I got a call this morning from a guy with a broken tractor part . This is
a clutch hub for a PTO , hydraulic actuatuion . The problem is that
something else broke and the clutch over-pressurized like 12X normal . The
pressure blew the lip (picture a sleeve about 2" OD with a groove around one
end) that retains the o-ring right off the hub ! The fix was to build back
the lost material with the TIG and some ER70S2 mild steel rod then machine
it back to spec . The only snag in the project was getting a bushing out
before I built it back up , trashed the original and had to machine a new
one .
I had a great day , stretched my skills and made some money to boot .
--
Snag
And right now there's bread in the oven for "loose meat"* sandwiches for
dinner .
* A mix of ground beef , 'shrooms . onions . scrambled egg and spices
served on a hoagy-type bun with horseradish sauce .

On 6/16/2015 7:14 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
I got a call this morning from a guy with a broken tractor part . This is
a clutch hub for a PTO , hydraulic actuatuion . The problem is that
something else broke and the clutch over-pressurized like 12X normal . The
pressure blew the lip (picture a sleeve about 2" OD with a groove around one
end) that retains the o-ring right off the hub ! The fix was to build back
the lost material with the TIG and some ER70S2 mild steel rod then machine
it back to spec . The only snag in the project was getting a bushing out
before I built it back up , trashed the original and had to machine a new
one .
I had a great day , stretched my skills and made some money to boot .



Nothing as satisfying as that feeling of accomplishment!

Great job Terry!

i

On 2015-06-18, Tom Gardner wrote:
On 6/16/2015 7:14 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
I got a call this morning from a guy with a broken tractor part . This is
a clutch hub for a PTO , hydraulic actuatuion . The problem is that
something else broke and the clutch over-pressurized like 12X normal . The
pressure blew the lip (picture a sleeve about 2" OD with a groove around one
end) that retains the o-ring right off the hub ! The fix was to build back
the lost material with the TIG and some ER70S2 mild steel rod then machine
it back to spec . The only snag in the project was getting a bushing out
before I built it back up , trashed the original and had to machine a new
one .
I had a great day , stretched my skills and made some money to boot .



Nothing as satisfying as that feeling of accomplishment!

Ignoramus9441 wrote:
Great job Terry!

i

On 2015-06-18, Tom Gardner wrote:
On 6/16/2015 7:14 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
I got a call this morning from a guy with a broken tractor part
snipped
I had a great day , stretched my
skills and made some money to boot .



Nothing as satisfying as that feeling of accomplishment!


Thanks guys , I love it when something comes out as well as this project
did . The part was heat treated , gear teeth and seal surfaces , so I packed
the whole thing except the area I was building up in wet sand . Worked out
well , the HAZ was a narrow band just behind the o-ring groove when I was
finished . The shop foreman at the tractor dealer liked it ... I think they
may send more business my way .
--
Snag

"Terry Coombs" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus9441 wrote:
Great job Terry!

i

On 2015-06-18, Tom Gardner wrote:
On 6/16/2015 7:14 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
I got a call this morning from a guy with a broken tractor
part
snipped
I had a great day , stretched my
skills and made some money to boot .



Nothing as satisfying as that feeling of accomplishment!


Thanks guys , I love it when something comes out as well as this
project did . The part was heat treated , gear teeth and seal
surfaces , so I packed the whole thing except the area I was
building up in wet sand . Worked out well , the HAZ was a narrow
band just behind the o-ring groove when I was finished . The shop
foreman at the tractor dealer liked it ... I think they may send
more business my way .
--
Snag

In general experience, what's the liability risk when a hobbyist
without business insurance repairs something that failed in service?

I've been turning down most requests to fix stuff, other than getting
a stubborn engine to start or bolting in a new commercial part. Asking
if they have the shop manual is enough to send them elsewhere.

-jsw

Jim Wilkins wrote:
"Terry Coombs" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus9441 wrote:
Great job Terry!

i

On 2015-06-18, Tom Gardner wrote:
On 6/16/2015 7:14 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
I got a call this morning from a guy with a broken tractor
part
snipped
I had a great day , stretched my
skills and made some money to boot .



Nothing as satisfying as that feeling of accomplishment!


