Upcoming Tool Library & Workshop Closure Dates

Mark it on your calendar! We have some Tool Library & Workshop closures happening soon. Don’t be the person locked out of the Tool Library on a snowy Santa Fe Drive holding a frozen table saw. Oh no no no.

Upcoming Tool Library & Workshop Closures

  • Donation Inventory Day (Sat Nov 18th) CLOSED

  • Fall Break (Thurs-Sun Nov 23rd-26th) CLOSED

  • Winter Break (Sun-Sun Dec 24th-31st) CLOSED

*Don’t forget - if your borrowed tools are due back on a day that we are closed, that’s an extra free bonus day to keep them! Yay bonus days!

Colorado Gives Day is easily the best day to give!

Colorado Gives Day is easily the best day to give! Every year, the state of Colorado comes together to uplift the organizations that mean the most to them. The Denver Tool Library is part of that movement and are so thankful for all of our followers who join us every year to make a bigger impact.

This year, we are hoping to make a huge impact and we need your help!

First, what could we do with extra financial support:

  1. General Tool Maintenance - We want everyone to have the opportunity to utilize tools that are at their best performance so we are constantly making sure they are their best selves for you, as well as replacing the ones that are ready for retirement.

  2. Staff!!! - Our staff take care of our tools, as well as our community, so we want to make sure we take care of them.

  3. Scholarships - Having access to a Denver Tool Library membership is important for so many reasons, including self reliance and personal wellbeing. We want to make sure that everyone who needs one, has access to one so extra funds helps us to increase that access.

Now here is the fun part! How can you help?

  1. Donate! There will be so many different ways you can give between now and December 5th. Every dollar counts.

  2. Share! Tell your friends why the Denver Tool Library is important to you and ask them to give anytime between now and December 5th. Make sure to tag us if you post it on social media so we can share it with our followers, too.

  3. Join us! On December 5th, we will be celebrating all the great work the Denver Tool Library does at the Town Hall Collaborative from 4-9 pm. We will have giveaways, highlight our work, as well as get to know more about our community, while watching to see if we hit our Colorado Gives Day goals. If you are interested in getting more updates about the event, please RSVP here. You don’t have to RSVP to attend.

New Class! Sewing II: Patching & Mending Class

Our sewing instructor Jackie @jackieuvalltrades made a new class! Sewing II: Patching & Mending Class. The first date will be Friday, December 22 at 5:30pm.

Note! Sewing I: Sewing Machine Basics or threading machine experience is required to take this class

In this class, you will learn to repair your clothes and other household items! Over time our favorite items succumb to wear and tear. Learn creative ways using hand sewing techniques and the sewing machine to repair, patch, and mend them for a stylish new life! All skill levels are welcome from beginner to advanced, sewing machine basics class is required or knowledge of threading a sewing machine.

Please Bring: One to three items per person. These items could include shirts and pants that have holes or rips, ripped pillowcases, camping items (sleeping bag), or jackets.

New Box Joinery Class & Our Woodworking Fundamentals Course

Want to learn foundational woodworking skills but don’t have the time and money for a college course? Well hey howdy! The Denver Tool Library has set up a practical crash course to get you started on your woodworking journey, and we’ve added a new class to it: Woodworking III: Box Joinery (First class is Sunday, December 10!)

Our new Woodworking Fundamentals Course includes…

These three classes will get you familiar with big woodshop tools and introduce you to essential woodworking techniques like dimensioning wood and joinery. Once you take these three classes you’ll have the skills to make tables, shelves, cutting boards, and whatever else you’ve been sketching in your notebook.

Speaking of cutting boards, did you know we have lots of project based woodworking classes as well? Check out our new and improved Class Catalog.

Note! You can always take these classes out of order or skip ahead. Classes do not require a prerequisite or prior experience. Beginners are welcome.

Fall Tool Checklist

Fall Tool Checklist: ✅Sprinkler Compressor ✅Blower ✅ a Tiny Rake.

What sort of tools do you need this fall? We might have 'em! Come on down and pick up a rake before your neighbors complain, or depending on the neighbor, maybe a blower to blow the leaves into their yard.

Watch the video below for a smattering of the fall related tools we have that you can get with your Tool Library Membership. Massive thanks to @aprilfrankenstein for the wonderful PSA.

Beekeeping is Back!

What the buzz? Beekeeping’s with @alma_apiary is back from it’s summer and fall break already? That’s right honey! Our first date for Beekeeping I: Bees, Hives & Honey will be December 4th at 5:30pm.

For all you early planners, it’s never too soon to learn about super-organisms and how to prep those hives for 2024. Bee sure to sign up for Beekeeping I: Bees, Hives & Honey asap so you’ll be all studied up and ready to practice with actual combs during Beekeeping II: Hands-On Hives when we release dates for it this winter.

More Welding Dates Listed!

New dates released for Intro to Welding: November 24th & November 29th @ 5:30pm

Apologies to all who haven’t been able to get a welding date! After a couple month break, our Intro to Welding classes have been selling quicker than hotcakes (what is a hotcake, and why do they sell so fast??). We just released a few more classes on November 24th & November 29th @ 5:30pm and they are already at about half capacity, so register soon!

