Project Specific Thread: Welding Shops

[Bert]

Oh boy do i hear you!!! We used to buy the more expensive $200 to $300 tents from Costco. Would use it 4-6 times camping, then it would start tearing or frames would bend to heck....Now we buy the $40 Wallmart specials...Less room but now we have a van to keep our valubles in!!( speargun, scuba gear, etc....)

[fun4now]

Bert
naaa the wife still makes me come in the hose. i would be ok with a cot in the shop, but then i supose most of us feel that way.
thats just a lil shade and screen for a small picknice tabe she uses when she comes out to make me eat once in a wile.
the tent actualy bit the dust last year is some strong wind so i have to make a new frame for it befor we can put it back up, you know the deal cheap thin poles that dont last. i'm planing on making a good steel frame for it so it can stay up better.

[Bert]

I talked to a few small time business people. they got tired of working for "the man" and used their credit cards and their left arm to open up a small shop (not welding), and put in long hours...they couldn't be happier!!!!
good luck to you and your shop, I know you'll do fine!!!!

[dabar39]

Bert

No inheritances here, just stretching myself real, real thin. Hope it pays off before it blows up in my face. Dave

[Bert]

I'll ask more questions about your system and tips later when I'm ready, I'm just really happy for you that you're doing it!!! Hope you're making the price fair for the other guys, and put that one guy out of business!!! (since he does a lousy job). Rent is good (you get a shop 1/2 that size over here for that much), did you happen to get an inheritence and were able to get the bigger shop with more workers or what ? or are you going by estimated income getting better since you got the powder coating gong on now also?
thanks,
bert

[dabar39]

bert

I ended up buying the Eastwood system for powder coating and we have built a small oven for temporary use, I am currently trying to gather up enough stuff to make a large enough oven to handle frames and race car chassis. I can not believe how easy it is to do the powder coating process. In most cases the powder can be applied for the same or less than paint. The most difficult thing about it is the prep work.

The new shop is costing me 3500.00 a month for rent. Why rent you ask? In the area I'm from the piece of property I'm on would go for about 1.2 million and the building would cost about 250,000 to put up.

And yes, I'm scheduled for surgery on the right eye in the middle of June. Dave

[Bert]

Dabar39,
few points: 1st:sorry, saw on another thread your eye surgery isn't till June.
2nd: your shop on Oahu would be well over $2million over here.
(not $1 million)
3rd: Wasn't it you who was asking questions about powder
coating like a month ago (since the guy was ripping you off?)
What system did you get and what setup are you using (one
like chchoppers showed us?
mahalo,
bert

[dabar39]

Bert

You are somewhat correct about working from home. I didn't have enough room to do the larger trailers out of the old shop so they were done at my home shop and also anything that does not pertain to the trailer business gets done here as well. I also run a powder coating business out of my home shop. Plus we had a few weeks between moving out of the old and into the new. Dave

[Bert]

dabar39,
I could have sworn you mentioned before you were working out of your house!!!!!!!! Most of you guys, that size shop on Oahu (the island where Waikiki is), in the commercial area, would be well over 1 million dollars....
yeesh.
When can I fly over to see your shop?

[Bert]

fun4now,
is that the tent you're wife has you living in now???

[HMW]

Nice shop kris. i like the overhead storage racks too and lots of "blue" equipment. thanks for sharing the pics

[fun4now]

cool shop Kris, welcome aboard.

[reelmanKS]

shops

Kris here, I have a 30'x40' shop to work out of. small to medium fabrications. Been doing doing this kind of work for three years now and have had only one customer the whole time keeping me very busy for all three years. there was a thread awhile back about looking for extra work or customers, if you have a big manufactering company in your area, try getting your foot in the door for their maintance dept. they might be like the company that uses me and farm out projects because it is cheaper to have it built outside the plant then to pay their people to make it and have a ton of hours in a simple project. Here are some pics of the shop. Thanks for looking. Kris

[fun4now]

never sell a tool, bad, bad, no tool selling. sell the kids if ya have to but keep the tools.
i lerned a long time ago not to sell tools or lend them out, if you sell it you will need it the fallowing week for shore. if you lend it out, it eather woint come back or it will be broke when it dose.
if any one needs one of my tools and they are werthy of actualy lending too i will go with the tool and use it for them or atleast help and inshore its used right and comes home with me.
although most of the people i know that are werth helping eather have there own tools or dont know how to use them any way so i end up using it.
if its my older brother asking i know he will break it so i have to do it or just tell him no.

[HMW]

fun4now

And if your like me, its hard to sell anything. Especially a piece of equipment