Thanks guys , I love it when something comes out as well as this
project did . The part was heat treated , gear teeth and seal
surfaces , so I packed the whole thing except the area I was
building up in wet sand . Worked out well , the HAZ was a narrow
band just behind the o-ring groove when I was finished . The shop
foreman at the tractor dealer liked it ... I think they may send
more business my way .
--
Snag

In general experience, what's the liability risk when a hobbyist
without business insurance repairs something that failed in service?

I've been turning down most requests to fix stuff, other than getting
a stubborn engine to start or bolting in a new commercial part. Asking
if they have the shop manual is enough to send them elsewhere.

-jsw

In this case liability is minimal , I think . This failure was due to
another part breaking , and this part is deep inside the PTO drive . Worst
case if my repair fails is loss of some oil and the PTO quits working .
Everybody seems happy , the charge was under 200 bucks to repair a part that
goes for $2800 ...

--
Snag

On 06/19/2015 7:44 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
....

In general experience, what's the liability risk when a hobbyist
without business insurance repairs something that failed in service?

I've been turning down most requests to fix stuff, other than getting
a stubborn engine to start or bolting in a new commercial part. Asking
if they have the shop manual is enough to send them elsewhere.

Realistically, probably not terribly great risk _probability_; on the
other hand, if have no insurance and are working as individual without
the protection of a corporate structure to protect personal assets from
those of the business then _everything_ is at risk if you do happen to
get an [proverbial appendage adjective] type of client and they decide
to come after you.

Of course, the likelihood of them being successful and getting a large
judgement would be dependent upon the type of damage suffered and
whether you could show the repair was done in a "workmanlike" fashion,
etc., etc., etc., ... but the onus would be on you and you'd have to be
the one to pay the bills to defend the case and all. If you win you can
probably get judgement against the other guy for costs but then
collecting that is likely going to be iff...

So, all in all, you're probably right in not doing anything for other
than the minimal and as casual labor...while it's not likely, the
ramifications can be serious. OTOH, most folks are reasonable; the
problem you never can know a priori what may transpire...

On Fri, 19 Jun 2015 08:02:20 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

Jim Wilkins wrote:
"Terry Coombs" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus9441 wrote:
Great job Terry!

i

On 2015-06-18, Tom Gardner wrote:
On 6/16/2015 7:14 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
I got a call this morning from a guy with a broken tractor
part
snipped
I had a great day , stretched my
skills and made some money to boot .



Nothing as satisfying as that feeling of accomplishment!


Thanks guys , I love it when something comes out as well as this
project did . The part was heat treated , gear teeth and seal
surfaces , so I packed the whole thing except the area I was
building up in wet sand . Worked out well , the HAZ was a narrow
band just behind the o-ring groove when I was finished . The shop
foreman at the tractor dealer liked it ... I think they may send
more business my way .
--
Snag

In general experience, what's the liability risk when a hobbyist
without business insurance repairs something that failed in service?

I've been turning down most requests to fix stuff, other than getting
a stubborn engine to start or bolting in a new commercial part. Asking
if they have the shop manual is enough to send them elsewhere.

-jsw

In this case liability is minimal , I think . This failure was due to
another part breaking , and this part is deep inside the PTO drive . Worst
case if my repair fails is loss of some oil and the PTO quits working .
Everybody seems happy , the charge was under 200 bucks to repair a part that
goes for $2800 ...

Are you sure you're asking enough money to ply your skillsets, Terry?
Didn't you diagnose, grind, weld, mill, groove, and fit those parts?

Yes, I'm sure they were happy with that price. g

--
Find out what people will submit to, and you have found out the
exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.
--Frederick Douglass

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jun 2015 08:02:20 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

In this case liability is minimal , I think . This failure was due
to another part breaking , and this part is deep inside the PTO
drive . Worst case if my repair fails is loss of some oil and the
PTO quits working . Everybody seems happy , the charge was under 200
bucks to repair a part that goes for $2800 ...

Are you sure you're asking enough money to ply your skillsets, Terry?
Didn't you diagnose, grind, weld, mill, groove, and fit those parts?

