On Saturday, February 15, 2014 12:47:09 PM UTC-8, Tom Gardner wrote:
I recently befriended two guys that started up a machine shop and they
also do stampings on a couple of old presses. Nice guys, and they have
done stuff for me that I was too busy or machines tied up. Their work
was OK and the price was right.

They are pretty hungry and are looking for work to pay the bills. What
kink of jobs would be the easiest for them to find and what kind of jobs
would be the most lucrative?

Those sorts of jobs are surprisingly numerous. I have talked to many small shop machinists in recent years. Many have shared their own experience in making their shops pay for themselves. One guy had a friend who worked for a railroad. That railroad needed a simple aluminum adapter for a surverying tripod. He had a couple samples. they said "Fine, I'll take 300".. and they kept coming back for more until he was tired of it.
A friend of mine was at a compressor shop and mentioned he had machine tools. The shop owner asked if he could bore cylinders. Seems they were paying several hundred each to ship them out of state since no one Dallas or Fort Worth would do them.
So as suggested above, spread those business cards around. Medical labs are good. Have samples of your best work to show when someone shows interest.