Is there a cost effective way to set up a makerspace?

[Roland of Gilead]

My wife and I were talking about how nice it would be if our community had something like a makerspace or hackerspace or whatever they are called these days.

Essentially a easy to access location in town where people could gather and work on projects using tools that are hard/impossible to get access individually.

Bigger laser cutters, plasma cutters, cnc machining centers, lathes, 3D printers

We decided you sort of need to have an extra million or so that you are willing to flush but are there any alternatives?

In the past I have cobbled together a lot of the above equipment but it was never really user friendly.   My micro machining device used a 10kW peak power IPG fiber laser ($900 ebay score) and could cut microscopic gears out of stainless steel but I did not bother with a lot of safety devices, I just used it in a totally enclosed room while wearing OD10 goggles.   

Even aside from having a commercial space you would need equipment that is safe-ish to use by everyone and a good liability policy.

[Askel]

Check with your local educational institutions or libraries.  I know a lot of libraries are starting to include a lot of maker tools in their collections. 

I was part of a makerspace at my university.  We took over an under-used bowling alley in the basement of the student union.  Tools came from a mish-mash of corporate and university donations. We weren't really doing anything that the university doesn't do a lot of already, so no special insurance needs beyond what the university already did.   

The biggest challenge was finding and training volunteers to keep regular hours.  And managing the 3d printer work load. Once the students found out we offered free 3d printing, they kept those things humming 24/7.