What machine business have you operated?

Good read, interesting to hear about all the stuff and stories.

I haven't made anything yet but like to read about whats possible.

Thanks
 
There are one person shops that do very specialized work and do well financially, I occasionally used a local WEDM shop, one person with 2 machines, much of his work would take well over 8 hours per operation, these machines can easily run lights out. He had the not inconsiderable advantage of bringing high end customers with him when his former employer went Tango Uniform, this is an unlikely scenario for a hobbyist.

I brought some of my customers to the shop that I work for now, I get a commission for these jobs, my currrent employer is an understanding fellow in this regard.
 
I do think it is critical that specialization in something is thought out with care. This is due to the fact that scarcity of that particular service / product will allow for a more reasonable margin to exist.

A friend of mine used to do metal fabrication as a business before he got hired on full time for a company that paid him more than he ever made doing random work for folks. Anyway, he said that there was a time that he placed a sign out by the end of the driveway that advertised his services. He said that he took it down after a while because the only people that ever came by were ones that were wanting him to weld their rusty exhausts back together for 20 bucks. Basically, the only "customers" that responded to his general welding sign were people that wanted stuff for practically nothing. They were hoping that instead of paying 120 bucks at a repair shop, they could sucker him into doing it for 20 bucks.

I think general machining would likely turn out the same way. So, it's best to not go that route. My time is limited and I want to enjoy my hobby, not get stressed out by it. I would rather make money with my mill making stuff I enjoy anyway because it fits my interests.
 
Jake2465 said:
Basically, the only "customers" that responded to his general welding sign were people that wanted stuff for practically nothing. They were hoping that instead of paying 120 bucks at a repair shop, they could sucker him into doing it for 20 bucks.
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I think there's probably also a perception that because someone works out of their home (shop), that the cost should be cheaper than someone "actually doing it for a living". Regardless of whether the person's home shop is their living, I think people automatically assume no overhead, no staff, no costs, etc etc. Hey, he's doing it out of his basement, he's got to be cheaper than the real guys....

-frank
 
francist said:
Hey, he's doing it out of his basement, he's got to be cheaper than the real guys....
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Yep, pretty much...

That's why I have been leaning toward making a web based store front and selling there. I can make myself look like whatever I want on that website.
 
Jake2465 said:
So, the answer seems to be that niche or product that would be considered boutique in nature is the way to go. For the folks that have taken the time to reply, thank you. I think this is insightful and makes sense. A lot of strategy has to go into making sure whatever is made cannot be commonly available with tight margins acting as a barrier to entry.
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Yes ^this^

Keep in mind I'm commenting from the perspective of somebody who would buy parts from you for the purpose of running a manufacturing plant.

IF you can find a niche that you can leverage in a HIGH quality, LOW volume of something people are willing to pay hard earned money for - then yes I think you can make a go of it. "Making parts & Making money" means doing business with those who have been burned by China, on one of the following issues: quality, lead-time or flexibility. If you can provide a distinct advantage in one of those areas, domestic buyers will value your quality over the headaches they know that come from overseas. With that said, I believe this is probably soul crushing work where you become 1000x larger than a hobby and it is mostly CNC - so good luck!

Making it beyond "making parts" means coming up with the niche that nobody else is doing - and more importantly, probably wouldn't want to do it. - because it isn't about making parts, it's about doing something that your buyer hasn't been able to get anybody else to reliably deliver. I think that means accepting a plateau to your profits and growth which is perfectly fine for many one man or slightly larger shops.

As somebody else said, I envy and admire anybody who can do either of the scenarios I describe here.
 
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I WAS FREELANCING FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS & DID OK , IN FACT I AM STILL DOING IT .

I PUT AN AD ON CRAIGSLIST OFFERING MACHINING SERVICES AND WOUND UP DOING A VARIETY OF
JOBS . THE MOST INTERESTING OF WHICH WAS BUILDING PROTOTYPE KNEE JOINTS FOR PROSTHETIC LEGS
AND CUSTOM ELECTRIC GUITAR BRIDGES FOR ZION GUITARS .

