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I'm looking for some ideas. I have a 110 mig and oxy torch set up and would like to make some stuff this summer for some extra money. have any ideas? I was thinking like stuff peoples yards?
Reply:Window well coversThe Lord has declared, "This is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"  Moses 1:39Link: My name is John, and I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.-- ColdCreekWorks.com --
Reply:YEAH, you're going to be LIMITED to Thicker Metal, but that 110v should DO EVERYTHING you will want it to...Two words for you....  "GARDEN STAKES" !LOL, those things make a TON of MONEY for an Acquaintance of mine and I'm seriously DEBATING doing the 'more difficult ones' with my PLASMA cutter and sorta' 'join-him' so to speak!Also, Belt Buckles, Jewelry Holders that look like little trees and stuff and 'all things Ornamental'... Man, there are literally THOUSANDS of things that you can CREATE and DOZENS of JOBS that you could do....Speaking of jobs, I think there was someone on this very board that went around fixing McDonald's Restaurants Dumpster HINGES (same type of Dumpster, all broke the same way...) and ended up making it a decent 'part-time / full-time' Gig outta' that with welding and 'PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE' which if I'm not mistaken, was merely checking on the Dumpsters and GREASING up the hinges!I know my friends bring me ALL KINDS of their THINGS to FIX now that I can TIG, WELD and BRAZE just about anything....  You wouldn't believe HOW MANY people want their LAWNMOWER'S fixed! LOL...  And I live in a CLIMATE that only has 'Cuttable Grass' (dunno' if cuttable is a word, but I like it...Heh, heh.) about 4 months out of the year!  Crazy Stuff man, crazy stuff.BTW, all you need to do is check out ETSY for IDEAS to 'INCORPORATE' into your own thoughts and such... After all, you don't WANT to be COPYING every detail of someone elses work....  It's kinda' lame to do that.  However, contrary to POPULAR BELIEF, it is NOT ILLEGAL!  ART as a whole, cannot be subject to COPYRIGHT LAWS as it has ALL BEEN DONE BEFORE in one FORM or another...  I know this because I have an Acquaintance who's Brother practices this type of LAW down in L.A. and the reaction he GETS from some of his 'Perspective Clients' borders on 'INSANITY' once they find out, there is NOTHING they can do!  Suffice to say, his 'Free Consultations' don't go VERY well! LOL..Anyway, getting WAY off topic here, but ETSY is one of the BEST places to get your 'Creative Juices' flowing and almost ANY of these WELDING SITES can give you GREAT IDEAS of whom to approach given any 'Welding' Limitations you might have.  Having said that, if you can 'SHAPE' metal and Form it by hand or whatever, you'll do VERY well in the 'CRAFT DEPARTMENT'.  An OXY/ACE torch is about the most VERSATILE unit there is and you'll be able to CREATE things that others CANNOT!Cheers rocko....,/Jman..Last edited by jman; 06-21-2010 at 04:48 PM.Miller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:What do you mean by garden stakes?  I am trying to picture it, but I just picture a steel spike.The Lord has declared, "This is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"  Moses 1:39Link: My name is John, and I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.-- ColdCreekWorks.com --
Reply:Oh, I think I get it....  are you talking about artsy fartsy stuff?  Like butterflies, birds, etc?  Kind of like the stuff found here:  http://www.gardenfun.com/garden-stakes.html ?The Lord has declared, "This is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"  Moses 1:39Link: My name is John, and I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.-- ColdCreekWorks.com --
Reply:alot will depend on where you are and how tight ppl are with their money....in east texas everybody wants pipe fences built and structural work done, but nobody wants decorative art... alot of art like that these days is plasma cnc cut for cleanliness - it will take you hours upon hours of grinding and torchwork to make it as clean as a cnc cut...remember that if its going to be in somebody's yard its gotta look DAM good - so you need to make sure your technique is extremely good and you really know what you are doing.the only type of thing i did like you were talking about was 2 sets of scuba tank wind chimes. we would cut the tanks with a horizontal bandsaw (torch looks nasty) in different lengths and weld 1/4" chain to them - from there he had another welder come up with how to mount them. so far ive only done this twice and only made $250...never done any other decorative work like your talking about and made money....i believe thats why they call them "starving artists"...... If you want my $.02 worth, forget yard trinquets and work on utility trailers. i basically lived this past spring semester off of utility trailer redeckings