
This article appeared in Make: Vol. 40.
Photography by Riley Wilkinson
Home of the three-time Power Racing Series champions, Sector67 is a well-organized hackerspace near the state capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. The nonprofit was bootstrapped by Chris Meyer, the sole founder and benevolent dictator who launched it after taking a $7,000 second prize in a business plan competition. That’s not a lot of money for tools, so Meyer and Sector67’s members began rebuilding and refurbishing well-used (and sometimes broken) equipment, from CNC mills and routers to injection equipment and sewing machines. The nine shots here show just a bit of what’s inside their 8,500-square-foot space.

A well-used third hand, handmade from a block of wood, screw, washer, steel wire, and alligator clips.

Another cast-iron creation, this metal head was made from a 3D Kinect scan, sliced up into a lasercutter file in 123D Make.

A 1980s Melco embroidery machine that has been converted to USB using an Arduino to emulate the output of the original paper tape reader.

Cleverly crafted shelves use dowels rather than a solid platform to hold only plastic shoeboxes, helping keep Sector67’s materials organized.

Meyer in the wood shop, where Sector67 keeps a Jet 12″ planer/joiner, a Grizzly drum/flap sander, a Stinger CNC router, and racks of lumber, boards and other build materials.