KSW always seeks new volunteers! There’s no need to have skills or experience with steam equipment or fabrication tools — there’s always plenty of work for willing hands to do. Everyone pitches in to do the not-so-glamorous work that needs to be done, but there’s plenty of time to learn new skills or polish up on your welding. 

Our work days/nights usually start Wednesday evening at 8pm and on Saturday at Noon. Our shop is located at 1649 28th Street in Oakland, CA. Please contact us first to confirm the times and dates. We also need extra hands before, during, and after a big event, so if you see we have an event coming up and you’d like to help for even a short period, please let us know! Because our gate is locked, you’ll need to contact us and get in touch to make sure that you can get into the building when we’re hard at work. See the Contact page for details.

Because safety is the highest possible priority, all crew must take and complete the Roots of Motive Power Steam Engineering and Operating Safety Class before operating a boiler. Don’t worry, even if you haven’t yet completed the class you’ll still get lots of hands on experience around the equipment and learn tons about the ins and outs of our fantastic vintage equipment.