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Hey guys,
Here's another installment of "How To" for those newbies/youngsters who are entering the fabrication arena & need to produce multiple parts with "repetitive consistency". I find jig building is a necessity for anyone who needs/wants to produce more than 3-4 items the same or who wants to produce many items for sale. Easy projects like this can be quite lucrative once you can establish your cost for material & the time-per-piece so as to set a price to maintain a decent profit.
I had a customer call last week & wanted these beverage holders made to his specs, not the size available on the market(& not made in China). He wanted more height & a good strong all-steel welded unit. He sent me some pics of what is available on the market & pricing & the sizes made. I looked at the design, cost, & if I could produce these & make a profit. After getting pricing from my metal supplier, I started to cut material in bulk amounts keeping track of time & quantities I could produce. The 3/8" HR rods I could cut (6) at a time on my dry cut saw, the 1" X 1/8" flat stock I could cut & drill (10) pieces at a time. I had to cut the 3/8"W rings from a piece of 4"D X 5'L pipe & I had it leftover from a job so no cost there. I used some leftover 1 1/2"sq tubing that was lying under the workbench to construct the jig.
The bev. holder pieces were:
1) 52"L of 3/8"HR rod.....bent to configure the handle & ground to a semi-point
2) 6"L " " " "...... bent at 3" to 90* w/semi-point
3) 8"L X 1" X 1/8" flat stock center drilled W/3/8" hole.
4) 4"dia. tube rings cut 3/8"W & 1/2" removed to get finish diameter of 3.5"
5) 1.5"W X 3"L X 1/8" flat stock for a clip-on/magnetic score card
The jig was assembled by laying the long rod on the base piece to determine height configuration supports to have components centered for welding. It worked out quite nicely & I only had to cut a ring slot in the horizontal base support to hold the rings C/L to weld to the rod at the cut on the ring. Once I had everything in place, it only took 2 min to weld all the components.....quite easy.
When I finished, I determined I could produce these, primed & painted for $60/pr. & maintain a decent profit. The only change requested by the customer after coming to the shop was to add a 4"W X 12"L X 16ga plate to replace the small plate to be used as the score plate only on one of the pair. He would add the numbering/lettering that was needed for score. I told him the cost would be an additional $5.....$65/pr. He pre-paid for (8) sets for his family members & indicated the club he belongs to would probably want 20-30 sets. So, looks like I get to keep busy for a while.
Anyway, here's some pics. There are (10), so I will need (2) posts to get them all on. Give me a few minutes xtra to get them all on. I just want to help the youngsters/newbies to get a basic understanding of production applications that will help reduce costs & produce a healthier profit margin. Feel free to ask any ???...... Thanks.....
Denny
Here's another installment of "How To" for those newbies/youngsters who are entering the fabrication arena & need to produce multiple parts with "repetitive consistency". I find jig building is a necessity for anyone who needs/wants to produce more than 3-4 items the same or who wants to produce many items for sale. Easy projects like this can be quite lucrative once you can establish your cost for material & the time-per-piece so as to set a price to maintain a decent profit.
I had a customer call last week & wanted these beverage holders made to his specs, not the size available on the market(& not made in China). He wanted more height & a good strong all-steel welded unit. He sent me some pics of what is available on the market & pricing & the sizes made. I looked at the design, cost, & if I could produce these & make a profit. After getting pricing from my metal supplier, I started to cut material in bulk amounts keeping track of time & quantities I could produce. The 3/8" HR rods I could cut (6) at a time on my dry cut saw, the 1" X 1/8" flat stock I could cut & drill (10) pieces at a time. I had to cut the 3/8"W rings from a piece of 4"D X 5'L pipe & I had it leftover from a job so no cost there. I used some leftover 1 1/2"sq tubing that was lying under the workbench to construct the jig.
The bev. holder pieces were:
1) 52"L of 3/8"HR rod.....bent to configure the handle & ground to a semi-point
2) 6"L " " " "...... bent at 3" to 90* w/semi-point
3) 8"L X 1" X 1/8" flat stock center drilled W/3/8" hole.
4) 4"dia. tube rings cut 3/8"W & 1/2" removed to get finish diameter of 3.5"
5) 1.5"W X 3"L X 1/8" flat stock for a clip-on/magnetic score card
The jig was assembled by laying the long rod on the base piece to determine height configuration supports to have components centered for welding. It worked out quite nicely & I only had to cut a ring slot in the horizontal base support to hold the rings C/L to weld to the rod at the cut on the ring. Once I had everything in place, it only took 2 min to weld all the components.....quite easy.
When I finished, I determined I could produce these, primed & painted for $60/pr. & maintain a decent profit. The only change requested by the customer after coming to the shop was to add a 4"W X 12"L X 16ga plate to replace the small plate to be used as the score plate only on one of the pair. He would add the numbering/lettering that was needed for score. I told him the cost would be an additional $5.....$65/pr. He pre-paid for (8) sets for his family members & indicated the club he belongs to would probably want 20-30 sets. So, looks like I get to keep busy for a while.
Anyway, here's some pics. There are (10), so I will need (2) posts to get them all on. Give me a few minutes xtra to get them all on. I just want to help the youngsters/newbies to get a basic understanding of production applications that will help reduce costs & produce a healthier profit margin. Feel free to ask any ???...... Thanks.....
Denny
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