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Anybody own their own machine shop? or work as a t

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Midwest redneck

03-04-2005 02:11:20




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An old friend of mine called me up last Friday and asked me what he needed to get a machine shop up and running (he owns a machine building company that makes high end test equipment) I told him he needs minimum $50,000. He needs a heavy duty lathe, surface grinder, series one bridgeport, good condition used (new is $14,000) plus perishable tooling---$10,000. I gave him the names of local toolshops that my company deals with. I know that this trade has been beatup hard by the orientals and it is difficult to make money in this field now. I am a toolmaker for my employer, All the work I do is my employer and it usually hot jobs, gotta have it now. Give me your thoughts.

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Davis In SC

03-05-2005 21:32:14




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 Re: Anybody own their own machine shop? or work as in reply to Midwest redneck, 03-04-2005 02:11:20  
To answer your question..... I would say that 50 to 100 thousand should set up a nice shop, if you are willing to spend some time shopping. The small accessories & perishables can really add up in a hurry... Those items can often be found dirt cheap at auction.....



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Midwest redneck

03-06-2005 09:05:05




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 Re: Anybody own their own machine shop? or work as in reply to Davis In SC, 03-05-2005 21:32:14  
I informed my wife this AM that I would like to have a small machine shop in our garage, my garage is 22X50, I would have about a 400ft2 shop area. My wife said "NO WAY", I said what if I did $40,000/year in sales, and she perked up and thought about it for a second and said, "I dont what the mess and the noise" Well.....I can keep nagging the *ell out her. She doesnt understand the money potential if I were to get a couple of money maker jobs setup. Of course I allowed her to sell Avon for about a year and she made about $30/month, after buying the catalogs, what a waste. I am confident that I could get a nice small shop set up for about $20k, that is with some tooling too.

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NC Wayne

03-04-2005 19:48:57




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 Re: Anybody own their own machine shop? or work as in reply to Midwest redneck, 03-04-2005 02:11:20  
With the actual machines tools you suggested as well as the other shop items that Davis mentioned I believe the guy would have a pretty nice setup. Dad has a small machine shop setup consisting of a lathe, Bridgeport, KO Lee tool grinder, and a Cincinatti 2ML knee mill (if I could ever get time to wire it up)and a Climax portable line boring outfit that we use for the business. It's not alot but since we don't get much into the way of actual "machine shop" work, beyond what we do in the field with the line boring equipment, it keeps us going. Our main uses are making pins, repairing shafts, along with other parts for the machines we're working on. That said tell your buddy to always be willing to take in piece work. There is nothing that makes our life harder than working out of town somewhere and needing a small piece machined. It's usually something we could do at the shop in 10 minutes but when we're 200 miles from home it just doesn't pay to drive back to do it. It seems like 90%+ of the shops now have nothing but CNC machines and have no desire to do one small job. They want to make 1000+ pieces and to heck with your one part. That's the main reason we have the setup we have so we can do alot of our own piece work when we need it. Too many shops that do have a manual machine have only one and it stays in constant use...so have at least two of the "essentials", like say two lathes, and two Bridgports, if at all possible. They are about the most used tools in most shops so with two of each the chances of having to turn down piece work are at least halfed. Now if you do have a piece set up it's understandable you probably can't just pull it out for every guy that walks in the door with a 5 minute job. However if a man needs the work done right now and is willing to pay for your trouble then at least try to accomodate him. True you can't always do it, and most guys who know anything will understand, and if you can accomodate his needs you may have to charge him $300 for a 5 minute job but who's to say it's not saving his customer $3000. If you can do it let him make the decision, don't automatically tell him it'll be a week before you can free up a machine to do his 5 minute job...if you do you can bet he won't be back. I took a piece into a shop in Chapel Hill the other week and they were nice enough to do what I needed (take .010 off an exhaust thimble) and it took about 10 minutes, and cost me all of $25. You can be sure if I need something done when I'm working in the area again they'll have my business. Like I said the tooling mentioned so far sounds like it'll do the job just fine, the main thing then is to keep it running and making money by maikng the customer happy.....Just my .02 as a full time mechanic, sometimes machinist and above all a fairely knowledgable customer.

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Davis In SC

03-05-2005 08:55:02




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 Re: Anybody own their own machine shop? or work as in reply to NC Wayne, 03-04-2005 19:48:57  
Wayne makes a good point about 2 lathes, 2 mills, etc. The reason I am in the situation mentioned below is that the customer wants me to always be ready to jump on a repair job, which often means tearing down a complicated set-up just to drill a few holes. But they are not willing to pay for the time it really takes me. Often a one-hour job shoots half a day. Although I am not really into doing work for the general public, I will try to help out someone that has an urgent job. If I cannot get to it, I can usually make a few calls & find a shop that can do it. Most of the shops here all try to cooperate & help the others out. More advice on a shop... Start out on the right foot by never letting customers & visitors watch you work. The distraction is a sure way to make a mistake, or worse yet to get hurt. Make a waiting area, so customers can sit until you are finished with a job ,if they need it quickly.

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Midwest redneck

03-05-2005 09:55:43




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 Re: Anybody own their own machine shop? or work as in reply to Davis In SC, 03-05-2005 08:55:02  
Yep, I here ya there. I would not want others watching either. And as far as urgent work goes. There is a big shop north of me and they charge 3-4 times the usual price if you gotta have it in 48hrs or so, or the next day with a cobbled up sketch for a guy to work off of.



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Davis In SC

03-04-2005 18:29:05




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 Re: Anybody own their own machine shop? or work as in reply to Midwest redneck, 03-04-2005 02:11:20  
I am half owner of a small Tool & Die shop. We started about 12 years ago, buying almost everything new. Okamoto Surface grinder, Bridgeport, Hansvedt EDM, Hurco machining center, Hardinge Toolroom lathe..... the list goes on & on..... Accesories such as vises, sine plate, Rotary tables, add up fast also.. Although or equipment is still like new, value on the open market is only a small part of what we paid. I have been researching values of shop machines , recently. My busines partner & his sons own a business that is our biggest customer. Due to some changes in their & our work, we have discussed my partner & his sons buy my interest in our shop. It would really be best for all parties for them to own it. The only obstacle is arriving at a mutually agreeable price. The market for used machinery is really deflated now, & I do not expect it to ever fully recover due to so many shops closing. In such a deflated market, I think it is best to shop for used machines. There are many bargains out there for like 25 cents on the dollar, if you have the cash to put up. Machinery dealers have warehouses full and are willing to deal. Auctions are the best place to get machines, last year, I bought some really nice machines & tooling for pennies on the dollar. Enough Rambling.... If I were planning on starting a new shop, I would start shopping Ebay & plant closing auctions... One possible exception, is the vertical mill.... A friend that does some intricate work bought 2 Acer mills ( Imported) & has nothing but praise for them.....

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dr.sportster

03-04-2005 13:36:54




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 Re: Anybody own their own machine shop? or work as in reply to Midwest redneck, 03-04-2005 02:11:20  
I have a freind that works in the machine tool distributors.He is often surprised when he finds he is delivering new CNC equipment to a residential garage.The guy I work for part time makes tools for Falconjet and he started in his garage.Maybe if he can get a low cost location like that it will help.



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