Yes, I'm sure they were happy with that price. g

Well , they brought me a broken part and the problem was obvious . I spent
just over 4 hours welding and machining . So I charged them for 5 hours shop
time . I could have charged them more , but the plan here is to charge
reasonable (for this area) and get a few jobs thru them . Shop rates up here
aren't as high as many places , most of the auto repair shops are only
around $45 to $50 per hour .
--
Snag

On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 08:12:18 -0500
"Terry Coombs" wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jun 2015 08:02:20 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

In this case liability is minimal , I think . This failure was due
to another part breaking , and this part is deep inside the PTO
drive . Worst case if my repair fails is loss of some oil and the
PTO quits working . Everybody seems happy , the charge was under 200
bucks to repair a part that goes for $2800 ...

Are you sure you're asking enough money to ply your skillsets, Terry?
Didn't you diagnose, grind, weld, mill, groove, and fit those parts?

Yes, I'm sure they were happy with that price. g

Well , they brought me a broken part and the problem was obvious . I spent
just over 4 hours welding and machining . So I charged them for 5 hours shop
time . I could have charged them more , but the plan here is to charge
reasonable (for this area) and get a few jobs thru them . Shop rates up here
aren't as high as many places , most of the auto repair shops are only
around $45 to $50 per hour .

I think you were fair and would do the same. If someone insists on
giving me more, because it was worth it to them, I'm fine with that
too. But that was there choice.

In my opinion overcharging for stuff, just because you can is one of
the biggest problems we have today (shrug). Customers use to pull
into our shop because there radio (two-way) wasn't working. Sometimes
all that was wrong was the power connection came loose from the
fuse block or something else that took me less than 5 minutes to
figure out/fix. If they were still there I would sent them on there
way. No paper work, no bill. If they questioned that I would tell them
to come back when they had a REAL problem. You can't get goodwill, warm
fuzzy feelings from your customers any cheaper...

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

"Leon Fisk" wrote in
message ...
On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 08:12:18 -0500
"Terry Coombs" wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jun 2015 08:02:20 -0500, "Terry
Coombs"
wrote:

In this case liability is minimal , I think
. This failure was due
to another part breaking , and this part is
deep inside the PTO
drive . Worst case if my repair fails is loss
of some oil and the
PTO quits working . Everybody seems happy ,
the charge was under 200
bucks to repair a part that goes for $2800
...

Are you sure you're asking enough money to ply
your skillsets, Terry?
Didn't you diagnose, grind, weld, mill,
groove, and fit those parts?

Yes, I'm sure they were happy with that price.
g

Well , they brought me a broken part and the
problem was obvious . I spent
just over 4 hours welding and machining . So I
charged them for 5 hours shop
time . I could have charged them more , but the
plan here is to charge
reasonable (for this area) and get a few jobs
thru them . Shop rates up here
aren't as high as many places , most of the auto
repair shops are only
around $45 to $50 per hour .

I think you were fair and would do the same. If
someone insists on
giving me more, because it was worth it to them,
I'm fine with that
too. But that was there choice.

In my opinion overcharging for stuff, just
because you can is one of
the biggest problems we have today (shrug).
Customers use to pull
into our shop because there radio (two-way)
wasn't working. Sometimes
all that was wrong was the power connection came
loose from the
fuse block or something else that took me less
than 5 minutes to
figure out/fix. If they were still there I would
sent them on there
way. No paper work, no bill. If they questioned
that I would tell them
to come back when they had a REAL problem. You
can't get goodwill, warm
fuzzy feelings from your customers any
cheaper...

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

Yes, charge a fair rate. I was given advice a long
time
ago that you are much better off in the long run
to charge
a fair rate to a lot of people than you are to
charge a high
rate for a few. You will have more happy customers
and
they spread the word about you and the experience
you
get from a wide variety of work will pay off in
the future.
There are two categories of work that put me on
alert
and they are aviation and marine. There is no
tolerance
on quality and any work must be done right no
matter
what the customers idea of a fix is. CYA !
phil k.
phil k.

On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 08:12:18 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote:
On Fri, 19 Jun 2015 08:02:20 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

In this case liability is minimal , I think . This failure was due
to another part breaking , and this part is deep inside the PTO
drive . Worst case if my repair fails is loss of some oil and the
PTO quits working . Everybody seems happy , the charge was under 200
bucks to repair a part that goes for $2800 ...

Are you sure you're asking enough money to ply your skillsets, Terry?
Didn't you diagnose, grind, weld, mill, groove, and fit those parts?

