# $3.oo part in 3 hours



## epanzella (Jun 22, 2021)

A good friend had a broken nylon part on his shower door which (of course) is no longer made. After parting off a slice of 3 inch aluminum bar stock I had a shiny new $3.00 part a mere 3 hours later


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## Ulma Doctor (Jun 22, 2021)

Nice copy!


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## SLK001 (Jun 22, 2021)

3 hours?  Must have had many coffee breaks!  Your new part should outlast the door!


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## FOMOGO (Jun 22, 2021)

Some times the little parts take longer than the big ones. Nice job. Mike


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## Karl_T (Jun 22, 2021)

SLK001 said:


> 3 hours?  Must have had many coffee breaks!  Your new part should outlast the door!


 Na, that's all setup time. 20 minutes to setup, 20 seconds to cut, then next tool. ya da ya da


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## epanzella (Jun 22, 2021)

SLK001 said:


> 3 hours?  Must have had many coffee breaks!  Your new part should outlast the door!


I dunno, I thought 3 hours was good! Tuff little part to hold without lots of setups. That slot was too deep for my little end mills to reach from each end so I had to use a .110 drill in the deepest part and then go almost to it with a thin T-slot cutter. Then I had to file out the sliver between the drilled and milled holes. I still would rather just pay the 3 bucks!


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## Bourbon (Jun 22, 2021)

But it will last longer


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## markba633csi (Jun 22, 2021)

One of those Big "Little" jobs
A 3D printer would be perfect for that, then you'd only spend 5 hours programming and another hour to print it
-M


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## talvare (Jun 22, 2021)

I'm confused. Isn't that normal ?

Ted


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## vocatexas (Jun 22, 2021)

I heard it said one time that machining is a hobby where you use $20,000 worth of equipment to make $2.00 parts!


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## Shotgun (Jun 24, 2021)

epanzella said:


> A good friend had a broken nylon part on his shower door which (of course) is no longer made. After parting off a slice of 3 inch aluminum bar stock I had a shiny new $3.00 part a mere 3 hours later


Was it three hours to make a part, or three hours to learn to make a part.

Education is expensive, in both time and money.


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## epanzella (Jun 25, 2021)

I suppose you always learn something building a part but I spent considerable time thinking about holding and order of operations before starting the job. I didn't include that in the 3 hours because I was doing other things at the same time.


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## Shootymacshootface (Jun 25, 2021)

I'd like to think that I am capable of making just about anything, but If I had to do this for a living I would definitely starve to death  s l o w l y.


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## middle.road (Jun 25, 2021)

Only (3) hours? Would have taken me an entire shift...


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## martik777 (Jun 25, 2021)

It's not a $3 part if it is no longer available for sale.  I've made many discontinued parts for friends/customers over the years ie: Austin Healey carb linkages that would cost $100's at a pro machine shop


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## brino (Jun 25, 2021)

martik777 said:


> It's not a $3 part if it is no longer available for sale. I've made many discontinued parts for friends/customers over the years ie: Austin Healey carb linkages that would cost $100's at a pro machine shop



Great post and I absolutely agree!

What's the cost of a new tub surround and installation?
$2000?

I just gotta learn to apply the same thinking to my own projects!
-brino


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## middle.road (Jun 25, 2021)

brino said:


> Great post and I absolutely agree!
> 
> What's the cost of a new tub surround and installation?
> $2000?
> ...


Are you saying that you'll do the tub surround installation that I promised Honey several years ago, for $2K? Is that CDN or USD?
What about travel expenses?


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## brino (Jun 25, 2021)

middle.road said:


> Are you saying that you'll do the tub surround installation that I promised Honey several years ago, for $2K? Is that CDN or USD?
> What about travel expenses?



Okay, so big tub, marble, radiant heat, 12 jets?
Alright, Maryville, where's that? 

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Alm...914a2ecd5161e0!2m2!1d-83.9704593!2d35.7564719

So, a 15 hour drive with tolls...... Or a $935/seat flight.... need another seat for my tools.....is that USD$ or CAD$?

Let's say USD $20,000, because we're friends.

I could fit you in about October.
What day is good for you?

-brino


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## martik777 (Jun 25, 2021)

brino said:


> What's the cost of a new tub surround and installation?
> $2000?
> 
> I just gotta learn to apply the same thinking to my own projects!
> -brino


Well, I did 3 full bathrooms, floor and tub/shower surround for < $500 with 12" tiles on sale, no jets, no heat


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## middle.road (Jun 26, 2021)

brino said:


> Okay, so big tub, marble, radiant heat, 12 jets?
> Alright, Maryville, where's that?
> 
> https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Alm...914a2ecd5161e0!2m2!1d-83.9704593!2d35.7564719
> ...


