Humps823
Plastic
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2016
- Location
- Divide Colorado
I’m sure this has been answered before, but I want some real input into my specific situation.
I’m a pretty versatile machinist, and I’m in my 19th year of cutting chips. I started in my dad’s shop when I was 12. I’ve worked as an hvac and facilities maintenance guy, and I’ve also held a mechanical design position as well. Also, my wife and I started a photography business 5 years ago that’s now making 6 figures. I just went back and got a job machining again, not for the money, but because I’m good at it and I enjoy it, as long as I’m not working in a sweatshop for morons. A mechanic has never touched any vehicle I’ve ever owned. I say all this not to be cocky, but to communicate that I’m not scared to try stuff or get my hands dirty to make sure that things keep rolling. I know that there’s TONS that I don’t know (that probably should scare me).
I’d thrown around the idea 5 years ago of starting my own shop, but when I compared the overhead of starting a shop to the cost of one camera... photography obviously won. Since then I’ve learned a WHOLE lot more and I’m glad I didn’t start the shop I’d planned back then.
I will only start this at the speed of cash, I will absolutely not take on any debt whatsoever. I’m a Dave Ramsey fan and those principles are what has made our other business so successful- we don’t owe anyone anything and never have and never will.
My thoughts are to buy a good knee mill and a good engine lathe, and retrofit them later on with a Siemens 828D kit. I have run just about every controller out there, and Siemens is hands down best. For the work I want to do, I want at least 60” between centers and 15” swing on the lathe, and I won’t be doing more than 2axis simultaneous with the mill, so a CNC knee mill is what I want.
I just want to know from all the one man shop owners out there what I need to consider that I’m not considering. What’s a good introduction shop rate for a guy like me? I don’t expect it to ever make what photography does, but I want to make more than what I’m making working for someone else. It’s pretty discouraging when my wife books one wedding and it pays 1.5X what I make in a month. And I make close to top machinist dollar.
So, in a nutshell, I want to build this from the ground up without ever borrowing money. I’m totally cool with renting machine time and starting super small. I just want to do this as smart and strategically as possible. The goal is to replace my income 2 years from now.
I’m a pretty versatile machinist, and I’m in my 19th year of cutting chips. I started in my dad’s shop when I was 12. I’ve worked as an hvac and facilities maintenance guy, and I’ve also held a mechanical design position as well. Also, my wife and I started a photography business 5 years ago that’s now making 6 figures. I just went back and got a job machining again, not for the money, but because I’m good at it and I enjoy it, as long as I’m not working in a sweatshop for morons. A mechanic has never touched any vehicle I’ve ever owned. I say all this not to be cocky, but to communicate that I’m not scared to try stuff or get my hands dirty to make sure that things keep rolling. I know that there’s TONS that I don’t know (that probably should scare me).
I’d thrown around the idea 5 years ago of starting my own shop, but when I compared the overhead of starting a shop to the cost of one camera... photography obviously won. Since then I’ve learned a WHOLE lot more and I’m glad I didn’t start the shop I’d planned back then.
I will only start this at the speed of cash, I will absolutely not take on any debt whatsoever. I’m a Dave Ramsey fan and those principles are what has made our other business so successful- we don’t owe anyone anything and never have and never will.
My thoughts are to buy a good knee mill and a good engine lathe, and retrofit them later on with a Siemens 828D kit. I have run just about every controller out there, and Siemens is hands down best. For the work I want to do, I want at least 60” between centers and 15” swing on the lathe, and I won’t be doing more than 2axis simultaneous with the mill, so a CNC knee mill is what I want.
I just want to know from all the one man shop owners out there what I need to consider that I’m not considering. What’s a good introduction shop rate for a guy like me? I don’t expect it to ever make what photography does, but I want to make more than what I’m making working for someone else. It’s pretty discouraging when my wife books one wedding and it pays 1.5X what I make in a month. And I make close to top machinist dollar.
So, in a nutshell, I want to build this from the ground up without ever borrowing money. I’m totally cool with renting machine time and starting super small. I just want to do this as smart and strategically as possible. The goal is to replace my income 2 years from now.