What are your current shop hurdles, and how will you beat them?

[Cole2534]

As I get more proficient in the trade I find weird, little hang ups in my shop. These are nothing major, nothing that couldn't be overcome with brute force, but small issues that can stop a project cold.

I have some products of my own and do job shop work, light fab and short run volume, to fill the time.
Lately I've found that my lack of a mitering bandsaw is really inhibitive. I have a great square cut bandsaw but many weldments require 45's and the torch and speed square ain't always the ticket.

To solve this I'm going to make some large angle blocks to permit clamping the stock at an angle.


So what small issues have hindered your production, and how did you solve them?

 

[Bondo]

Dont waste your time building things like that.

Do yourself a favor and purchase the fireball cast iron squares. I use the large square to clamp to my bandsaw square fence to create my 45* angle. I shim the bottom of the square and I can cut 8" pipe perfectly in it.

And I never have to reset my fence.

 

[AJT]

Not a small issue, but the family business I work for has grown to 30+ employees, and basically outgrown the 2 brothers that run it. Scheduling is hour by hour for 6 machinist, 10 welders, 3 operators (burn tables, pressbrakes) Job roles have been non existent to be replaced by " all hands on deck, all the time" mentality. Not sure if its a hurdle or a 8ft stone wall.

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

My biggest issue is (still) organization - or lack of it. I wind up buying things I already have, or getting stuck in the middle of a job waiting for something I thought I had, and don't.

Shelves and benches with drawers are what's needed.

 

[Kingbob]

Not a small issue, but the family business I work for has grown to 30+ employees, and basically outgrown the 2 brothers that run it. Scheduling is hour by hour for 6 machinist, 10 welders, 3 operators (burn tables, pressbrakes) Job roles have been non existent to be replaced by " all hands on deck, all the time" mentality. Not sure if its a hurdle or a 8ft stone wall.

Perhaps that flexibility is what has allowed your shop to grow to 30+ employees?
I know it's a rough environment to work in but hour by hour scheduling means fast deliveries for the customer and if that is what your customers need, you provide it or some other smaller more flexible shop will.
Speaking from experience here and I do sympathize, I've been at it 20+ years serving the oilfield and now the power gen, refining and chemical industries. They have so much more money than time and they will drive me to an early grave or hopefully early retirement.

 

[kustomizer]

As I get more proficient in the trade I find weird, little hang ups in my shop. These are nothing major, nothing that couldn't be overcome with brute force, but small issues that can stop a project cold.

I have some products of my own and do job shop work, light fab and short run volume, to fill the time.
Lately I've found that my lack of a mitering bandsaw is really inhibitive. I have a great square cut bandsaw but many weldments require 45's and the torch and speed square ain't always the ticket.

To solve this I'm going to make some large angle blocks to permit clamping the stock at an angle.


So what small issues have hindered your production, and how did you solve them?

I don't have any pics, it was a long time ago I made a protractor from tubing. 1 leg bolted to the dead jaw of the vise with a shoulder bolt allowing it to go from flat to about 80 degrees where it hit the saw. The second leg had a shoulder bolt to the first about 2 feet up the first and the other end had a t-bolt type clamp to lock the angle to the feed table of the saw, it worked good, I would use my protractor to set it and away er go. I had to remove 1 nut to take it off the saw, my new saw cuts angles already.

 

[AJT]

You're right about the growth. We've built our brand being fast and flexible for the railroad. A large part of our work is now production of large assemblies while the family maintains that "we're still a small job shop". This was more of a result of me venting than going to the boss with the same frustrations to be told the same "work harder not smarter" solutions they've had since the 70's. I do mean work harder not smarter.

 

[SND]

Time, I still can't seem to make more of it.

 

[Cole2534]

I don't have any pics, it was a long time ago I made a protractor from tubing. 1 leg bolted to the dead jaw of the vise with a shoulder bolt allowing it to go from flat to about 80 degrees where it hit the saw. The second leg had a shoulder bolt to the first about 2 feet up the first and the other end had a t-bolt type clamp to lock the angle to the feed table of the saw, it worked good, I would use my protractor to set it and away er go. I had to remove 1 nut to take it off the saw, my new saw cuts angles already.

Ya know, I designed something like this in the past but never built it because ??????? I have enough material and time. That is now this weekend's project.

My biggest issue is (still) organization - or lack of it. I wind up buying things I already have, or getting stuck in the middle of a job waiting for something I thought I had, and don't.

Shelves and benches with drawers are what's needed.

That's also a killer for me. 25 extra of this, 0 of those....but I can't afford to drag my shop through the Lista catalog.

What I have found very useful and economical are the inserts for compartment boxes. They're available in a lof of configurations and cheap enough. Durham Mfg 229-95-16-IND $13.28 16 Compartment Box, 13-3/8"W x 2"H | Zoro.com

 

[mhajicek]

Time, I still can't seem to make more of it.

I have a pallet full of spare time in the garage. I'm saving it for retirement.