LMAO!  You also got a good hearty laugh from Honey.
I picked up one of these at Lowe's a few years ago. The bottom piece was dinged in the corner and I scored it for $25.
Had to purchase the 'wall' kit. Still don't have a door for it. 
Structural and plumbing issues with this old house have (ahem) delayed installation. 
It's going to require some major work to redo the two bathrooms. (they're side by side)
We also have an old cast iron clawfoot that we scored from a demo (6) years ago that Honey would like to have installed.
I just have to get my act together sometime.


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## epanzella (Jun 26, 2021)

I scratch built my tilt bed boat trailer with an 8500 lb winch so it launches and retrieves virtually hands off. A dozen people have asked me if I would build them one so I sat down one day and figured time and materials. At a time when you could buy a new trailer for four grand, I figured I would have to charge ten to even make a modest wage for my hours. Besides, I really enjoy fabricating something once. The second time it's more like a job. (shudder)


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## Shootymacshootface (Jun 27, 2021)

middle.road said:


> LMAO!  You also got a good hearty laugh from Honey.
> I picked up one of these at Lowe's a few years ago. The bottom piece was dinged in the corner and I scored it for $25.
> Had to purchase the 'wall' kit. Still don't have a door for it.
> Structural and plumbing issues with this old house have (ahem) delayed installation.
> ...


That would make a great spray booth.


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## middle.road (Jun 29, 2021)

epanzella said:


> I scratch built my tilt bed boat trailer with an 8500 lb winch so it launches and retrieves virtually hands off. A dozen people have asked me if I would build them one so I sat down one day and figured time and materials. At a time when you could buy a new trailer for four grand, I figured I would have to charge ten to even make a modest wage for my hours. Besides, I really enjoy fabricating something once. The second time it's more like a job. (shudder)
> View attachment 370272
> View attachment 370273
> 
> ...


That is an ingenious idea, especially for a boat that size. That would sure take the stress out of loading/unloading.


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## alloy (Jun 29, 2021)

$3 for 3 hours, dang.  How did you work it to get paid so well?


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## Janderso (Jun 29, 2021)

3 hours seams reasonable 
Everything I do seems to take way too long and then I look at all the tools and mess I made!


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## epanzella (Jun 29, 2021)

middle.road said:


> That is an ingenious idea, especially for a boat that size. That would sure take the stress out of loading/unloading.


Being a retired building contractor, I got the idea for the trailer design from the tilt bed trucks  picking up 30 yard dumpsters on my jobsites. My theory is;  Build trailers when you're young, Push buttons when you're old! I built that trailer in 2004. I use at least  twice a week all season long and it and it still works great.


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## tpic402 (Jul 10, 2021)

epanzella said:


> A good friend had a broken nylon part on his shower door which (of course) is no longer made. After parting off a slice of 3 inch aluminum bar stock I had a shiny new $3.00 part a mere 3 hours later


Had to make a washer one day, wife asked what is that?  I replied "a ten thousand dollar washer, look at the money I am saving buying all this stuff".


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## Suzuki4evr (Jul 10, 2021)

FOMOGO said:


> Some


SOMETIMES??????? Mike don't you mean almost always?


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## mpoore10 (Jul 10, 2021)

How much is a new door? That is the value of the part.


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## epanzella (Jul 10, 2021)

mpoore10 said:


> How much is a new door? That is the value of the part.


The guy's a good friend who's ALWAYS front and center if I need something. Saying no, saying maybe, saying later are not options. THAT is the value of the part.


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## martik777 (Jul 10, 2021)

My outdoor umbrella tilt mechanism's push button "key" broke so I milled a replacement from steel and attached it to the existing button with a 2.5mm screw. Photo is sample of what the key looks like on the right. Probably saved $150 over the price of a new umbrella.


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## Suzuki4evr (Jul 10, 2021)

epanzella said:


> The guy's a good friend who's ALWAYS front and center if I need something. Saying no, saying maybe, saying later are not options. THAT is the value of the part.



That is a very good valuation.


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## Shotgun (Jul 11, 2021)

I put in a concrete walkway, so that I can no longer use the Xterra to pull my trailer around to the back of my toolshed. Tried puling it with the riding mower using the chains, but it ended up pushing me down the hill. So today I turned the shank of an old hitch ball down so that it would fit the back of the John Deere.

I don't know how much that is worth, because I'm not sure you can buy them.


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