DIYbanter - View Single Post

mike[_22_]

On 1/8/2013 6:39 PM, wrote:
On Mon, 07 Jan 2013 17:25:19 -0800, wrote:

[...]

Nice work.

Thank you.

Isn't the dissimilar metal problem gonna pop up sooner or later?
Steel is gonna rust.
What's the cost differential for making the whole disk out of brass?

Sounds like the goop was working??

I have had no problem with the glued pieces even after a relatively
long period of time (indoors) and with relatively little surface
finish protection (wax or even just Autosol). The dramatic part in
this case was the rust appearing in less than 24 hours.

The Goop works fine (the *only* glue that would do the job BTW!) but
it can take up to 72 hours to cure completely and allow machining.

As to the economics of the whole thing it is kind of complex: To get a
similar size dial (2.5" diameter, 3/16" thick) the cheapest way would
be to buy 2.5" round brass and slice it up. A very rough calculation
making all kinds of assumptions about machining losses shows that my
way is about 30% cheaper. I use 1" washers so a lot of cutting is
already done. I could bring the cost down even further if I could get
mild steel disks stamped out but when I tried this (at ridiculous
shipping costs) it did not prove to be a free lunch either.

I have done many all-steel dials, too, and people seem to like them
just as much as the brass ones. However, in the current economy,
selling them at prices that would barely cover the costs is proving
difficult. Hence I am looking for different methods of making them. It
is a slow process :-)

Michael Koblic,
Campbell River, BC

At the risk of stating the obvious...what are you marketing?

A timepiece?
A gift item that ends up in a drawer?
A mantle piece that gets viewed from afar?
A delivery vehicle for some time-related corporate catch phrase
or call to action?
A "quality item" that sits on your desk in the corner office
to be admired and handled as a status symbol, much like your Rolex?

You might be able to get away with a sawed-off section of plastic pipe
instead
of the steel disk. Maybe you can't see the pipe section at all.

While cost reduction is an admirable goal, it's sometimes helpful
to start with a clean slate and try to meet the need with a slightly
different, lower-cost design.

Don't overlook the opportunity to hook on price and upsell to the
quality item.