Can You Make Some Money

ddickey

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H-M Supporter Gold Member
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Sharpening tools? Endmills, Drill bits and other various cutting tools?
 
There is a place here in Yuma called Dick's Valley Sharpening. He's been in business atleast 20 years that I know of. I even had him sharpen some bits for me once.

When I quit contracting and started doing machining full time I had one of my customers ask me if I would sharpen knives for them.

Don't cheap out with a Drill Doctor and a grinder though. Tool up and do it right if you are going to do it. Plenty of people will only give you one chance.
 
I had a Cuttermaster that I used for sharpening end mills and put it out there I'd do it, but at the about $1-$2 the cutter shops get it's not worth the price of the machine and I finally sold it to one of those cutter shops, but luckily at a good profit. The only thing I sharpen now are ice auger blades for ice fishing. I have a bait shop that sends me all their work.
 
I have started to do this exact thing. My thoughts were to help add another way to make an income as I am in the very early stages of putting a machine shop together after being out of it for some time. At first I was looking at ways of maintaining and making my own tooling and then after some time and more thinking I realized it would be a great way to diversify and to also get my foot in the door to offer a service which could lead to machine work. I offer a four facet grind with drills and the machine I have does a fantastic job compared to your store boughten stuff. I am just getting myself going with a lathe that is in the midst of finally about ready with the vfd almost done and a welder and press and plans,for more machinery for a full rounded shop. My drill sharpening has made me some connections now and I also do knives for restaurants chipper planer blades and a whole wack of other stuff not usually done in a machine shop. It has still done a good job of representing me with my work. All have been very happy and all my customers know I will be up and running soon. I live in a small town and moved out here as a machinist and left the trade some time ago. Now I want my own shop and even though I don t have my machinery going yet the sharpening side has taken off. I bought a Tormek t8 and most of the jigs and some other grinding wheels and a variable speed grinder to compliment it. It it s a great machine and does an absolutely fantastic job. It impresses and It has and will open doors for me so I say yes but just dont sharpen them. Wow them and it will take off. I am proof it can be done.
 
There is a nice looking Cuttermaster FCG-30 for sale about 90 minutes away from me. The price seems reasonable although no collets are included.
 
My grandfather owned a successful machine shop, he got his start by specializing in sharpening hard to sharpen machine tools.


It is unfortunate that I didn't develop an interest in machining until years after he passed.
 
Sharpening tools? Endmills, Drill bits and other various cutting tools?

I run an ad on Craigslist for my services and have surprisingly made some good money. You have to weed through some dummies and cheapskates but, I have ended up with some great customers and pretty sizable businesses that exclusively use me. If you produce quality, word will get out! I was surprised at how many businesses look on Craigslist for services. It's free.....maybe give it a go.
 
My grandfather owned a successful machine shop, he got his start by specializing in sharpening hard to sharpen machine tools.


It is unfortunate that I didn't develop an interest in machining until years after he passed.


On of my grandfathers was a mechanic for NASA (Lewis Research Cewnter), but about the time I was hanging around him he was retiring, and I didn't get to learn much. It was kind of interesting wandering around the lab and seeing open containers of liquid nitrogen just sitting on the floor boiling away. I did see him turn a bushing once to repair a washing machine. Most of the time he was playing on his small farm.

My other grandfather was a pre-WWII era machinist. Born before the turn of the last century. He died before I really got to know him, but I remember being out in one of his quanset huts were he stored tools and equipment with him showing off boxes of tools he bought from stores going out of business or at auction. At that age I couldn't understand why anybody needed a whole box of tubing cutters, but as I've gotten older I've learned most tools are like fish hooks and rope. You can never have to much. I do have some of his tools. My dad bought many of his machinist tools from him before he passed away, and a few years ago he gave me the lot as Christmas present. At first I just piddled with a lot of it, but I've since found a few tools in there that I use nearly every day, and most of it that has been used occasionally.
 
On of my grandfathers was a mechanic for NASA (Lewis Research Cewnter), but about the time I was hanging around him he was retiring, and I didn't get to learn much. It was kind of interesting wandering around the lab and seeing open containers of liquid nitrogen just sitting on the floor boiling away. I did see him turn a bushing once to repair a washing machine. Most of the time he was playing on his small farm.

My other grandfather was a pre-WWII era machinist. Born before the turn of the last century. He died before I really got to know him, but I remember being out in one of his quanset huts were he stored tools and equipment with him showing off boxes of tools he bought from stores going out of business or at auction. At that age I couldn't understand why anybody needed a whole box of tubing cutters, but as I've gotten older I've learned most tools are like fish hooks and rope. You can never have to much. I do have some of his tools. My dad bought many of his machinist tools from him before he passed away, and a few years ago he gave me the lot as Christmas present. At first I just piddled with a lot of it, but I've since found a few tools in there that I use nearly every day, and most of it that has been used occasionally.


Similar situation, he took me by his shop a handful of times when I was very young, probably because he had to stop in to check on something. I remember him letting me sand blast something in a sandblasting cabinet once but that was about it. Just a bunch of old dudes running machines (when you are 8 everybody is old :) ).

He retired and turned the business over to his son by the time I was in my early teens, and it must have just been work for him as he rarely talked about it and did nothing related as a hobby. I don't remember him ever talking shop with my uncle at family gatherings after turning the business over to him.

About the only time he would bring it up in later years was to show off some Gyrojet ammo he made while bidding on a contract to make ammo and parts for the Gyrojet guns. He didn't get the contract, but still had some of the samples he made. He said it was going to be used by astronauts, but I think that was either an assumption he made or he was just having fun with people as I've never heard that there was any serious effort to provide Gyrojet pistols to the Space program. The Gyrojet guns were developed nearby at the Lawrence Livermore Labs so it does make sense that his shop would have been invited to bid.
 
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