EDITOR’S NOTE: Last week, we showed you the scenes at the West Seattle Tool Library locations old and new, as the old location at South Seattle Community College closed for good Sunday afternoon, while the new one at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center was readied for its grand opening tomorrow. This afternoon, the Tool Library’s director is sharing a report and photos of what they had dubbed “The Great Tool Migration”!

(This photo by Patrick Sand for WSB, showing the exterior of the new Tool Library space, taken last Sunday; other photos courtesy Patrick Dunn)
By Patrick Dunn, West Seattle Tool Library director
Special to West Seattle Blog

The Great Tool Migration of 2011 has officially and thankfully been completed. Through the kind help of a number of West Seattle Tool Library volunteers and their trucks, our entire community tool collection is now down at our new location at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center.

Though it was certainly a tough job, moving a collection like that with a bunch of environmentally-minded folks has its advantages. Due to a biodiesel truck in our fleet, our convoy smelled a lot like french fries the whole day. That always helps to take the edge off.

After the Migration (and a greasy lunch), the crew spent most of the evening just staring at the collection, trying to make it smaller so that we could put it all away in time for our Grand Re-Opening. We have no idea how we crammed so many tools into the Tool Library’s previous storage closet up at SSCC.

At least at our new space, we won’t need advanced math and engineering degrees to find room for everything. The new home at Youngstown actually quadruples our square footage. While we have one section set up for tool storage, which will effectively serve as The Tool Library, we’ll also have a separate, 500 square foot room dedicated to serve as a community workshop and makerspace.

The Tool Library’s Grand Re-Opening will take place tomorrow (Saturday) from 9 am-2 pm. By then, we’ll not only have all the tools organized for proper viewing and rental, but we’ll also have the workshop opened up for tours.

In addition to seeing the space itself, those visiting our Grand Re-Opening can also take part in our monthly Ask an Expert series from 10 am to Noon. The series serves as a meetup for DIYers, tinkerers, and really anyone who’s taking on a project or even just thinking about taking one on. Into that motley crew, we throw a bunch of local experts on topics such as solar power, green building and architecture, and urban gardening to help our visitors with the finer details of their plans.

To top it off, The Grand Re-Opening will also host a demonstration by a local engineer who has turned a pressure washer and a few spare parts in to a computerized tile milling machine.

So whatever draws folks out, The Tool Library would love to see everyone on Saturday. The official opening ceremony will take place at 11 am. As always, coffee and pastries will be provided.