pmtool
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Jul 10, 2011
- Location
- Portland, OR
I am by no means an expert but I have learned some things the hard way. Life is better now vs when I started. I am a slow learner. Hopefully other shop owners will post quick and short advice for others starting or thinking about starting small shops.
Here is my list:
1. Watch your cost on building leases. Seeing what you give to the landlord each year hurts. Life is so much better for me after I built my own shop building.
2. Buy cnc machines with automation. I am taking bar loaders, chip conveyors, live tooling and y axis in the case of lathes. 4th axis for vmcs or perhaps pick up a horizontal instead. 2nd ops, deburring, chip shoveling, bar loading are a insane time suck. If you buy smart used these things don't even have to cost you much. Having a machine spit out parts complete while you mow the lawn is amazing, standing in front of a machine loading slugs is not.
3. Buy used and avoid debt on machines, learn or know how to fix them if you need to. If you have the work and employees than maybe new makes sense if you have the thing running constantly. I can get so much capacity for so little money used that for me it is the answer.
4. Either avoid fussy work or charge a ton for it. Doing tight tolerance or tricky prototype stuff because I can has never paid me well, or more than likely I never charged enough for it. On that note charge more than you think you should. I bet the first few years I could have charged close to double and not lost much work. Can't get that money or time back.
5. Fire a customer every once in a while. Not everyone is a good match. Getting rid of the ones that suck your time for little return is liberating.
Here is my list:
1. Watch your cost on building leases. Seeing what you give to the landlord each year hurts. Life is so much better for me after I built my own shop building.
2. Buy cnc machines with automation. I am taking bar loaders, chip conveyors, live tooling and y axis in the case of lathes. 4th axis for vmcs or perhaps pick up a horizontal instead. 2nd ops, deburring, chip shoveling, bar loading are a insane time suck. If you buy smart used these things don't even have to cost you much. Having a machine spit out parts complete while you mow the lawn is amazing, standing in front of a machine loading slugs is not.
3. Buy used and avoid debt on machines, learn or know how to fix them if you need to. If you have the work and employees than maybe new makes sense if you have the thing running constantly. I can get so much capacity for so little money used that for me it is the answer.
4. Either avoid fussy work or charge a ton for it. Doing tight tolerance or tricky prototype stuff because I can has never paid me well, or more than likely I never charged enough for it. On that note charge more than you think you should. I bet the first few years I could have charged close to double and not lost much work. Can't get that money or time back.
5. Fire a customer every once in a while. Not everyone is a good match. Getting rid of the ones that suck your time for little return is liberating.