentable furnishings, we ask that you be mindful of the potential needs of others. This also includes cleaning up after yourself. 

3. Take Responsibility

Protohaven is built around shared resources - space, tools, knowledge, and the community itself. To preserve these communal assets, each individual is asked to take responsibility for their own actions and to be mindful of how they impact those around them. We are each accountable for ourselves, and don’t expect others to bear the costs of our actions.

4. Help Out

Protohaven is a public charity and is made possible only by people giving more than they take. In this spirit, we ask each individual to find opportunities to help each other, the organization, and our broader community. We also ask each individual to recognize that assistance is not always sought, to seek consent before providing aid, and to provide opportunity for others’ work and discovery.

Shop Rules

1. Sign In

Anyone who comes into Protohaven for any reason must enter through the front door, & sign in at the front desk, whether they are a member or not. This includes members, guests, visitors, and volunteers. 

2. Members Only

Check Your Membership Status: Except as part of scheduled classes/workshops, only active members and those who have day passes are allowed to use any equipment or tools at Protohaven, this includes any tools or equipment that do not belong to Protohaven. If a member has an assistant with them, that assistant must also be an active member with appropriate clearances in order to use any tools or equipment, or physically assist with work on projects in any way. 

3. Be Safe 

Get Clearances: Most tools in the shop require an Equipment Clearance before use. Do not use equipment before obtaining the necessary clearance. These clearances are the bare minimum required to use the equipment and are not a substitute for consulting manufacturers’ safety guidelines, asking for help, or following general safety principles.

Wear Protective Equipment: Closed-toed shoes and safety glasses are required and hearing protection is recommended in the Workshop area of the space. Wear a respirator when sanding or spraying. Use dust collection, fume extractors, and ventilation fans where provided. No gloves, loose clothing, or dangling hair or jewelry around tools that spin. Additional PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) may be required for specific areas and tools.

Watch and Reset Equipment: Never leave a piece of machinery operating unattended. If you’ve changed equipment settings or setup during use, return them to their original states before leaving the tool.

Drugs & Alcohol: Never consume any mind-altering substances before or during using any tools at Protohaven.

4. Take Care of the Tools and Equipment

Get Clearances: Each tool and piece of equipment is different and most are expensive and/or delicate. Clearances provide machine-specific care details so you can effectively use a tool or piece of equipment without damaging it.

Do Not Alter or Use Beyond Limits: Tools at the shop are set up to serve a large number of people and projects. Do not permanently alter them for a particular use. If you temporarily change settings or setup, return them to their original state before leaving the tool. Only use tools within their specified parameters. Anyone altering or using tools beyond their limits will be held responsible for any damages and risks having their membership revoked.

Notify When Maintenance Is Needed: We can only fix what we know about. Please use the status tag at each machine and online reporting system to indicate when repair is needed.

5. Keep the Shop Clean 

Clean Up After Yourself: Making things creates garbage and debris. You are responsible to clean it up. Your work area should look better when you leave than when you started.

Return Tools to Their Original Locations: Large equipment should not be moved for use. Smaller tools or carts should be returned to their original location when you are finished.

Pay for storage: Unless you have paid storage (of which there are many options), everything you bring in with you must leave when you leave for the day. If you pay for storage, you may only store items in the area designated for you. Anything left outside of your paid storage may be removed and disposed of. Please see Protohaven’s Storage Policy for additional information.

COVID & Other Illness Protocols

Protohaven follows the health department guidelines regarding masking and does not require masks for fully vaccinated users when community levels are medium or low. You are welcome to continue to wear a mask if you choose.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html

Before Coming

Before coming to Protohaven, we ask that members and visitors you:

  1. Pass a self-screen for common symptoms of COVID and other illnesses such as the flu or common cold, including, but not limited to:

  1. Have not had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID in the last 10 days


If anyone coming into Protohaven has had symptoms of any illnesses or has been in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID, we ask that they not return to the shop until they either receive a negative COVID test result, or wait 10 days after their last symptoms or contact.

While Here

While using the shop, we ask everyone to:

If you have any questions about these protocols, please contact us at hello@protohaven.org.

After Leaving

If, after leaving the shop, a visitor develops common COVID symptoms, we ask that they get tested for Covid-19 and share the results with us. This allows us to take the appropriate cleaning, testing, and notification measures if the test comes back positive.

