Pricing for a simple job?

[norb]

I would charge time and material. To repair I would just drill the hole out and install a helicoil. I would not be too concerned with being competitive as no shop wants to bother with this kind of job unless it is for a good customer or a potential good customer.

 

[david n]

The only repair jobs I do is for friends and neighbors............thay all know me and understand me when I tell them I can either fix it or make it twice as bad. No matter what I get a case(or 5) of beer.................

 

[MrWhoopee]

Every few months I get a a Harley crankcase half where somebody has either tried to remove a broken bolt (rare) or tried to redrill and tap a stripped thread. With a cordless drill.

Telling the Harley guy "you should have come to me first instead of trying to fix it yourself" seems to fall on deaf ears.

I found it was more effective to give them the price. Then, when they gasped, tell them it would have been half that if you hadn't screwed with it first.

 

[chip-load]

Go to an EDM shop. Then mark it up 30% over what they charged. All the methods mentioned have risk. EDM = zero risk!

 

[William Payne]

To be fair to the original poster broken bolts/studs suck.

 

[david n]

Did the OP git r dun?

 

[TeachMePlease]

Did the OP git r dun?

I think he cut n run

 

[William Payne]

I mean no disrespect to anybody but why is there such a huge amount (comparatively) of people who want to start machine shops without the machine shop experience. If I wanted to open a restaurant I know that I would need to hire and damn good cook and keep them onboard as I am a pretty useless cook.

Same with say a hairdresser I can't cut hair so last thing I plan to do is open a salon.

You can learn how to operate a machine but first you have to know what you want it to do.

 

[RC Mech]

I mean no disrespect to anybody but why is there such a huge amount (comparatively) of people who want to start machine shops without the machine shop experience.

Because every jackass with $8k thinks they can put a see&see in their garage and get rich. A huge draw of aspiring/clueless business owners is the idea that it's a matter of simple programming and parts start coming off the machine.

Machining and becoming a machinist is an entirely different story. Having a business and being in business are two different things. I assign 50% of the blame to the home 3D printing and "maker" movement.

 

[latheman78]

Long ago in a land far away I had a customer who had a DC motor repair shop. If something needed machining above his hack skills I did the work. His quoting process was simple. If the item did not show any outward structural damage he would quote 50% of new without even taking it apart. Most his customers had something down and needed it yesterday. Often he would get away with cleaning and changing out brushes, making brain surgeon rate. Every once in a while
the thing was only useful as a door stop and he would provide a new one and eat the difference.

 

[William Payne]

I assign 50% of the blame to the home 3D printing and "maker" movement.

I am actually highly considering a just for fun project of building my own 3d printer after seeing how "basic" they really are and feeling I could build something better. Also I feel I can build one cheaper and more accurate than what they sell for at least based on the professional units I have seen. I could be over estimating my ability but that will be half the fun. That is if I don't procrastinate the idea into oblivion.

In my limited experience with home maker guys they tend to be pretty honest about their limitations and also tend to not know what they don't know, meaning that things that are pretty standard in a professional sense are extremely mind blowing to them.

But I also know of professional guys who have very impressive setups at home.

 

[RC Mech]

In my limited experience with home maker guys they tend to be pretty honest about their limitations and also tend to not know what they don't know, meaning that things that are pretty standard in a professional sense are extremely mind blowing to them.

It’s less a criticism of the YouTube type “makers” but more those in the audience thinking it’s all easy.

We’re in an inherently biased group here though. Anyone considering opening a shop really has nowhere else to voice their intentions as far as the technical crowd is concerned. It’s two totally different skillsets though: manufacturing and business.

The OP of this thread not only doesn’t know how to do the job, but is at a loss as to price.

What other businesses do the unwashed masses dive into without a clue? Craft brewing comes to mind.

 

[William Payne]

What other businesses do the unwashed masses dive into without a clue? Craft brewing comes to mind.

Craft brewing is big business where I live. A number of home guys are now legitimate brewing companies. But for everyone 1 who made it I can imagine their are thousands who don't but I guess that's like anything really.

 

[michiganbuck]

Years ago my buddy's dad made beer in a garbage can.

 

[neilho]

Drill a hole thru, start a cut on the edge of the drilled hole with an oxy-whatever torch, blow it out the drilled hole with ONE cut. If that doesn't work, let it cool and get a fresh steel edge to start. Restarting the cut when the manifold threads are hot tends to screw them up.

This is an exhaust manifold and that stud's rusted to it. Pretty simple repair for people who run rigs in rusty places like Vermont.

 

[john.k]

Yah ,but just a stud is too easy.......drill off centre ,then break a cheap easy out in the hole ........one time the next laneway plastic place brought over a plastic mould with broken off thread tap in in .......a big one ......they didnt have a bolt ,and decided to use a tap and screw a nut on it.

 

[chip-load]

. . . why is there such a huge amount (comparatively) of people who want to start machine shops without the machine shop experience.

Its the advent of CAM in F-360. Students have been making solid models in HS and JC for years but CAMing it required expensive software upgrades. Now anybody can CAM for free and they think if the simulator shows no collisions they have perfect G-code.

 

[Phil in Montana]

Its a job most shops WOULD NOT TAKE, no profit in it IF YOU KNEW HOW, you dont so run away, might think about going back to your day job and rest...Phil

 

[cyanidekid]

Yah ,but just a stud is too easy.......drill off centre ,then break a cheap easy out in the hole ........one time the next laneway plastic place brought over a plastic mould with broken off thread tap in in .......a big one ......they didnt have a bolt ,and decided to use a tap and screw a nut on it.

yup, just had a neighbor bring over a part with a busted 5 X.8 a few days ago.
his guy had snapped it off flush then drilled an off center hole that went outside the fastener diameter altogether, and then that particular mechanical genius had snapped an EZ out flush with that.
on that, I DID go straight to the mill, drilled it with a (sharp) carbide drill (if I need to make a hole, why I would use a dull Anything?) of corse it was still completely locked up by the remnant of the extractor, so I worked a carbide burr out very gradually until it reached the minor diameter of the screw, then picked out the first two remaining threads. since it had the extractor interrupting the threads, it wasn't a continuous helix so I had to send in a tap. it was a small steel part with an eccentric so I couldn't anneal it without having to re-heat treat.
got it out, but took me 1:15 about I think. I wasn't expecting to make money on it, that's a piss poor business plan. I wasn't going to charge anything, even tho it was 8 PM, and he's a pest in general, but he gave me a 20 and I didn't say no. still owes me a tap though, thanks for reminding me!

 

[john.k]

One thing learnt the hard way ,is these guys bring you the item to repair first up,then start looking around for a another part.........you are the fallback if they cant find a used part at their price.