Resources & money¶
Where to get parts, materials, and fabrication services — around Bansko and online — plus how buying works. This is just the places we know about so far; there are surely many more useful resources around. Additions welcome.
Map¶
Everything nearby with a known location:
The amber dot is the hackerspace. Razlog and beyond appear when you zoom out.
Hardware & tools¶
| Place | What |
|---|---|
| Moderator (Bansko, map) | The big hardware shop — tools, fixings, cable, kitchen worktops. Default first stop. |
| Nevi 23 (map) | Smaller local hardware shop, closer, and probably the best prices. Rents jackhammers for a few €/hr. |
| Furniture materials shop (map) | Excellent for furniture-making — lots of screws, hinges, dowels, tools. Cash only. |
| Power tools & chainsaws (map) | Power tools, chainsaws, rotovators, etc. |
| Lidl (Razlog, map) | Parkside own-brand tools — quality is okay and the price is good. |
| Mr Bricolage (Blagoevgrad, map) | Wider selection than Moderator. Power tools are better value there, but everything else is probably more expensive. |
| Jumbo (online) | Storage boxes and cheap household stuff (10 small boxes for 10€). |
| Car parts shops | Several around town: one, two, three, four (that one has a small hardware shop next door). |
Lidl's Parkside range — okay quality, good price.
Wood¶
| Place | What |
|---|---|
| Sawmill next to FLC (map) | Right next door; worth getting to know — though there's a language gap (Bulgarian only). |
| Wood yard by Moderator (map) | Cut-to-order beams and battens; can bring the wood on a truck for €20. Speaks Russian. Last order came from here and was okay. |
| Sawmill, east Bansko (map) | Speaks Russian; can provide pre-planed wood. |
| Razlog wood places | Not much known — prices probably similar to the Bansko ones. |
| Pit (Georgi Koyumdjiev), Razlog (map) | Large building-materials place — big plywood boards, lots of tools and fittings. |
Sawmill norms: default length is 4 m, minimum thickness about 3 cm (confirmed at the east-Bansko one; probably the same everywhere).
Fabrication services¶
| Place | What |
|---|---|
| KS METAL EOOD (near Banya, map) | Metal production with CNC machines — but for bigger orders only; probably don't want one-off jobs. |
| Telephone factory (ZTA) (Bansko, map) | Lots of equipment for different kinds of fabrication — but probably don't want one-off jobs. |
| Furniture House Zahov (Bansko, map) | Furniture factory — manufactures furniture on order. Interesting contact. |
| Carpentry workshop on our street (map) | Woodwork. Best time to catch them: late afternoon / early evening. |
| Machinist on our street (map) | Lathe, mill and other tools — probably usually makes tractor parts. Same hours: late afternoon / early evening. |
| Machinist (Razlog — maybe here or here) | More reliably present than the Bansko one; does small odd jobs. No CNC — bring drawings, or a 3D-printed plastic model he can copy. |
| Trierrasoft (Plovdiv) | GPU and electronics repair/repasting — for jobs beyond the bench here. |
| OLIMP (Razlog, map) | Advertising agency — large-format advertising materials printing. |
| MediaStudio (Razlog centre, map) | Photo printing, goes bigger than A2. There's also a place in Bansko near the new cinema. |
Ordering online & deliveries¶
- Temu — cheap electronics, dongles, small tools. Slow shipping.
- eMag — faster, good for filament and bulkier items.
- 3dpro.bg — good Bulgarian filament supplier: fast delivery, wide selection.
- OLX / Facebook Marketplace — used furniture, appliances, kitchens.
- Taobao via China — David goes to China sometimes, buys stuff off Taobao, and brings it back in a suitcase. The electronics gear (and the project kits) came like that.
Deliveries: address to "MR HACKERSPACE" at the FLC complex — see Getting started. Courier offices nearby: Econt and Speedy (each has a second Bansko branch). The Billa has pickup lockers that eMag and other orders can be delivered to — usually a bit cheaper than courier delivery.
Tip: OLX and local shop sites are searchable in Bulgarian only — translate the product term first (kitchen worktop = Плот за кухня, electric door strike = магнитна ключалка за врата).
How buying works¶
There are no membership fees; the space runs on donations, shared purchases, and goodwill.
- The "To buy" Telegram topic is the shared shopping list. Post what the space needs; whoever orders next picks items up. Members often reply "I have one, I'll bring it" — check before buying.
- A shared prepaid card exists for space purchases. Ask in the group before using it, so whoever manages it can confirm the spend.
- Donations — most of the space's equipment arrived as donations. If you have surplus gear, post it in the group. If you burn through shared consumables (filament especially), replace them in kind now and then.
- Bigger spends — raise it in the group first and let the budget find itself.