Making cash income from welding?

[Ignoramus30945]

I was talking to my friend today about TIG welding and stuff. I told
him that if he was very good at TIG welding, then he could have a nice
cash income doing stainless welding for food industry, welding on guns
etc.

I recalled paying big bucks to weld a Mosin-Nagant bent bolt many
years ago, etc.

And then I started doubting myself. So, leaving a typical question of
how to start such a business, I want to ask, is that possible to make
a decent living like this, having good clientele and welding in a
garage shop?

i

[J.B.Slocomb]

Many years ago I visited a bloke to see about buying some engine parts
that he had and there was a loud buzzing noise coming from his garage.
It turned out to be a guy welding auto header pipes with a MIG system
(the first I ever saw). When I asked the bloke I was seeing about it
he told me that he had a contract with a company to weld the headers
together. They furnished the tubes, bent to shape and the mounting
plate and he, or more accurately the fellow he hired, just welded them
together.

It might be that there is work of that nature to be had.
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Ignoramus30945" <ignoram...@NOSPAM.30945.invalid> wrote in
message

>
> And then I started doubting myself. So, leaving a typical question
> of
> how to start such a business, I want to ask, is that possible to
> make
> a decent living like this, having good clientele and welding in a
> garage shop?
>
> i

A friend of mine does, or at least stays very busy. He had to become
certified for some reason, possibly insurance.
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/education-center/welding-school/Pages/qualification-certification-training-course.aspx

Some of the projects he does could easily injure or kill people if a
weld failed, fire escape ladders for example. I got the impression
that larger shops had declined them for for liability concerns.

[Ignoramus27831]

Thanks Jim. I would not, personally, see what is so particularyl risky
about fire escape ladders, since they are usually far stronger than
they need to be, but on the other hand, I am sure that the larger
shops are not stupid.

[Steve B]

"Ignoramus30945" <ignoram...@NOSPAM.30945.invalid> wrote in message

news:N5mdnSO7qqR2657M...@giganews.com...

In short, you can do it, but it is hard to stay busy unless you are lucky or
market well.

I do somewhat of the work you are mentioning. Yesterday, I charged a guy
$100 to shorten a truck rack. 2.5 hours. I do a lot of repair welding and
fab welding for people doing projects where a big shop doesn't want to mess
with an hour job.

Then you come to the tricky part, staying busy at $25 to $100 an hour.

By the nature of the work, it is extremely difficult to gauge every job. To
tell just how long it will take. So, you charge by the hour, and some
people balk because it is open ended, and there's no firm end price. And
then, they want to watch, or worse, help, and now it takes a long time.
Therefore it is difficult to schedule a day, and have it go perfectly.

The jobs are good because they are cash, and you can work them and fishing
together nicely.

Now, to get work where you can make decent predictable stable money. They
are out there. One time, a guy came to me to weld pieces together for the
manufacture of .22 cal nail guns. It consisted of welding a simple plug,
and TIGging a small piece on top. They delivered and picked up everything.
It was sweet, and very profitable, and then they started doing it in house.

I, as well as many here, can tell you tales of guys getting sweet contracts
to provide specialty work. They ARE out there. So, to me, it comes down to
more marketing than welding. You can always get welders, but it is hard to
find someone or be someone who can find specialty work. But it can be done.
A friend of mine has some precision specialty machinery and he makes tiny
high grade screws, nuts, and bolts for tiny trains and such. He lives in a
small town on the edge of paradise up in the mountains, and UPSs his monthly
work to the buyer. The best of both worlds.

You know what you can do in the welding world. And you know that you can
hire good welders. The rub is in finding those special good paying jobs.
Start advertising and networking. Throw away your shotgun, and get a sniper
rifle. Go for just that filet mignon center target, and fergeddabout
hitting the target willy nilly.

HTH

Steve

[Sano]

Ignoramus30945 <ignoram...@NOSPAM.30945.invalid> wrote in
news:N5mdnSO7qqR2657M...@giganews.com:

I worked for a fellow who started out advertising in the Trading
Times. Repairing anything, but mostly a lot of garbage car frames. He
had a welder on a trailer and did the same mobile work for 7 years.

In some of the less appetizing neighborhoods he got paid up front. He
hooked up with a small trucking outfit for a couple of years and they
went their seperate ways.

But marketing is needed. I worked for him for a couple of years,
actually there were two of us in the shop. He was selling quite a
lot. He's still going strong 20- some years later. Owns his own
building and several more. Probably has 10-15 guys working for him.
Might even still have a chick there too.