# My first real paying job (kind-of)



## Surprman (Jan 27, 2015)

A friend at work does some work with high end mountain bikes.  I mentioned that I just put together a small machine shop and he asked if I could make a few parts for him.  I was looking for something to practice  on so we settled on a price of $50 plus material cost for the whole thing.  It was a fun project; mainly turning on the lathe. I even got to do some threading (right and left hand!). I polished up the parts (aluminum) with Mothers mag wheel polish.  It took me several hours for the whole job (I'm pretty new to machining so I'm slowish).  It was fun.  I think my friend feels bad that he is getting the parts so cheap, so he volunteered to buy me a machinists handbook (I need one so I didn't decline  )
(The large cylinder in the photo was given to me to test the fit of the end pieces.)
Rick


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## kd4gij (Jan 27, 2015)

Looks good and you may get more work from him.


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## pebbleworm (Jan 27, 2015)

What bike part is it?  A bottom bracket?


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## Reeltor (Jan 27, 2015)

A good friend who recognized that you did a nice job 
and got you a Machinist Handbook :thumbzup3:


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## Dubbie (Jan 29, 2015)

Don't feel bad that it took you a few hours. Doing something one off always takes longer. Especially threading and cutting precision fits. Nice job!


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## XXXXX (Jan 29, 2015)

Good work and really nice polish! May I ask what the parts are used for?


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## Surprman (Jan 29, 2015)

Thanks all!  The main sleeve goes into the hole at the bottom of the bike (where the pedals go in) I don't know much more than that- my friend gave me drawings and I made the parts to that.  

Again, it was fun and he surprised me by paying me more than we had  agreed to (like a bonus!). He does want me to do more stuff for him in the future.

Rick


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## herbet999 (Jan 29, 2015)

Surprman said:


> ...  It took me several hours for the whole job (I'm pretty new to machining so I'm slowish).  It was fun...



Paid to have fun... you can't beat that.


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## Ulma Doctor (Jan 29, 2015)

:thumbsup2:
sweet work, plus a bonus i'd say you did great!!!

sometimes the work is more satisfying than the pay.
thanks for sharing
mike)


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## AR1911 (Jan 29, 2015)

Nice work!   Kinda cool to get paid for you fun, isn't it?

As for polishing, do yourself a favor and buy a HF 6" polisher. You will drop that Mother's in the tra...Wait, you can use it with the polisher.  Best $50 I've spent.


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## GarageGuy (Jan 30, 2015)

I love earning a little side-line money to support my hobby.  Finding something that you can make that other people need is a very cool thing.  Little by little, you will improve your efficiency and reduce your time spent on each one.

:thumbzup3:

GG


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## Shadowdog500 (Jan 30, 2015)

Looks like you did a great job!

You will definitely have more jobs to follow.

Chris


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## Pontiac Freak (Jan 30, 2015)

AR1911 said:


> Nice work!   Kinda cool to get paid for you fun, isn't it?
> 
> As for polishing, do yourself a favor and buy a HF 6" polisher. You will drop that Mother's in the tra...Wait, you can use it with the polisher.  Best $50 I've spent.



Do you have a model # of the one you like?


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## Shadowdog500 (Jan 30, 2015)

Pontiac Freak said:


> Do you have a model # of the one you like?



If its this one, now is the time to buy,  it's on sale.  If you use a 20% coupon its $31. http://t.harborfreight.com/6-inch-buffer-94393.html?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/

For that price, I'm going to get one myself.

chris


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