Vince . Can you make money with a hobby shop ? The answer is sure you can , if you want to . Is it easy ? Is it fun ? Are you trying to get rich or make a few extra bucks for something you like doing ? It's up to you and the time you are willing to put into it .
My story is that I bought a BP , a saw and a lathe for my personal use . I was a machinist apprentice at the time . I made stuff for myself and enjoyed it very much . I cut all my oak molding for the house on the BP ! Wasn't long after , the word got around that I had equipment and people wanted things made . I made parts for a bag of tomatoes , couple of bucks or for free . At that point it was relaxing . Move on 11 years . The tool and die machine shop I was employed at shut down and at that point I was in a management position . Many of the sales people went into sub-contracting as they were also displaced . They knew I had the equipment available and the calls started coming in as to if I wanted to do a few light jobs . So I was young , married , had a mortgage etc , why not give it a try ?
These little machining jobs turned into a 16 hour a day " hobby ". I hired a younger friend of mine to come into my home for 8 hrs a day after his normal job , and I put in 8 hrs after my daytime job . I machined parts for most of the shops around Baltimore . It became very old very fast . You NEVER had the right tools for the job and were constantly buying them . Chips were everywhere and the house very quickly smelled like a true machine shop . We made money sure , but it got to the point when you got 1099s from the tax man , you started to deduct machines , tools , space etc. which is a real PITA . You will also encounter customers who won't pay there bills . Doesn't matter if you take them to court , they don't pay and no-one can force them to do so . I got burned on a $12,000 job when someone claimed bankruptsy . I still paid my guy and my tooling company , but the equipment owner will be the one to take the hit .
I did this for a few years then sold my large machines and packed up my expensive tooling 22 years ago , August 1993 . Boxes and boxes and boxes . I still have them and that is how I have spent much of the last 4 months , sorting thru and disposing of what I will no longer use . This past July , my friend who worked for me years back gave me a call asking me if I was interested in getting some equipment . My response was a quick NO WAY , but of course my curious side was interested . ( Bob ended up as the plant manager of the company I helped to build ) . So my NO WAY somehow got twisted into 3 mills , a lathe and that Johnson saw . I did sell 2 of the mills very quickly as I had them jammed into my garage , but I now once again have my hobby shop .
I will NEVER machine parts for a company again . Too old , too tired . My time with my family is worth more than anyone could pay me . I look at my equipment as support tools to help with my hobby of restoring tractors and anything old . I drink my beer , get a suntan , listen to the radio , cut up , carry on and have a great time doing so .
The day you make things for money , you instantly become busy . You are either " busy looking for work or busy doing that work " . Dave
And what JP stated above is very true . Delivery , accuracy and price are the drivers . You need 2 of the 3 to survive .