You are more than welcome to visit us for a few sessions before becoming a member of Tadley Men’s Shed. When you are ready, please fill in this form to start the application process:
Once we know you are interested in becoming a member, we will ask for a few more details either in-person at the Shed, via email, or some other mutually convenient method. Subs are paid by monthly standing order, reduced rates are offered for ‘supervisors’ and those that would benefit from a reduced financial burden.
As a member, you will be invited to join our WhatsApp group. This is the quickest way for members to keep informed about what is happening either at the Shed, local events we’re supporting, or regarding our occasional outings to see people or places that Shedders have expressed interest in (such as Dalmann, Liz Pearson, or the Cricket Bat Maker). The WhatsApp chat is also a good place to arrange to meet people at the Shed outside of normal regular sessions, or to ask for advice or materials for your own Shed projects, or to seek support from the group for anything else that you may need a hand with – such as borrowing specialist tools, DIY advice, moving furniture, or a lift somewhere local – anything you would be pleased to help with if a friend asked you.
Members are welcome to attend any and all regular sessions at no additional charge – either to use the equipment, or just to ‘supervise’. It is our intention to have committee members present at all of these. Members are also encouraged to come to the Shed at other times (no additional charge), but with a few practical restrictions. Broadly, these restrictions are that nobody should work in the Shed on their own, and that you should only use equipment you have been ‘signed-off’ on at the Shed – even if you have been using such equipment for many years elsewhere. These are primarily conditions imposed by our insurance company, but the committee agrees that they are appropriate from a number of other perspectives too.
We love showing people how to use the Shed’s tools (many of which are available to borrow) – but we are also very happy to help if you don’t want to use them yourself. We do have some fairly powerful equipment in the Shed, and we insist EVERYONE that wants to use it receives formal instruction. Once signed-off on a particular tool, you are free to use it unsupervised whenever it is available. If you are particularly confident with it, you may inadvertently become the go-to Shed member for training!
Shed projects can be entirely self-directed by members, ad-hoc group efforts, or commissions by local groups. All options are open to all members – if you want to get involved, just join in the conversation! Suggest a project, ask for opinions from other members, and get started – simple as that. We also have some stock project ideas that are tried-and-tested introductions to using some of the tools, have a look at our Projects page for ideas. We look forward to working with you!