What workshop services are lacking in the south?

[ecain63]

In a bid to expand the buisness a little this year, help ou the PH crowd and make my £million (lol) im wondering what i can do that nobody else is offering. The thing is that it'll have to be achievable with the equipment i already have. Monday to friday is very busy but im fancying working on saturdays on the automotive side of things, using skills and equipment that i can bring across from my regular job.

I work as a goldsmith and metal worker. The equipment and skills we have are:

Rolling mills.
Polishing machines.
Melting and shaping facilities (soft metals like gold, silver and small amounts of platinum or similar high temp metals).
Small scale casting.
Manufacture of small, detailed items.
Plating.
Small scale welding and soldering.
Finishing services (polishing, building and correcting).
Enameling.
Stone setting.
Drilling, grinding and cutting inc fine filing.


There is much more we can do but thats our regular day to day taskings.

Any ideas or suggestions for automotive work would be greatly appreciated.

Eddie

[4340BB]

What size stuff can we have plated?
Have you got a laithe?

[ecain63]

At the moment we plate up to about the size of a coke can. Larger items can be done by request.

We don't have a lathe as we tend to mill by hand. It gets rolled down to the right size then cut, filed, buffed and polished to finish.

[4340BB]

Ok cheers matey.

[FUBAR]

Sounds like I've just found the man to make me a heater controls backplate out of checker plate to match the dash in the Cerb?

[ecain63]

FUBAR said:

Sounds like I've just found the man to make me a heater controls backplate out of checker plate to match the dash in the Cerb?

You provide the drawings and i'll be more than happy to assist.

[FUBAR]

Well, I was going to attempt to remove the old one and send it as a template? And when I say *I* was going to remove it, I do, of course, mean getting someone to do it, as I have the DIY/mechanical skills of a beached whale. No hurry...the Cerb is in hibernation and it's only taken me 6 years to get this far with the backplate

[T40ORA]

I've a badge for the back of the Tamora which is in bas-relief (metal plate with the letters making up the word Tamora are raised) and I'd like to get it clear 'enamelled' so the finish is smooth - does that make sense?

Is this something you can do?

[ecain63]

Yeah, sounds sensible enough. So your after weatherproofing then?

[T40ORA]

ecain63 said:

Yeah, sounds sensible enough. So your after weatherproofing then?

Yep; it's stainless I think, but with the background (the bit in relief) painted in matt black. The letters are raised bright metal. The matt black especially seems to wear off through exposure and, I guess, just pressing it (it is the boot opening button).

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Do you think you could make me a cog like below? Out of metal? It's out of my paper shredder. The machine is perfect apart from this knackered gear.

Trouble is a new shredder is only 50 quid. I had some other gear specialist quote me £45 to make one, but for that price there's no point.

If someone could knock one up for about 20 or so it would be worth fixing.

I hate throwing things away and creating more landfill unless I have to...

[ecain63]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

Do you think you could make me a cog like below? Out of metal? It's out of my paper shredder. The machine is perfect apart from this knackered gear.

Trouble is a new shredder is only 50 quid. I had some other gear specialist quote me £45 to make one, but for that price there's no point.

If someone could knock one up for about 20 or so it would be worth fixing.

I hate throwing things away and creating more landfill unless I have to...

Yeah easy

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Hold on then I'll post some pics...

[ecain63]

Have you got the old knackered one to work from?

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

I have yes. It's in one piece except for a couple of stripped teeth.

Approximate Dimensions:

O/D of main gear 38mm
Width of main gear 10mm
O/D of spur gear 13mm
Width of spur gear 14mm

Recessed undercut 3mm
I/D 3.5mm


Pics:

[ecain63]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

I have yes. It's in one piece except for a couple of stripped teeth.

Approximate Dimensions:

O/D of main gear 38mm
Width of main gear 10mm
O/D of spur gear 13mm
Width of spur gear 14mm

Recessed undercut 3mm
I/D 3.5mm


Pics:

Right, thats gonna be a bigger job than just making 'a cog'. Its doable but i think i'd be lying if i said that £45 was a reasonable price for a handmade part of that type. Dont get me wrong, my reply still stands that i can do it.

If your previous contact quoted £45 then i'd go with them. They probably have a machine that will laser cut an item of that detail, or have a fine casting machine to achieve a similar finish. I make small articles of similar detail level (jewellery) by hand. The finish is excellent but hand made items come at a cost. Had it been a regular cog then i could do it for £20 or so and it would be done in a couple of hours but your requirments need a full day at the bench. For this i reckon on £100 or more, especially seeing as you want it in metal which is much more labour intensive than plastic.

Hope ive come across correctly. Im more than happy to help but i think if your struggling to come to terms with the prospect of £50 on a new shredder then im not your man.

Eddie

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Ah I see, thought that might be the case. I'd love a bespoke part and I'm more than happy to pay for a good engineer - don't worry I understand the value of decent engineers like you. There's not many of you in the country any more sadly.

Thanks for looking anyway. Even £45 at the other place is too much when a complete brand new shredder with a warranty etc. is the same price.

I'm just annoyed that Fellowes who make them don't carry spares. They just buy them in from China I expect. I try to fix everything I can before it goes in the bin, but looks like I'm beat here.

A complete machine that's otherwise serviceable in the bin for the sake of a cog. Consumer society syndrome gets on my wick a bit.

[ecain63]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

Ah I see, thought that might be the case. I'd love a bespoke part and I'm more than happy to pay for a good engineer - don't worry I understand the value of decent engineers like you. There's not many of you in the country any more sadly.

Thanks for looking anyway. Even £45 at the other place is too much when a complete brand new shredder with a warranty etc. is the same price.

I'm just annoyed that Fellowes who make them don't carry spares. They just buy them in from China I expect. I try to fix everything I can before it goes in the bin, but looks like I'm beat here.

A complete machine that's otherwise serviceable in the bin for the sake of a cog. Consumer society syndrome gets on my wick a bit.

I'd reckon on you having to trace the original parts supplier to get that piece. These things are made in such huge numbers for single projects and as soon as an item (ie shredder) goes off the market so do the spares. Good luck getting it sorted mate.

Eddie

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

ecain63 said:

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

Ah I see, thought that might be the case. I'd love a bespoke part and I'm more than happy to pay for a good engineer - don't worry I understand the value of decent engineers like you. There's not many of you in the country any more sadly.

Thanks for looking anyway. Even £45 at the other place is too much when a complete brand new shredder with a warranty etc. is the same price.

I'm just annoyed that Fellowes who make them don't carry spares. They just buy them in from China I expect. I try to fix everything I can before it goes in the bin, but looks like I'm beat here.

A complete machine that's otherwise serviceable in the bin for the sake of a cog. Consumer society syndrome gets on my wick a bit.

I'd reckon on you having to trace the original parts supplier to get that piece. These things are made in such huge numbers for single projects and as soon as an item (ie shredder) goes off the market so do the spares. Good luck getting it sorted mate.

Eddie

Cheers Eddie. I'll let you know if I need any other stuff fabricating!

[Big Al.]

:cough:

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