Equipment and Getting Access

Equipment List 

You can see the full list of equipment/tools that Protohaven has to offer, along with their status HERE. This link is also available in your NeonOne Dashboard.

Getting Cleared on Tools

Most tools in the shop require clearance before independent use as a member. Each tool is different and most are expensive and/or delicate. You can find our full list of equipment and the clearance associated with each tool at protohaven.org/equipment. 

Each new member receives a free class coupon (up to $75)  when they join and complete the New Member Orientation. Note: This does not apply to corporate, company, and non-profit memberships.

There are two pathways to get cleared to use equipment as a member:

  1. Take a Class — Learn through making things together!

We think the best way to gain clearance on a piece of equipment that is new to you is through a hands-on, supportive class that includes a clearance. They’re also a great way to advance skills that you may already have. Our classes are open to the public.

  1. Open to the public, no experience required (unless otherwise stated).

  2. 3-6 students maximum, depending on the class.

  1. Request Private Instruction — Study shop protocols & show us your skills!

    If you have previous experience on a tool and/or just want to get to your project, our Clearances are designed for you. These are exclusive to members and are scheduled by request. You’ll need to demonstrate to your instructor that you can use the equipment safely, carefully, and cleanly to receive clearance.

Materials & Consumables

It is the responsibility of the maker to provide their own materials and consumables in the workshop this includes the materials you are using to construct your work, but also certain consumables that are required for equipment to function (ie. sandpaper, welding nozzles, flux, contact paper, etc.) Our store has some of these items in stock, but we cannot guarantee that everything you need will be in stock at all times. Please come prepared. In order to purchase any items, including snacks and beverages, please see the Shop Tech on duty. We do our best to keep this area stocked, but ultimately it is up to members to provide the consumables that they need for their projects. We cannot accept cash or checks for any purchases.

Tool Guides

Tool Guides are public guides to the basic safe, careful, and clean use of the equipment at Protohaven. They’re the basis for receiving clearance on equipment, and are also useful resources for ongoing use.

Please note that not all Tool Tutorials are available at this time. We will continue to add to the list once additional tutorials are completed.

Reserving Equipment

Members are recommended to reserve time slots for equipment and areas. This can be done online using their Protohaven account. Reservations are for one and two hour blocks and can be reserved multiple times. You must be cleared in an area or piece of equipment in order to reserve it. Most areas can support 2 members simultaneously working, however others (like welding and the CNCs) can only support 1 user at a time.

Reservations can be made at https://reserve.protohaven.org or by using the Equipment Reservations link in your Member Dashboard.

Please only reserve the time that you need and be sure to cancel the reservation if it is no longer needed.

If you are using a tool without a reservation, and someone comes in with a reservation to use the tool, we ask you to kindly hop off and allow the other member to use the reserved equipment. 

Maintenance

If any tools or equipment need maintenance, submit a Tool Report (also accessible in your Member Dashboard) or report it to the Shop Tech on duty immediately and DO NOT attempt to fix it on your own without permission from Protohaven staff or a Shop Tech Lead with a clearly documented course of action in place.

Members are not permitted to:

Members that are not part of the maintenance crew are not permitted to:

When performing any maintenance, it is expected that common sense is at the forefront of all actions. This means not performing any actions that will negatively impact or permanently alter the tool/equipment that you are working on. 

In the event that you perform any maintenance that results in additional damage to a tool or piece of equipment, you will be responsible for replacing the piece/part that was damaged. Depending on the severity of the damage, you may be held responsible for replacing the entire tool/piece of equipment. 

Protohaven’s Shop Techs and Shop Tech Leads are tasked with equipment maintenance. A subset of members then perform maintenance. 

Anyone can see the present state of equipment by checking its status. 

Maintenance is prioritized based on equipment usage.

Requests

Maintenance requests inform staff and techs of issues with equipment ranging from simple replacement parts to potential safety issues. Members are encouraged to use this system so that the Protohaven team can respond quickly to shop needs, reducing equipment downtime and keeping you working effectively longer. Maintenance Requests can be found HERE. This link is also available in your NeonOne Dashboard.

Actions

Maintenance actions can only be made by authorized maintenance crew which includes staff, techs, instructors, fellows, and authorized members. Members can view and follow maintenance actions in real time by joining the #maintenance channel in Discord. 

Equipment Status

You can also view the current status of all equipment and areas by reviewing our Master Equipment List. This list catalogs all equipment and reports its most recent condition and last action taken on it. View it here. This link is also available in your Member Dashboard.

