- Joined
- Apr 14, 2014
- Messages
- 3,185
I have to admit I've made hundreds of 1 time tools and fixtures over the last 40 years. I still have a great number of them, which if necessary can be modified into another tool or fixture for another 1 time job. However when I do make a tool or fixture it it's because I can save many times what it costs to build.
Case and point is a set of fixtures built to build a decorative railing for our deck. Originally I was just going to have the railing built. ( Well actually I was going to reuse the original railing until the building inspector informed me it didn't conform to the "revised" building code, and if I did reuse it he wouldn't approve the structure.) When I sent out the specs for quotes for a railing that did conform to the code I got a rude awakening. The cheapest quote was $2,600.00 and the most expensive was $3,700.00. I was able to build the fixtures, buy the material for the railing, and build the finished product for less than $600.00 including paint and installation.
Another example is a set of fixtures I built to make replacement deck sections for a pier. The pier manufacturer wanted over $1,500.00 for 12 replacement deck sections. I was able to build the necessary fixtures, buy the material and fabricate all 12 sections for less than $300.00. Again well worth the time and money invested in the fixtures since the overall price for the replacement parts was 1/3 the cost of those available from the original manufacturer.
The point is that for me building a tool or fixture has to make economic sense. I do it to save money over what a commercially available product would cost, or when a commercial product isn't available. Even though I'm not paid an hourly wage to create a tool, fixture or end product, the end result has to be a balance of my time and money spent.
Case and point is a set of fixtures built to build a decorative railing for our deck. Originally I was just going to have the railing built. ( Well actually I was going to reuse the original railing until the building inspector informed me it didn't conform to the "revised" building code, and if I did reuse it he wouldn't approve the structure.) When I sent out the specs for quotes for a railing that did conform to the code I got a rude awakening. The cheapest quote was $2,600.00 and the most expensive was $3,700.00. I was able to build the fixtures, buy the material for the railing, and build the finished product for less than $600.00 including paint and installation.
Another example is a set of fixtures I built to make replacement deck sections for a pier. The pier manufacturer wanted over $1,500.00 for 12 replacement deck sections. I was able to build the necessary fixtures, buy the material and fabricate all 12 sections for less than $300.00. Again well worth the time and money invested in the fixtures since the overall price for the replacement parts was 1/3 the cost of those available from the original manufacturer.
The point is that for me building a tool or fixture has to make economic sense. I do it to save money over what a commercially available product would cost, or when a commercial product isn't available. Even though I'm not paid an hourly wage to create a tool, fixture or end product, the end result has to be a balance of my time and money spent.