Not a Tool Library Member yet? Dip your toes in, the water’s fine!

Want to get your hands on some DTL tools but not sure how many projects you’ll really want to do in a year? Well, my friend, we’ve got a membership just for you.

It’s the One Time Project Checkout Checkout, and it’s only $40. That means for just $40, you can borrow up to 10 tools (3 of which can be power tools) for one week. 

It’s the perfect amount to tackle that chunky little project you've been putting off to [insert CO outdoor activity here] all summer! Build a chicken coop, show those fall leaves who’s boss, rehang that door that don’t close no more. Anything is possible (for a week) with the DTL One Time Project Checkout.

The great news is, if your trial week in the DTL cult has you drinking the kool aid and wanting to join at the annual level, you can transfer the $40 from your One Time towards it.

So is this just a gateway membership, you ask?! Absolutely!! That’s okay, don’t fight it. Begin the slippery slope of DIY at the DTL today.

With your One Time Project Checkout, you get…

  • 10 tools

  • 3 can be power tools

  • 1 week

  • for $40

That $40 can be used towards cost of annual membership when you decide to go all in!

Our Electricity Home Renovation Class is Back w/ Dave!

Electricity is back from a long hiatus, and David Cooke who you may know from Knowing Your Home, Tiling, Plumbing, and Drywall will be teaching the class. The first Electricity class taught by Dave will be 12/1/23 at 5:30pm.

About the Class: In this demonstration class we will explore the basics of home residential wiring systems: service entrance panel, circuit breakers, receptacles, GFI’s, switches, lights, ceiling fans and a whole lot more.  We will briefly discuss the meaning of “single phase” wiring and learn what “60 cycles” is really all about.

We will discuss receptacles and wall switches, 3-way switches and dimmers, and “old work” boxes that let you add a switch or receptacle in an existing wall. We will discuss “fishing” wire from one location to another.  

You will learn about “romex” non-metallic sheathed wire including how to safely cut, strip, and connect it to a switch or receptacle in a wall box.  

We will see close-up how to swap out a light fixture and look at innovative ways to mount a ceiling fan.

Throughout the class we learn what tools work the best and how to use them and we will learn how to safely test circuits. There will be time for Q&A during class.

About the Teacher: David Cooke taught home repair classes for twelve years. He wrote articles on home repair and improvement for a local magazine and appeared weekly on a television program in Boston as the "Resident Home Repair Guy" for two years. David ran his own home repair and improvement business for most of the last 30 years.

What People Say about Dave’s Classes….

"David was hilarious. Also I feel much more confident."

"Incredible amount of information and practice for 3 hours without feeling overwhelming."

"Instructor was fantastic, kept the jokes coming and made the time fly by!"

"Instructor was very knowledgeable and engaging"

Class Spotlight: Fabric Block Printing Class HALLOWEEN EDITION

Class Spotlight: Fabric Block Printing Class HALLOWEEN EDITION with @lucy.holtsnider! The one and only class date is this Saturday, 10/14/23 at 3:30pm.

On October 14th, 2023 we’ll be having a special edition of block printing that will be extra spooky! 👻 Each student gets 1/2 yard of cotton fabric to print a repeating pattern on. In addition, all are welcome to bring other fabric items to print on as well that can be used to make an out of this world halloween costume!! Cotton and synthetic fibers work well with our ink, nylon does not. Wearing costumes to class is also encouraged! 🎃

About the Class: Over this five hour printmaking class we’ll practice drawing, carving, and printing a two-color linoleum print by hand. No experience is required, and we’ll use non-toxic materials and a set of simple tools to make prints that are easy to recreate at home without a press. This class is different from the Block Printing on Paper class in that we’ll use ink designed for fabric, we’ll print on fabric instead of paper, and we’ll carve two blocks and register those to create a two-color print. 

We will start by tracing a photo or a drawing onto tracing paper, and then deciding which colors will go where in the print. Next, we’ll transfer the drawing to two blocks of linoleum and carve the first block. Then we choose our fabric color, and print the first color onto the fabric. While that color dries, we carve the second color, then print that on top of the first. Each student gets one yard of fabric to print on, and past students have even brought in their own fabric from home to print on and then sewed this into an item of clothing! 

Linocut is a fun and forgiving medium to work in and requires no drawing skills at all. The final prints just look cool no matter what! Participants should bring a sack lunch, close toed shoes, and 4 x 6” or smaller photo to make a drawing from. Bringing fabric from home is optional. Everyone receives a set of printed directions and a supply list to jump start their new linocut obsession. 

About the Teacher: Lucy Holtsnider is a printmaker and graphic designer based in Denver. In her fine art practice, she prints on a Vandercook SP-15 letterpress out of Zarapes Studios in Denver. As a designer, she designs book covers for self-published authors. Lucy has taught courses at Colorado College, Yeshiva University, Marist College, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. LucyHoltsnider.com Instagram: @lholtsnider