Equipment Damage & Misuse Policy

This policy can be viewed here. https://wiki.protohaven.org/books/policies/page/equipment-damage-policy

Should a member use a piece of equipment in a way that is dangerous or causes damage, the member will be sent the user guide for that piece of equipment, outlining the behavior that needs to be corrected along with what actions were taken that went against the policy. The member will be invited to retake a class that covers that piece of equipment, at their own expense, if they feel they are not comfortable on the machines. 

Addition or Removal of Protohaven Property

Protohaven property is not to be removed from the premises, or disposed of without express permission from Protohaven staff. Additionally, unless approved by Protohaven staff, no items (equipment, tools, supplies, etc) should be added to Protohaven’s inventory. If approved, in order to be reimbursed for any expenses, a receipt must be provided.

Classes & Workshops

Classes

Classes are the entry point to our community. They focus on teaching design, fabrication, and related skills. 

Class development and support are led by Protohaven staff and volunteers and taught by either contract instructors, Teaching Fellows, or community partners.

Class & Workshop Levels & Types

Skills & Safety Classes

Skills & safety classes are intended to provide hands-on safe operation and instruction regarding basic maintenance of specific pieces of equipment. These classes are not project-based. Upon successful completion of a skills class, students will receive clearance on the equipment covered in the class. Non-member participants receive a free day pass at the end of a skills & safety class. Non-members must complete the virtual orientation before using their day pass. 

There are three levels of skills & safety classes (although skills classes may not currently be developed at all levels or for all areas):

Project-Based Workshops

Workshops are project-based classes. The main purpose of a workshop is to provide participants with a fun, engaging, hands-on learning experience that results in the creation of an object. Non-member participants receive a free day pass at the end of a workshop. Non-members must complete the virtual orientation before using their day pass.

While workshops will cover basic safety considerations, they do not always provide clearance on the equipment used during the session(s). There are three levels of workshops (although workshops may not currently be developed at all levels or for all areas):

Redeeming Day Passes

Each day pass received at the end of a class, workshop, or intensive will include the recipient’s name, date issued, and the initials of the instructor who provided the pass. Day passes are valid for 7 days after they are received.

To redeem a day pass, the user should follow the link on the pass, and follow the instructions on the screen, which will allow them to register for or log in to a NeonOne account. This will provide the user with access to the Member Dashboard where they can complete the mandatory orientation, reserve the equipment that they will be using (only equipment that they have received clearances for), and view the Member Handbook.

Upon arrival at Protohaven, the user will provide their day pass and photo ID to the Shop Tech on duty when they arrive and will be asked to sign in. 

Anyone using a day pass is expected to follow Protohaven rules and community guidelines at all times. 

Registrations & Cancellations

Registrations close for skills & safety classes, workshops, and intensives 24 hours before the session start time. Depending on the class, workshop, or intensive, empty seats may be made available to Shop Techs. 

Individuals who register for a skills & safety class, workshop, or intensive, must cancel no less than 72 hours in order to receive a full refund, or be moved to another class, workshop, or intensive with no cancellation fee. 

Cancellation Policies & Fees

If a participant is a no-show, no refunds, credits, or transfers (rescheduling) will be given.

Please be aware that there are NO exceptions to these cancellation policies.

Protohaven Equipment Reservation System

We've moved to a new equipment reservation system at The location for the new system is at https://reserve.protohaven.org.

We hope you find it much more enjoyable to work with than the old system. You should find it way faster and more lightweight to reserve equipment than the old system. It also works better on mobile.

There are some aspects to get used to. This guide will help introduce you to the new reservations system. Give it a quick look over and get acquainted with using the system.

We're working on additional integrations into the system. The first additional feature that we're brining to the system is that if a piece of equipment gets red tagged, the system will cancel reservations and send you notifications of cancellations.

Following that we'll have classes block out time that equipment is needed for classes automatically.

And then we'll import clearances into the system so that users can only reserve equipment that they have clearances on.

Authentication

It uses your NeonCRM account (the one you use to manage your membership) to authenticate. When you get to the login page use the "Login with Protohaven" Button and it will use your Neon Single Sign On.

Getting a NEON account

You can follow this guide to update your membership receiving a NEON account in the process.

Note You need to have the Neon account to login to the reservation site. You do not need to have your membership transferred over to Neon. So if you're having difficulties getting that switched it won't block your ability to make reservations.

