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  1. D

    That random phone call

    As to random phone calls..... It was the 4th of July and our neighborhood was having a parade and block party that was a 50 year tradition. I had just walked into the house to get our contribution to the potluck dinner. Phone rings and it's the salesman I had met at WESTEC in LA a few months...
  2. D

    anyone dealt with Global Demolition selling carbide, etc?

    I've never had an un-expected drop-in wanting to buy carbide. I notice east coast buyers saying send it to them so they can evaluate the carbide to determine what they're willing to pay. No way Jose..!!!
  3. D

    When does NET30 start?

    Are these complaints only a current thing? Or, did you have the same problem in years past? I guess I was lucky I only had one customer in 35 years who was mucho late. After almost 90 days I'd had it with their promises they'd pay. Turned them over to a collection agency. And of all the...
  4. D

    Transitioning from Manual to CNC: Seeking Advice and Insights

    No they didn't. They just had this feeling that CNC'd parts would be more expensive. No real basis for that opinion, maybe no more an urban legend. Over time I was able to show them the cost savings to them of my CNC parts.
  5. D

    Retiring-today is my last day

    I sorta retired early, I mean I began taking on only jobs I wanted rather than the usual good with the bad from regular customers. I kept a CNC lathe and mill for hobby work. Even an occasional small job for a former customer. The business and real estate were sold and we are okay...
  6. D

    Transitioning from Manual to CNC: Seeking Advice and Insights

    I started with manual machines, after 6 months I realized it was going to be difficult to continue without CNC. A good many requests to make parts required CNC. Took a chance and bought a smallish CNC lathe. Announced to my few existing customers of my new CNC capabilities. A couple...
  7. D

    New start up / Insurance

    Before Christmas somebody backed into the passenger front door of my car. No damage to anything except that door. A good used replacement door goes for about $750 +/-. I let my insurance cover the whole job. Just under $4K because law (?) required front fender and bumper to be removed to...
  8. D

    Problem with Hewlett Packard printer

    I recently discovered how HP's warrantee works. Bought the printer from Target or was it Best Buy? Whichever had the best price. Printer died after 6 months. The retailer had a short term warrantee, but it had expired so the HP should have taken over. HP's diagnostic software said the...
  9. D

    How to mark up high material costs on lower labor job?

    I usually marked up material about 20%. In most cases the material would still be less expensive than the customer could buy it for because of my relationship with my suppliers. Never had any jobs where the difference between material and labor was so extreme. I never liked customers...
  10. D

    Thinking about opening a shop!!!

    Not exactly.... He rode the coattails of the business in Santa Cruz that brought the urethane/hydraulic press forming process to the hobby jewelry making crowd. He has gone beyond what the other company was into. The other company is now highly connected to Rio Grande jewelry supply.
  11. D

    Thinking about opening a shop!!!

    As a small startup you find it locally. But, that brings up the question, is there work locally? Are there lots of manufacturing and smalls startups in your area? Cash is tight, that's not a good sign, in fact it's awful.. Think about it, that will likely have a major effect on your ability...
  12. D

    Fighting back against big company requirements

    This ISN deal is new to me, wasn't aware of it until this thread. What I see here is the customer is willing to pay the $1200 ISN fee. Being involved with ISN apparently involves having safety and health policies in written form which could likely be found to download on the net. I see the...
  13. D

    "How much to buy/own such and such machine" Seems this guy knows what he's getting into....

    --------- Let's see, maybe they grew up there, were well settled in with local family and home, the weather, near the beach and maybe more reasons I can't think of now. Oh, and it's a happening place. My wife and I in Seattle were executors of a $8M estate in California. Hearing all the...
  14. D

    A humble request for mentor. Potential new shop.

    New to this thread.....and haven't read the many posts.... But I can tell you for a one man start up their aren't many business concepts you can't pick up as you go. You find a customer, make his/her parts. Get paid, report that income on a Schedule C less all costs like material, tooling...
  15. D

    "How much to buy/own such and such machine" Seems this guy knows what he's getting into....

    Washington state has a similar tax on machinery, etc. Fortunately most shops don't pay it because the state doesn't know the extent of machines most of us have. I zoomed through the video and didn't notice if he was aware of all the costs prior to purchase. And most important does anyone know...
  16. D

    Mandatory retirement plans must be offered by small business

    It'd be wonderful if people could plan and invest for education and retirement. Unfortunately I don't think most are capable of that. Given that 47% of adults in this country can't come up with $400 in an emergency, that doesn't speak well for the population. Apparently it's not just this...
  17. D

    OD and ID turning a large thin wall tube

    Send the blank out for stress relieving. Then to a wire EDM shop. No sweat. But you won't have all those billable hours with the turning methods.
  18. D

    Owner issues.....anybody else get 'stuck' ? (Not A/R issues)

    Too late for me since I've retired. But it took me 30 some years to learn not to put off repairs. When something you use frequently needed repair I repaired it ASAP. Low priority customer work got put on hold.
  19. D

    Client-owned machine in your shop?

    I don't like the idea of having a machine owned by somebody else in my shop, Same way I felt when a good customer offered to move my whole shop into their facility with free rent. One thing the OP might do is ask the customer for a long term PO. Then take that PO to a lender and ask for a...
  20. D

    Medical or Aerospace Certification worth it?

    The majority of my income came from working on development of medical devices. No certification was ever required and wouldn't have helped to get it. Production of medical devices is a totally different issue, the FDA will be all over you in that case.

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