This talk explores the capacities of the so-called Maker Movement to democratise digital fabrication technologies. Theoretically, tools such as 3D printers, CNC machines, and microcontrollers should empower every end-user to design and produce things themselves – in practice, however, we are still far from such a revolutionary digital transformation of craftsmanship towards personalised on-demand production. The exciting creative potential for innovation through using new “smart” tools is overshadowed by persistent diversity issues. To illustrate the socio-technical barriers of the Maker Movement, I draw on examples from my research and personal experiences as a maker in Austria and Northern England. I highlight various perspectives on maker technologies, such as feminist academic critiques and practical interventions, the theme of self-empowerment in light of disability activism, the continuation and breaking of gender roles in hybrid craftsmanship in a charity context, and how a solidarity ethos from the Northern English labor movement is reflected in the 3D printer becoming asset of a Men’s Shed.