Helpful Views

There are few views that work well for reserving equipment, and a few that aren't that great. Below we'll describe the views that work best for working with the site.

Dashboard

The Dashboard view shows you several sections including your booked reservations and your most commonly booked pieces of equipment. This will be a great view once you've booked the things you normally use as they will be right at the top of the list waiting for you.

There is the ability to add favorites to the list if something you want isn't yet bubbled to the top of your list.

Dashboard View

Making a Reservation

If you click the reserve button on the image above you get a form like this. The most important thing to note here is that there is a behavior change from the old system that you should note.

When you're picking times in the reservation page it will still show time slots that are booked. Use the view availability link to ensure the resource isn't already booked for the time that you're attempting to book.

Reservation Page

Schedule View

The Schedule View is also a decent one for finding reservations. You will find the filters on the left side where you can narrow down the equipment seens and the plus buttons and existing reservations on the right side.

Schedule View

Resource Calendar

The Resource Calendar view is nice to get a birds eye view of bookings. I don't think that an individual needs it as they aren't usually like I just want to book 'something' at 4pm on thursday what's free…. But it give you that kind of view if you like it. I find it kinda comforting to look at and it's the closest thing to the old google calendar. You can also filter the view to just a specific piece of equipment or area.

Cancelling Reservations

Cancelling reservations are super easy from the Dashboard above click on the reservation and then the delete button.

Subscribing to your Reservation Calendar

You can add your reservations to your calendar of choice. like Google Calendar, iCal, Outlook, etc.

To enable your own personal calendar subscriptions, open Reservations > My Calendar. On the right side of the page you will find a link to Share your Calendar. This will give you a link that you can load into your calendar application.

Adding to Google Calendar

  1. Enable sharing as described above
  2. Click the link to copy the ical link to your clipboard.
  3. In Google Calendar you want to click the plus sign beside Other Calendars
  4. Chose "from URL"
  5. Paste in copied URL

Adding to Outlook 365

  1. Enable sharing as described above
  2. Click the link to copy the ical link to your clipboard.
  3. On Outlook 365 click add calendar
  4. Choose Subscribe from Web
  5. Paste in copied URL.

If you want All Reservations

The URL for the entire Resource Calendar is only shown to admins in the reservation software, To be able to share this with members I've made this page which requires you to be logged into the wiki with your Neon account to be able to to view and copy the URL.

You can use it in the steps listed above if you want to see everything and not just your reservations.

Tips / Tricks / Annoyances

Chrome on Mobile and scrolling the calendar widget

You may find that on mobile when making a reservation and you tap the date field it draws a calendar widget, and it also opens your keyboard which covers part of the calendar widget and if you try to scroll it closes the calendar thing. The key is to try to scroll by touching and dragging on the calendar instead elsewhere on the page.

Checking in via QR Code

The new system will allow for new QR codes that we can post on each piece of equipment so users can scan that for quick reservations too.

Shop Information

Address and Hours

For the most up to date information, see https://protohaven.org/contact/ 

Protohaven Address

214 N. Trenton Ave
Wilkinsburg, PA
15221

Note: 214 S. Trenton is on the other side of Penn Ave and is a residential address and is sometimes where packages are delivered by accident. Please note on your shipment that deliveries should be sent to a commercial/warehouse address.

Shop Hours

For the safety and security of our community and members Protohaven Member Hours are only open to students (during scheduled class times), members and guests of members. 

Office/Staff Hours*

Tuesday-Thursday: 10:00am - 6:00pm

Note: If you need to meet with staff outside of these hours, please email them to arrange a mutually convenient time.

Member Hours

Monday - Sunday: 10am - 10pm

Scheduled Tours 

7 Days/Week at 1pm and 6pm (requires registration)

Holidays (Shop Closed)

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Day

Easter

Memorial Day

Juneteenth

Independence Day

Labor Day

Thanksgiving

Christmas Eve

Christmas

Closures

Protohaven will follow the Wilkinsburg School District snow closure/delay policy unless otherwise noted, and will be communicated no later than 9am. Notifications regarding closures or delays in opening for any reason will be sent via email and also posted in the #announcements Discord channel.

While we strive to be open during our scheduled hours, unforeseen circumstances may occur that require Protohaven to close. It is our policy that we will be closed if there is no water, electricity, or heat in the building.

In the event of a closure that falls on a weekend day, Weekend members will be permitted to use the space on the preceding Friday and/or following Monday.

Contact Information

Floor Plan