Welding shop

[Sberry]

We had a store close recently. The owner is a swell guy and he try hard enough but he knows more about this thing than mpost people. Even had some personality to sell but didnt understand the marketing the physical plant. Some picture of roast would help along with deli and the smell but no one gives a shit about the race car he got pictures of. 80 yr old ladies with 50's hanging out of their pockets dont give a dam and try to compete on canned veg super sales was waste of effort. Sole meat packages, 1/4 of beef,,,, now you dont got to come in for a month.
Guy down the street has another store 1/4 the size, has a package chicken sale on occasion ffor other people normally dont stop but never burger or steaks on sale, premium and everything else in the store is priced up, makes as much on 2 cans as the other guy does on a case and can take Vegas trips.

 

[Sberry]

I dont pay attn but its not cheap but the best and some better than others advertise. The burger is really worth the extra dollar, its not on fire and all grease and the brats are the best, better than some featured in other stores. He doesnt advertise, not a nickle. Not a great personality, ok but nothing sparkling but knows the numbers and the math, simply dont sit on it, takes a little profit on certain secondary items and knows point of sale, not sure how many lighters this store sells but its a bunch. Single water and pop. Coffee in the morning and a belly bomb sausage not priced bad and quite good as a leader. The guy knows what goes together and one thing leads to another.

 

[Sberry]

I see a couple local singers write up jingles for business Got her smiling face in front of 1/3 the state every hour.

 

[Sberry]

I dont care for a card says,,, no job too big or small. I understand there can be some carry over but on occasion I see small starts say that and they are not usually around for long. I take little things if they come in easy but dont hunt them down. I got a small walk in the other day and it was a bit of a challenge and after he talked about the "competition" so to speak but a guy does a fair amount of add, see the cards. What the guy told me was that while the other guy was a fair welder not such a good fabricator/repair type. I did notice the guys card said weld and didnt really include fab. Offers up portable.
If a guy does portable really needs to be geared to leave easy and fast. If someone finds you from a card they likely want it now. When I did a bit more had a top notch cover guy just in case, especially when I was out of town.

 

[Sberry]

Gary knows more about welding g than I ever will but,,, have a good bud with the same type of problem so to speak. He is a genius mechanic but tries to copy a business model from the company he worked for.
Also small walk in can be tough, I know a guy or 2 do it but they live hand to mouth. Car repair is easier than welding in this sense. Being retired is another factor, might not have the inclination to build real business.
If I was going small might find a specialty, hi end hobby, boats or motorsports where they used to paying till it hurts. Do not compete on price.

 

[California]

Also small walk in can be tough, I know a guy or 2 do it but they live hand to mouth. Car repair is easier than welding in this sense.

If I was going small might find a specialty, hi end hobby, boats or motorsports where they used to paying till it hurts. Do not compete on price.

There's a local business that does real well on walk-in transactions: a specialist in hydraulics.

I went in for a backhoe cylinder seal and said if they need to order it, I don't need it immediately like many of their customers might request.

I asked if they get walk-ins who come in wild-eyed because expensive equipment is down and and they need something - for example a burst hydraulic hose duplicated - immediately, RIGHT NOW,

The counter lady grinned and said "Yes. About twice a day".

I think their shop rate is $150/hour. They're making a good living.

 

[Sberry]

Yes, well established with good client list. At 150 per hr I bet they do walk in but lean on commercial customers. Most that do hoses do them on the spot.
It takes quite a little stock to do it well. There are lots of kinds of fittings. Lots of Euro equipment floating around.

 

[Sberry]

From the welding end,,, obviously the better all around a guy is the easier, obviously some requires special skill. Gary has this in spades, can do pressure and leak tight probably in every weird position but I know another guy pretty fair welder but being a shitty mechanic holds him up some. Lots of service needs fixing, trouble shooting , design and build.
More than really technical is some of the places are difficult. I did a call the other day over a previous repair that might have worked had the guy been a better welder. .

 

[Sberry]

I am writing for others, this is general babble and not aimed at Gary, no one has to tell him how hard some of it is

 

[Sberry]

Guy was on Floor talk some years ago, world class welder. A+ and then some kept focus on how good he was but never grasp that it was irrelevant unless you market it and no one beat a path to the door over it. Only some need that level, aero and cryo etc, nuke.
No one cares or willing to pay for the mow deck
Had another guy moaning cause no one wanted to pay to tig 3 passes on drilling mud tank pipe

 

[Gary Fowler]

Guy was on Floor talk some years ago, world class welder. A+ and then some kept focus on how good he was but never grasp that it was irrelevant unless you market it and no one beat a path to the door over it. Only some need that level, aero and cryo etc, nuke.
No one cares or willing to pay for the mow deck
Had another guy moaning cause no one wanted to pay to tig 3 passes on drilling mud tank pipe

Some jobs are just not worth the time. About 50 years ago, I was working on a drilling rig (off shore) fabricating some flow tubes that had lots of rolling 45 degree offsets that I had just finished up on and the rig supt. needed some welding done on a brine tank. I had no rubber boots so had to stand on some railing and lean way over to weld up a crack in the tank. The stinger would arc if I dropped it in the salt brine (yep it was that salty, enough to carry an electric arc). My gloves eventually got soaked in the salt and every time I had to change rods, I got a super shock. I got it done, but that was one job I would never have taken on as a shop fix project.
Sometimes it is just better to let the other guy have the work.

