So, I am sure this has been asked before but I have been trying to find some work to do in my basement shop to help pay for some tooling and as a side job. I haven’t had any luck finding jobs. I even ran an post in my local Facebook classifieds with no luck. There is 1 big machine shop in town but they do almost all cnc high production jobs, I now this because I worked there for 6 years and they rarely ever had manual machines running. I have also been trying to come up with ideas to make a product to sell but have also come up short. I would like to have my own job shop since my fiancé has a good full time job at local company and I am a stay at home dad at the present time. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, pms are also welcome. Plus making money with my machines would sure make a good excuse for getting more tooling but paying some bills would be a big plus as well.
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Finding Lathe and Mill Work
- Thread starter Brad125
- Start date
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- Jan 4, 2021
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- 918
If you're a qualified machinist, you just need to hustle. Posting ads on FB is not going to get you much. Cold call business. You're going to have to be able to hear "no" 100 times before someone says "yes". Do a great job and get referrals. There is no simple solution to starting a business. Find a customer need and fulfill it.
If you're a hobbyist (like me) - just do it for fun for friends, family and neighbors. And maybe, occasionally one of them will refer you to a friend and you can charge them.
If you're a hobbyist (like me) - just do it for fun for friends, family and neighbors. And maybe, occasionally one of them will refer you to a friend and you can charge them.
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2015
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- 11,376
You might want to add welding capability- seems like there are always folks that need a bit of welding but can't justify the cost of
a welding machine
-M
a welding machine
-M
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2013
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- 1,193
There are lots of projects of tools that you will need to make to add to your tooling. Gray's drafting and design kits come to mind. Do a good job on them and you can use these as samples of your work to show to your clients.
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- Jan 31, 2016
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I never had a problem getting free work with the shop . When you tell someone that a bolt will cost you $80 is where the problem lies . People are used to walking into HD and buying a 50 cent bolt , and don't take your time into account . Use your equipment to branch out to other $$$$ avenues . Repairs to equipment etc . Think about what every homeowner has and needs . Once the word gets out , the work comes to you . You have to remember we now live in a throw away society .
When you tell someone that a bolt will cost you $80 is where the problem lies . People are used to walking into HD and buying a 50 cent bolt , and don't take your time into account . Use your equipment to branch out to other $$$$ avenues . Repairs to equipment etc . Think about what every homeowner has and needs . Once the word gets out , the work comes to you . You have to remember we now live in a throw away society .knocking on doors would probably be more effective than mailing out fliers, but fliers do occasionally work. Have some samples of your work along with business cards and you will slowly start to get some business. Local processing industries need parts all the time, one that I often recommend is the local wastewater treatment plants, they go through parts much faster than other process type industries, and the OEM parts are very expensive. Talk to the maintenance manager, they will be able to send work your way. To get work from them, you will have to be a legal business if you are not already, they are not likely to set you up as a vendor if you are not at least a sole proprietor. I see a country club in your town, they have a lot of golf carts that might need parts, maybe irrigation pumps for watering the course. Also, talk to your local hardware store, they get people in every day that are trying to fix something broken, and if they are willing to recommend you, that could be a path to some revenue for your shop. If there is a robotics club in your area, they probably need parts made and might be a source for you.
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- Jan 31, 2016
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If you've ever watched BattleBots on the tube , these guys are all sponsored by SolidWorks and Smart Cam which I thought was pretty cool . And the show wasn't too bad either .....................................beats Hallmark Christmas movies any day .
I hide in my workshop during the Christmas season so I don't have to watch the same plot for a hundredth time! My son watched those shows and I thought he would want to build something, but sadly never had the interest to join the local club. He's leaving for college in the fall, maybe my time to be a kid againIf you've ever watched BattleBots on the tube , these guys are all sponsored by SolidWorks and Smart Cam which I thought was pretty cool . And the show wasn't too bad either .....................................beats Hallmark Christmas movies any day .
Get in touch with farmers, loggers, construction type people. They always need some kind of odd thing made or altered. Work real cheap until you start to get backed up and then you can start to recover money. I did a lot of my work for a company just for the metal. I bought 2-3 times the material needed. If I made a mistake, there was extra there to make another piece without a 40 mile round trip to the supplier. If I didn't I got metal for my own projects. If I needed a special endmill or drill, the customer paid for it.