 

[CITIZEN F16]

My biggest issue is (still) organization - or lack of it. I wind up buying things I already have, or getting stuck in the middle of a job waiting for something I thought I had, and don't.

Shelves and benches with drawers are what's needed.

I am only half guilty, open shelving and well organized tooling does not cause duplication of items that don't need it. My problem is thinking I have things long since gone and there are a lot of those. I lightened the load for a move years ago. I also had items one friend borrowed and never returned then we had a falling out and I never took inventory. Pretty bad when you think you have a nice airless paint sprayer set-up you don't have. I also gave away a lot of barstock when I sold off surplus equipment and down sized. I gave away things with little scrap value, I call junk steal, back then it was only worth $60 a ton.

 

[Larry Dickman]

I have a pallet full of spare time in the garage. I'm saving it for retirement.

if I did that, I would probably trip over it and break my neck

 

[gustafson]

Someone puts a hurdle in my shop I'm firin the MF

Enough to trip over already

 

[gustafson]

Someone puts a hurdle in my shop I'm firin the MF

Enough to trip over already

 

[dalmatiangirl61]

Dont waste your time building things like that.

Do yourself a favor and purchase the fireball cast iron squares. I use the large square to clamp to my bandsaw square fence to create my 45* angle. I shim the bottom of the square and I can cut 8" pipe perfectly in it.

And I never have to reset my fence.

I think I know what you are saying, but can I get a pic? I'm less than impressed with my Wellsaw Mdl#1000 ability to cut angles, quite honestly find it a major pia. For 90 degree cuts it works great!

 

[Garwood]

Even with a mitering ,for products that need a ton of the same exact bandsaw cut, I have made fixtures that attach to my horizontal bandsaw to cut odd angles in specific parts.

 

[Job Shopper TN]

Organization. Even after previous attempts at 5S and that junk it’s still a mess. The owner is the type of guy to pull every tool out of his box possible for whatever he’s working on and wait until two days after he’s done to put everything away. That sets a great example.

Employees. We have 12 CNC machines, 6 manual lathes, 4 mills and an HBM, 3 surface grinders, two cylindrical grinders and two jig grinders. But we have three CNC operators who can set up jobs (one lathe-oriented and two mill-only), three operators who can only run parts, and two manual machinists. It’s really too much shop for too few people. But then that ONE job will come by that has to have that ONE machine that will get fired up for the first time in months…

Structure. “Wearing many hats” is for the birds unless you own the place. Everyone should know what’s expected of them and what isn’t. Otherwise it ends up with lower managers that can’t prioritize the 15 different things they get shoved off on their plate because something needs done and there’s no one to do it.

Scheduling. We’re constantly flying by the seat of our pants on lead times and scheduling work. We’ll quote two big packages a couple of days apart, give a lead time based on getting each specific package, and then be completely overloaded when we end up winning both.

Edit: This isn’t complaining, by the by. It is what it is, but this is an honest assessment of issues I see on the daily.

 

[dana gear]

As I get more proficient in the trade I find weird, little hang ups in my shop. These are nothing major, nothing that couldn't be overcome with brute force, but small issues that can stop a project cold.

I have some products of my own and do job shop work, light fab and short run volume, to fill the time.
Lately I've found that my lack of a mitering bandsaw is really inhibitive. I have a great square cut bandsaw but many weldments require 45's and the torch and speed square ain't always the ticket.

To solve this I'm going to make some large angle blocks to permit clamping the stock at an angle.


So what small issues have hindered your production, and how did you solve them?

Even in a small shop, labor and shop time are major concerns, I hate to say it but production/speed is everything. If your preforming job shop work I would strongly suggest you get a Mitering saw.
You may want to check out Ellis miter saws there a dry cutting saw but there reasonably priced.

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

Ya know, I designed something like this in the past but never built it because ??????? I have enough material and time. That is now this weekend's project.



That's also a killer for me. 25 extra of this, 0 of those....but I can't afford to drag my shop through the Lista catalog.

What I have found very useful and economical are the inserts for compartment boxes. They're available in a lof of configurations and cheap enough. Durham Mfg 229-95-16-IND $13.28 16 Compartment Box, 13-3/8"W x 2"H | Zoro.com

Thanks! I've got to check those out.

 

[DouglasJRizzo]

I am only half guilty, open shelving and well organized tooling does not cause duplication of items that don't need it. My problem is thinking I have things long since gone and there are a lot of those. I lightened the load for a move years ago. I also had items one friend borrowed and never returned then we had a falling out and I never took inventory. Pretty bad when you think you have a nice airless paint sprayer set-up you don't have. I also gave away a lot of barstock when I sold off surplus equipment and down sized. I gave away things with little scrap value, I call junk steal, back then it was only worth $60 a ton.

At my last move I wound up tossing some stuff I really shouldn't have. So I hear you there. The one good thing, was, I was able to pick up a new customer, as they saw the machines coming in!