1. Reprap- I think these are pretty cheap to kit up, and cheaper still if you have some skilled folks around who can make parts for it.
2. Sherline CNC mill/lathe- Again, pretty cheap to kit together. A non-CNC mill or lathe might be an option- CNC is all well and good but the cost savings to do it by hand might be worth it, especially if that means you get a bigger, heavier machine which is capable of more precision.
3. Secure storage- Used lockers from a bus station or high school?
4. Laser engraver- Is there an open-source Reprap-esque project out there for this? If not, maybe we could start one. Part of the reason I include this in the list is that I think it has the potential to be a real moneymaker. There are many, MANY people out there who would front us $10-$20 to etch some pithy saying or sexy image on the back of their iPhone or Macbook.
5. PCB etching setup- Setting up a quick-turn prototyping lab is pretty easy. Toner transfer or UV etch resist produce pretty good results, and a cheap setup can be bought in kit form for around $100.

We were talking about both RepRap and lasers at the other end of the table last night. jtbarclay had built some interesting laser projects using some scrounged laser diodes from HD-DVD/Blu-Ray players. One in particular was using speakers to drive the etching of a lissajous pattern onto soft plastic/dark paper, etc.

We postulated that it might be possible to pair the XYZ bot from the RepRap with one of these laser diodes as a possible engraving solution. It seems like we might be able to make do with the XY portion of the RepRap, but the Z might be useful for focusing purposes. It'd be worth a shot anyways -- we'd probably learn a lot.

brake press. maybe some sheetmetal forming tools (like gusset dies and stuff?)
oh - and a nibbler. that can be pretty handy for smaller stuff.

along with everything else mentioned thus far.
i think rep-raps might have to wait till later.
it's amazing what can still be built without one.

I would suggest we look at hand tools and small power tools initially. We could then look to make more advanced tools. There are tons of maker made tools on the net. Everything from welders to lathes can be made from commonly available stuff but basic hand tools are a "you have them or you don't" sort of thing. Hand tools can also be stored and transported easily. To that end I would recommend someone look at acquiring a delivery van or small truck and make it a mobile hacker space. Something like a old school bus or a old moving van. Possibly more than one could be set up and driven to the site of the meeting.

My 2 cents anyway.

Cypher

i've got to agree with the people that are looking more at getting the basics covered first. a lot of us may own a few of these tools, but very few of us have them all, so it just makes sense to pool our resources so everyone can benefit. besides, so many of these tools can be used for a variety of projects, from computers to metal sculpture to woodworking, so it just makes more sense to emphasize that for now.

i also want to add that, in my mind, the purpose of a makers shop is that it allows anyone to try their hands at creating something useful or interesting or beautiful. we want to draw more people in and frankly, i think having the basics covered and offering our collective knowledge to whoever wants to learn and experiment will do more than multi-thousand dollar specialty equipment. we need to focus on building a solid base and once that's accomplished, then we can look at the bells and whistles.

OK, late to the party, but some things I'd love to see:

-- For the stuff that Makers are likely to do, would a combo metalworking (mill/drill) machine work? Cheaper and smaller footprint, at least...
-- Decent (used) oscilloscope with probes (the latter suffer greatly from "tragedy of the commons" problems though)
-- router
-- drill press
-- lathe
-- bandsaw
-- welders
-- quality solder and hot air rework stations (see "tragedy of the commons" comment above)

(-- and someone to teach people how to use them!)

Slightly-out-there-wish list:
-- RepRap
-- PCB milling machine, like a ProtoMat

side note, we have this up on the wiki now if folks want to add to the list there.

See: http://www.hoffhilk.com/feb09_online.htm
Proof we don't need that rich of an angel to buy a CNC, just a couple smaller ones

A screen printing setup would be cool too... might attract some "arty" makers.

and then we could print our tees ourselves.

actually, a really simple screen isn't complicated and would probably be pretty cheap to build. mmm... a new group project, perhaps?