Yes, I'm sure they were happy with that price. g

Well , they brought me a broken part and the problem was obvious . I spent
just over 4 hours welding and machining . So I charged them for 5 hours shop
time . I could have charged them more , but the plan here is to charge
reasonable (for this area) and get a few jobs thru them .

What about consumables? They're not cheap and people do expect to pay
for them. Don't cheat yourself.

A warning about discount pricing: Once people are charged a low price
once, they'll expect it from then on and they'll tell everyone they
know that's what your price is. It can really bite you in the ass.


Shop rates up here
aren't as high as many places , most of the auto repair shops are only
around $45 to $50 per hour .

Wow, auto shops get over $100/hr here in tiny Grass Pants, OR.

--
Find out what people will submit to, and you have found out the
exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.
--Frederick Douglass

Larry Jaques wrote:

What about consumables? They're not cheap and people do expect to pay
for them. Don't cheat yourself.

I used one whole stick of 1/8" ER70S2 TIG filler .

A warning about discount pricing: Once people are charged a low price
once, they'll expect it from then on and they'll tell everyone they
know that's what your price is. It can really bite you in the ass.



They know neither my hourly rate nor how many hours it took . They know
only the final price . Which is all they needed to know .
The only time I ever deliberately raped a customer was over 20 years ago ,
a ceramic tile job . We both knew it , and we both knew it was just twisting
the knife and that I never intended to work for him again . That one was
about a sales commission he let another guy steal from me on a very tenuous
excuse . I had him over a barrel and we both knew it ...
--
Snag

On Sat, 20 Jun 2015 21:06:31 -0500, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote:

What about consumables? They're not cheap and people do expect to pay
for them. Don't cheat yourself.

I used one whole stick of 1/8" ER70S2 TIG filler .

A lot of shops have a small fee for consumables, like electricity,
Argon, filler, TIG electrodes and cups, etc. Others bump up the labor
rate a bit to cover it. If you don't, you don't.

A warning about discount pricing: Once people are charged a low price
once, they'll expect it from then on and they'll tell everyone they
know that's what your price is. It can really bite you in the ass.



They know neither my hourly rate nor how many hours it took . They know
only the final price . Which is all they needed to know .
The only time I ever deliberately raped a customer was over 20 years ago ,
a ceramic tile job . We both knew it , and we both knew it was just twisting
the knife and that I never intended to work for him again . That one was
about a sales commission he let another guy steal from me on a very tenuous
excuse . I had him over a barrel and we both knew it ...

Hmm, I mention taking care in discounting your prices and you come
back with "deliberately raped"? Interesting.


--
Find out what people will submit to, and you have found out the
exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.
--Frederick Douglass

On 6/20/2015 10:03 AM, Leon Fisk wrote:
I think you were fair and would do the same. If someone insists on
giving me more, because it was worth it to them, I'm fine with that
too. But that was there choice.

In my opinion overcharging for stuff, just because you can is one of
the biggest problems we have today (shrug). Customers use to pull
into our shop because there radio (two-way) wasn't working. Sometimes
all that was wrong was the power connection came loose from the
fuse block or something else that took me less than 5 minutes to
figure out/fix. If they were still there I would sent them on there
way. No paper work, no bill. If they questioned that I would tell them
to come back when they had a REAL problem. You can't get goodwill, warm
fuzzy feelings from your customers any cheaper...


Yep, money isn't the only way to keep score.

On 6/20/2015 10:06 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
Larry Jaques wrote:

What about consumables? They're not cheap and people do expect to pay
for them. Don't cheat yourself.

I used one whole stick of 1/8" ER70S2 TIG iller .

A warning about discount pricing: Once people are charged a low price
once, they'll expect it from then on and they'll tell everyone they
know that's what your price is. It can really bite you in the ass.



They know neither my hourly rate nor how many hours it took . They know
only the final price . Which is all they needed to know .
The only time I ever deliberately raped a customer was over 20 years ago ,
a ceramic tile job . We both knew it , and we both knew it was just twisting
the knife and that I never intended to work for him again . That one was
about a sales commission he let another guy steal from me on a very tenuous
excuse . I had him over a barrel and we both knew it ...


Sometimes you have to be the Angel of Retribution only to even out a
cosmic karma issue.

I think you need to try steel metal for manufacturing products.I think you were fair and would do the same. If someone insists on
giving me more, because it was worth it to them, I'm fine with that too. But that was there choice. For more details click here.