On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:20:25 -0600, Ignoramus11878
wrote:

NOTE: This is **NOT** about me!

I have a friend, who is 50 years old, all around very handy guy, knows
how to MIG weld, generally decent at fabrication, small engine repair
etc. His English, I would say is B-. He is energetic.

He has a dream, to have a "welding business" that he would operate
from his garage. To have people stop by with their welding needs and
to pay him live money for this kind of work.

He wants to learn learn to do stainless and aluminum TIG
welding. Right now he knows only MIG and stick, mostly MIG.

His funds, shall I say are LIMITED.

I am just wondering what do you think about the prospects for that
business idea. Maybe you are, were or know someone with that sort of
business plan and know how it worked out.

I do have some opinions about it, but I will withhold them to see what
you think. I just laid out pertinent facts.

Thanks

i
Greetings Igor,
I know several people who started their machine shop in their garage.
In the Greater Seattle Area there used to be quite a demand for
machined parts because of the aerospace work. But the two guys I know
who tried to start welding businesses out of their garages failed. Not
because of poor work or zoning issues but because of low demand. One
guy I knew had a great mobile welding setup as well as a shop on his
property. He got a great deal on the mobile rig and owned it outright.
His shop was being paid for along with his mortgage and so he had that
cost whether he was in business or not. So even with low overhead, and
even though he was a very good welder, he just couldn't make it
because there were just not enough customers. I think it is likely
your friend will be looking for weld jobs from non-commercial folks,
not companies looking to get one or one hunderd objects welded. And
private folks just don't want to pay for the welding. I am in the
yellow pages as a machine shop and a weld shop. I don't get even a
dozen calls each year from regular folks needing welding. The welding
I do is usually for a farmer or the like who needs a machine repaired
ASAP. Lots of the time the welding is only for building up a worn part
that then gets machined, so the welding is almost secondary to the
real job, machine repair of a worn or broken part. Practically the
only welding I end up doing is when TIG welding is called for. Either
aluminum or stainless stuff that needs to be welded. I think your
friend really needs to learn TIG welding before he start his garage
business so that he can weld stainless and aluminum. Especially since
then he can get an idea of what the weld really costs. He has to pay
for the machine, the power, gas, welding alloys, tungstens, cups, and
so on. And he needs to know he can make welds that not only look great
but actually are great. As to MIG welding, there a lot of those little
MIG machines that guys have bought cheap from Harbor Freight and the
like. They think they can weld anything with the little machines and
so are unlikely to want to pay somebody for MIG welding. Same goes for
stick. And because it is pretty easy to make a good looking MIG weld
that's another reason why folks are unlikely to have small jobs
welded. Even though the weld isn't any good the inexperienced welder
doesn't know it is a pile of crap. I remember when a neighbor had his
MIG weld fail and asked me to re-weld the parts. When I was finished
he remarked that his welds looked as good as mine. He said "So why did
my weld fail?". I tried to tell him but he wasn't really a welder,
didn't understand what was going on when when metal was being welded,
and didn't want to listen to the necessarily lengthy description of
the process. He just bought a machine and ran some beads and figured
he knew it all. He is the type who won't seek out your friend and if
they do won't be willing to pay what it should cost. Sorry for the
long post, but I think your friend might benefit from it. If he does
go to school to learn TIG welding (I went to night class for years) he
will be a much better welder, will be able to sell himself better, and
will be able to offer more services. And he will be more able to offer
his services to commercial outfits, which pay better. Plus the extra
knowledge will help him to be more confident about his skills which
will make him more comfortable talking to customers. And most
important from a moral perspective his welds will be good welds that
will not fail under normal stresses and end up hurting someone.
I hope this help your friend.
Eric

On 2014-12-19, wrote:
On Wed, 17 Dec 2014 20:20:25 -0600, Ignoramus11878
wrote:

NOTE: This is **NOT** about me!

I have a friend, who is 50 years old, all around very handy guy, knows
how to MIG weld, generally decent at fabrication, small engine repair
etc. His English, I would say is B-. He is energetic.

He has a dream, to have a "welding business" that he would operate
from his garage. To have people stop by with their welding needs and
to pay him live money for this kind of work.

He wants to learn learn to do stainless and aluminum TIG
welding. Right now he knows only MIG and stick, mostly MIG.

His funds, shall I say are LIMITED.

I am just wondering what do you think about the prospects for that
business idea. Maybe you are, were or know someone with that sort of
business plan and know how it worked out.

I do have some opinions about it, but I will withhold them to see what
you think. I just laid out pertinent facts.

Thanks

i
Greetings Igor,
I know several people who started their machine shop in their garage.
In the Greater Seattle Area there used to be quite a demand for
machined parts because of the aerospace work. But the two guys I know
who tried to start welding businesses out of their garages failed. Not
because of poor work or zoning issues but because of low demand. One
guy I knew had a great mobile welding setup as well as a shop on his
property. He got a great deal on the mobile rig and owned it outright.
His shop was being paid for along with his mortgage and so he had that
cost whether he was in business or not. So even with low overhead, and
even though he was a very good welder, he just couldn't make it
because there were just not enough customers. I think it is likely
your friend will be looking for weld jobs from non-commercial folks,
not companies looking to get one or one hunderd objects welded. And
private folks just don't want to pay for the welding. I am in the
yellow pages as a machine shop and a weld shop. I don't get even a
dozen calls each year from regular folks needing welding. The welding
I do is usually for a farmer or the like who needs a machine repaired
ASAP. Lots of the time the welding is only for building up a worn part
that then gets machined, so the welding is almost secondary to the
real job, machine repair of a worn or broken part. Practically the
only welding I end up doing is when TIG welding is called for. Either
aluminum or stainless stuff that needs to be welded. I think your
friend really needs to learn TIG welding before he start his garage
business so that he can weld stainless and aluminum. Especially since
then he can get an idea of what the weld really costs. He has to pay
for the machine, the power, gas, welding alloys, tungstens, cups, and
so on. And he needs to know he can make welds that not only look great
but actually are great. As to MIG welding, there a lot of those little
MIG machines that guys have bought cheap from Harbor Freight and the
like. They think they can weld anything with the little machines and
so are unlikely to want to pay somebody for MIG welding. Same goes for
stick. And because it is pretty easy to make a good looking MIG weld
that's another reason why folks are unlikely to have small jobs
welded. Even though the weld isn't any good the inexperienced welder
doesn't know it is a pile of crap. I remember when a neighbor had his
MIG weld fail and asked me to re-weld the parts. When I was finished
he remarked that his welds looked as good as mine. He said "So why did
my weld fail?". I tried to tell him but he wasn't really a welder,
didn't understand what was going on when when metal was being welded,
and didn't want to listen to the necessarily lengthy description of
the process. He just bought a machine and ran some beads and figured
he knew it all. He is the type who won't seek out your friend and if
they do won't be willing to pay what it should cost. Sorry for the
long post, but I think your friend might benefit from it. If he does
go to school to learn TIG welding (I went to night class for years) he
will be a much better welder, will be able to sell himself better, and
will be able to offer more services. And he will be more able to offer
his services to commercial outfits, which pay better. Plus the extra
knowledge will help him to be more confident about his skills which
will make him more comfortable talking to customers. And most
important from a moral perspective his welds will be good welds that
will not fail under normal stresses and end up hurting someone.
I hope this help your friend.
Eric

I see it exactly the same. Thanks