mobile welders

[Powerstroked]

True, I somehow doubt she is making a mortgage payment on a $2m house with $1300 artwork. Unless shes got an assembly line in her garage.

[mattbrissey]

Hey i didnt know you wasnt a guy, sorry about that just trying to get some of these people who want to act like someone pissed in their cornflakes to calm down a little when asked a honest question didnt see anything wrong with the question asked. sorry if offended

[davedarragh]

1. I am not a "guy"
2. I have been welding since 1987. I quit my engineering job to become an artist full time in 1992.
3. I'm on my second mig welder and 2nd and 3rd plasma cutters (am usually too busy to allow down time for repairs). I also have a band saw, pipe bender, drill press and a roller.
4. I do live in north Scottsdale in a private golf development where the average home price is over $2 million. Of the 600 lots in the development, I have done metal work for over 50 of them from fixing a broken weld on patio furniture to entry gates, f/p screens, lighting, and art pieces and more. Because I do not screw my "rich" clients, they keep introducing me to their neighbors. I have also made tee markers for the golf course for specific tournaments.
5. If anybody was curious enough, you could have looked in the Miller projects section to see some of my work.
6. I was a finalist in the Miller Challenge 2 years ago.
7. The glass person in the project that started this whole discussion is my "partner". We do a few joint projects with metal and fused glass. Her husband (a retired mover) packed the project and shipped it UPS. It was damaged in shipping. My partner offered to pay half the repair cost because she didn't want the hassle of going after UPS for damage. The piece had been made, handled thru powder coat, hauled around and packed. The weld was fine before it was shipped.
8. Thanks to the few who really did answer my question.
cat

CAT: Troon, Ashler Hills? That's nice you could quit a full time engineering job to pursue an art passion. If you've ever had the need to call an A/C, appliance, plummer or other mobile repairman, you know they have a "base" price for a service call. When one makes a LIVING through their trade, it's a matter of survival. When one elects to SUPPLEMENT their income with a "hobby" (e.g. artwork), economics are not the forefront, but rather secondary to their survival.

I'm very familiar with N. Scottsdale, the homes, clientel, etc. I did quite a bit of work up there in the late 90's.

Is MIG your only source of machine? You may want to consider a nice inverter TIG for your artwork. Better welds, less apt to break.

No one's "busting your chops," here, but as an engineer, you should have a better understanding of "the cost of doing business" than the average "Joe the Plummer." But, then again, "Joe the Plummer," is actually out there doing the work, trying to survive!

Have a nice day

Dave in Peoria

[crawdaddy]

CAT: Troon, Ashler Hills? That's nice you could quit a full time engineering job to pursue an art passion. If you've ever had the need to call an A/C, appliance, plummer or other mobile repairman, you know they have a "base" price for a service call. When one makes a LIVING through their trade, it's a matter of survival. When one elects to SUPPLEMENT their income with a "hobby" (e.g. artwork), economics are not the forefront, but rather secondary to their survival.

I'm very familiar with N. Scottsdale, the homes, clientel, etc. I did quite a bit of work up there in the late 90's.

Is MIG your only source of machine? You may want to consider a nice inverter TIG for your artwork. Better welds, less apt to break.

No one's "busting your chops," here, but as an engineer, you should have a better understanding of "the cost of doing business" than the average "Joe the Plummer." But, then again, "Joe the Plummer," is actually out there doing the work, trying to survive!

Have a nice day

Dave in Peoria

I know a few Joe the plumbers who are in the upper 5 to to 1% of income earners and thats the way it should be ,Thats what makes our system great if you have the drive regardless of what your occupation you can do very well.Mike

[Sberry]

While pricing gives everyone the fits it is one of the most interesting aspects of any business. Some good stuff in this thread.

[FusionKing]

When I was in the engine building and machine shop business I was always getting the work because I had the reputation and gave a good warranty.
I was too cheap. I can see that now. I scoffed at the high priced competition. I literally worked my tail into the ground untill I was sick of it. Never had enuff money.
If I had raised my prices according to what I now know, I would be much farther ahead today than I am. I had the business and people would have payed for ME to do the work...I know that now.
I wonder just how much of this the teach you in college?

[crawdaddy]

If your running a business you not only need to be charging enough to add new equipment to your shop and pay the shop overhead.You need to be making enough to pay all your personal bills and expenses without carrying any major debt,On top of that you need to be making enough profit to invest for your retirement whether it be An IRA or real estate whatever you choose.If you cant charge enough for that then you might as well have a job and work for someone else. I would bet there are a lot of welders out there who could raise their prices 25-30% from the current rate and their customers would not even blink.Mike

[crawdaddy]

One more thing I didnt clarify,IMO an advertising budget (included in shop overhead) is an important aspect of a business.You see the shops with the biggest ads in the phone book?If you see those same ads there year after year its because they work for them and they are probably getting the lions share of the work,for a lions share price.Phone books are expensive and there are a whole lot of other options out there,but IMO advertising is a big part of any succesful business.Mike

[FATFAB]

1. I am not a "guy"
2. I have been welding since 1987. I quit my engineering job to become an artist full time in 1992.
3. I'm on my second mig welder and 2nd and 3rd plasma cutters (am usually too busy to allow down time for repairs). I also have a band saw, pipe bender, drill press and a roller.
4. I do live in north Scottsdale in a private golf development where the average home price is over $2 million. Of the 600 lots in the development, I have done metal work for over 50 of them from fixing a broken weld on patio furniture to entry gates, f/p screens, lighting, and art pieces and more. Because I do not screw my "rich" clients, they keep introducing me to their neighbors. I have also made tee markers for the golf course for specific tournaments.
5. If anybody was curious enough, you could have looked in the Miller projects section to see some of my work.
6. I was a finalist in the Miller Challenge 2 years ago.
7. The glass person in the project that started this whole discussion is my "partner". We do a few joint projects with metal and fused glass. Her husband (a retired mover) packed the project and shipped it UPS. It was damaged in shipping. My partner offered to pay half the repair cost because she didn't want the hassle of going after UPS for damage. The piece had been made, handled thru powder coat, hauled around and packed. The weld was fine before it was shipped.
8. Thanks to the few who really did answer my question.
cat

Who cares what $ex you are? How is that related to this thread? We are all writing under some pseudonym (most) anyway.

You may not be screwing your rich clients but you surely are screwing yourself.

You chastise us for not being curious enough to find your Laurel Wreath? This smacks of arrogance of the rich.


That the weld was fine before shipping means nothing, it needed to be strong enough to survive shipping not just make it into the box.


You received 6 pages of answers that really did address you and your issue. The ones that did not give you the warm fuzzy you were looking for are the ones you should go back and reread. The prickly feeling is that fickle finger of fate telling you to listen.

[Badd00SS]

In Florida west coast $50.00-$75.00 mobile service, based on one hour to do the job with travel time included....

Bob

I Charge $90/ hour shop rate, and $125/ hour portable.. The guy I learned from charges $100 shop rate, $ 200 portable. Every portable job is two guys though for him....

You cant give stuff away anymore, gas is expensive, **** everything is expensive, especially here on Long Island.