Machine Shop
Nottingham Hackspace doesn't have a machine shop yet (January 2015) but has a number of metal and wood working tools and facilities slowly, but constantly being improved and added to.
Not having the kind of facilities that exist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1 and 2) means that we are limited in what can be achieved. Nonetheless basic skills and training are needed for safe and successful use of what we have, and the educational videos released via Open Source Machine Tools are well worth study.
Have a look at the page with links to many U.S. World War 2-era training films, and then an extensive list of videos originally published on the website of the New England Model Engineering Society assembled by YouTube user mrpete222.
Erik Vaaler at the M.I.T robotics group artificial intelligence laboratory presents 10 videos introducing essential machining skills for prototype development:
Basic Metal-Working Skills, Part One
Basic Metal-Working Skills, Part Two
Basic Metal-Working Skills, Part Three
Working with a Lathe: Part One
Working with a Lathe: Part Two
Working with a Lathe: Part Three
Working with a Milling Machine: Part One
Working with a Milling Machine: Part Two
Working with a Milling Machine: Part Three