 

[dee_veloper]

I got it done, but that was one job I would never have taken on as a shop fix project.

I hope you got paid well for that job.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I hope you got paid well for that job.

I think the pay was around $5 per hour plus room and board. Great food out there on the drilling rigs.

 

[CA_Bgrwldr]

Gary knows more about welding g than I ever will but,,, have a good bud with the same type of problem so to speak. He is a genius mechanic but tries to copy a business model from the company he worked for.
Also small walk in can be tough, I know a guy or 2 do it but they live hand to mouth. Car repair is easier than welding in this sense. Being retired is another factor, might not have the inclination to build real business.
If I was going small might find a specialty, hi end hobby, boats or motorsports where they used to paying till it hurts. Do not compete on price.

The one local shop that does walk-in, has been around for over 60yrs, everything including the land is paid for, their hourly rates for projects is $150, but they charge far by the piece for walk-in repairs, because they can afford too. When I have been in there buying material, I have heard them quote people as little as $10-20 for a simple repair.

Anyone considering/wanting to do walk-in welding as a main source of income, would be better off being a mobile welder, and working out of a trailer, or look for a business he can rent space from, over working out of his own shop, the rent, marketing, and insurance is going to eat up most of his earnings.

 

[Sberry]

If the rate was advertised as 150 not many would walk in. Posted shop rates around here are 80 to 100.
I do some minor stuff and am fairly fussy., do some work.others wont and I generally quote and am the time keeper.
When asked I simply say the rates are based on 50. I say 50 to 75 depending and it seems to satisfy the curiosity.
I have nice finish, I paint some, have a couple that expect it to be painted and dont blink when it's on the bill.
Makes good fab look great and even simple spray cans work sometimes and when I did more portable carried some.

 

[Sberry]

I would need a new truck to work regular, this looks ok at first but it's too old. If I am working daily, all day hard work I like a heavy truck with lots of stock and rigged so I need my coffee, lunch and my phone, truck all rigged, big fuel tanks, double bottles, long leads. I carried some steel and bolts and fittings.
If I do this again which I may modern tech would allow so much more at so much lighter weight would try to get it in a common pickup.

 

[Sberry]

I had a referral the other day for a simple job. The guy said, not really what I expected and he figured if he had the tools could do it in 2 or 3 hrs. I needed to be done, 45 minutes, I charge for the hr. Added 2$ to the bill for a bolt.
I do use misc for materials to bump it up, people feel ok about buying materials.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I do welding for my neighbors not to make a profit, mostly just to have something to do. I would do it for free but most working class of people would be offended if I didnt charge something. Friday night a neighbor who owns 2 chicken houses (for eggs not meat) came by at 8 PM needing an auger welded back together. He had to have it for the next mornings feeding of his hens. It took me about 5 minutes of welding for which I told him $15 would do. A welding shop (if he could have found one open) would have charged him at minimum $100 for that job. He came back the next day to pay me, gave me $20 and a dozen extra large eggs.
He brought another one yesterday to do the same thing. This time I did it for $10. The charges would likely pay for the wire and electricity only, but I dont do it for the money. The customer was referred to me by another neighbor so word is getting out.

 

[Sberry]

This isn't a hobby for me. Unlike a lot of guys I read about if I won the lucky lotto you would hear my tools hit the floor and second call after getting a couple new cars sent over would be to the scrap dealer.
I am not going to retire to work on bunch of rusty cars.
It's ok, wish you lived closer, would be more than happy to have you piddle around my shop.

 

[PILOON]

Basically I'm a hobby welder, tractor stuff and yard art.
Never refuse to do a minor repair for friends either.

But then I have done the odd 'paying' job but even that was mostly for the challenge than for money but it does help pay for supplies.
2 examples are converting 4 post car lifts into freight elevators and also fabricating a dozen 'luggage' type carts for my friends storage facility.
Whenever we'd find a deal on 6 inch casters we'd scrounge metal and make up 3 x 6 ft push carts for the tenants to move in or out their goods.
LOL, he'd buy my lunches and I'd often get 'pickings' from closed out lockers.
Amazing the great things tenants would abandon rather than pay their rent.
I've seen everything from perfect power tools thru to broken furniture and everything in between.
The worst and most cumbersome is mattresses and probably old Xmas decorations with clothing in between.