I JUST BUILT A PAIR OF SPECIALIZED CLAMPS FROM DELRIN AND CLEARED $400 LAST WEEKEND
THEY WERE SO IMPRESSED WITH THE DESIGN & WORKMANSHIP THAT THEY ORDERED 4 MORE !

I SET UP AN LLC AND PAY TAXES ON THE MONEY MADE IN THE SHOP .
TROUBLE IS , I STILL HAD TO PAY HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS TO THE TUNE OF $2400 / MONTH .

I WAS TREADING WATER WITH AN ONGOING EXPENSE LIKE THAT SO I DECIDED TO GO BACK TO WORK FOR
ANOTHER COMPANY . I AM A MACHINIST AT CORNING NOW AND DO MY OWN STUFF ON THE WEEKENDS .

I OFTEN FIND MYSELF MAKING PARTS FOR WORK IN MY HOME SHOP
I CALL IT A REVERSE GOVERNMENT JOB . THE SHOP AT WORK IS NICE
BUT I HAVE A LOT OF STOCK , TOOLS AND CAPABILITIES THAT THEY DON'T !

I HAVE NEVER BEEN BUSIER .
 

If you have superior equipment to the glass manufacturer Corning, assuming that you do not mean Billy Joe Corning's lawn mower repair shop you are well ahead of the game, good on ya.
 
P. Waller said:
If you have superior equipment to the glass manufacturer Corning, assuming that you do not mean Billy Joe Corning's lawn mower repair shop you are well ahead of the game, good on ya.
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CORNING OPERATES A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLANTS .
THE ONE I WORK AT DOES PLASTIC EXTRUSION & MOLDING AND IS EXPANDING TO INCLUDE
THE VALOR GLASS VIALS .

THE PROBLEM WITH THEIR SHOP IS A LACK OF SHEET METAL EQUIPMENT AS WELL AS WHAT I CONSIDER BASIC ITEMS .
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THEY GAVE YOU A JOB THAT WOULD BE EASYILLY DONE WITH A COLLET INDEXER
BUT THEY DON'T HAVE ONE ? I BRING MINE TO WORK .

I AM GOING IN TO WORK TODAY WITH SOME SHEET METAL BRACKETS I MADE LAST NIGHT .
SIMPLE PARTS IF YOU HAVE A SHEAR & BRAKE BUT THEY DON'T AND WHAT TOOK BE 15 MINUTES AT HOME
WOULD TAKE HOURS TO CUT OUT ON A MILL .

THEY DON'T KEEP A LOT OF STOCK ON HAND . INSTEAD THEY ORDER WHATEVER THEY NEED AT THE TIME .
I ACTUALLY HAVE MORE AT HOME IN MY PRIVATE STOCK THAN THEY DO AT WORK !

I AM ADDRESSING THESE ISSUES WITH MANAGEMENT , 'TILL THEN I DON'T MIND
DOING A LITTLE ON THE SIDE TO GET THE JOB DONE .
 
I have enjoyed this read from the different perspectives. Times are changing constantly it seems these days. Markets are global but there is stil alot of operations that need general machining. Take the quarry down the rd. Use to do line boring work for them. Alot of simple work came along with it. The line boring work got the company I worked for in the door. I ve been out along time and now that service isn t available locally. So they call Cat and pay through there teeth easily more than double what they use to pay. I d love to be set up for it. Problem is the two or three grand for the mag drill is behind a whole lot of other stuff. The line boring is just one card though! Not enough to make a living. So I can start on making some of the stuff for the time being. There has to be more cards though. It s a hard go when the mentality isn t what it used to be. We throw away and buy new but there is still alot of equipment out there that needs to be maintained. Cnc has to be for sure in the game just for the arcs and radiuses. It all isn t cheap and hard to put those cards down. If one does it has to be full committment and yes stay away from credit. A great and very inspirational quote from another forum that makes alot of sense to me! Don t worry about perfection! Worry about progress or you ll never get your feet off the ground!
 
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