Dan Dvorak was busy in the spacious Iowa City Fab Lab woodshop, one of about six fully equipped specialty rooms in this little-known non-profit facility just east of the Benton Street bridge.
The local retiree was working with a woodshop lathe, turning a grain-rich chunk of cedar into what he hopes will become a beautiful fruit bowl. A former public-school coach, teacher and principal, Dvorak summed up his feelings toward the Fab Lab in five words:
“This place is beyond great,” he told me. Dvorak cannot imagine where else he might find easy, 24/7 access to so many amazing creative tools, ranging from this simple lathe to a complex laser cutter…