and patch work. most were new tongues and crossmembers, side skirts, new fenders, new ramps, extending trailers, you name it I did it to light duty trailers as long as it was DOT legalnow at the same time - you only have a 110v mig which is greatly going to limit your abilities - and working on trailers is something you really need to know what ur doing - my degree is ag. mechanics so i know a few things about trailers.im guessing you just bought ur rig and want to put it to use? how much formal training do you have? if you have limited formal training it will greatly reduce the amount of work you can do, as well as you will have to stay away from complicated jobs - i always have underclassmen wanting me to get them side jobs like i get and i say "sure, but remember if you screw up, YOU'RE LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE for the work you do" so if you dont know what ur doing u might lose ur pants...there was this one kid who wanted to make money like your talking about - he decided to build a canoe trailer....long story short the purchaser of the trailer almost lost $4K in canoes because he welded everything too cold and the trailer fell apart on the road..dont mean to be discouraging, just telling it like it is... no offense kid but your still young and you seem to be asking alot of questions - now there is nothing wrong with that but you come off to me like every other punk highschool kid who tells me they are going to the piplines to make $60K a year.....like everything it takes LOTS of PRACTICE,PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!! - instead of asking so many questions throw up some of your welds and lets see what you can do - just because you have the equipment and want to do it like there's no tomorrow, doesnt mean your cut out for it. Ive got a buddy who went out and bought a torch kit, full size tanks, and a trailblazer 350 so he could be a welder and you know who he calls to do his really important stuff?? me....the guy thats been studying welding and mechanics for the last 3 years in college - and i dont even want to do it professionally - i went to college so i can be the supervisor over the job instead of being one of the grunts working for $12/hr....you said you can go to classes at niagra falls college or whatever for free, TAKE ADVANTAGE of that and continue your education - you will get 10x's farther in life with even just an associates degree and anyone who doesnt agree is an idiot....not everybody is cut out for a bachelors or master degree but anybody can get their associates from a community collegeLast edited by smokin_dodge; 06-21-2010 at 06:56 PM.I break things for a living...
Reply:Originally Posted by smokin_dodgealot will depend on where you are and how tight ppl are with their money....in east texas everybody wants pipe fences built and structural work done, but nobody wants decorative art... alot of art like that these days is plasma cnc cut for cleanliness - it will take you hours upon hours of grinding and torchwork to make it as clean as a cnc cut...remember that if its going to be in somebody's yard its gotta look DAM good - so you need to make sure your technique is extremely good and you really know what you are doing.the only type of thing i did like you were talking about was 2 sets of scuba tank wind chimes. we would cut the tanks with a horizontal bandsaw (torch looks nasty) in different lengths and weld 1/4" chain to them - from there he had another welder come up with how to mount them. so far ive only done this twice and only made $250...never done any other decorative work like your talking about and made money....i believe thats why they call them "starving artists"...... If you want my $.02 worth, forget yard trinquets and work on utility trailers. i basically lived this past spring semester off of utility trailer redeckings and patch work. most were new tongues and crossmembers, side skirts, new fenders, new ramps, extending trailers, you name it I did it to light duty trailers as long as it was DOT legalnow at the same time - you only have a 110v mig which is greatly going to limit your abilities - and working on trailers is something you really need to know what ur doing - my degree is ag. mechanics so i know a few things about trailers.im guessing you just bought ur rig and want to put it to use? how much formal training do you have? if you have limited formal training it will greatly reduce the amount of work you can do, as well as you will have to stay away from complicated jobs - i always have underclassmen wanting me to get them side jobs like i get and i say "sure, but remember if you screw up, YOU'RE LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE for the work you do" so if you dont know what ur doing u might lose ur pants...there was this one kid who wanted to make money like your talking about - he decided to build a canoe trailer....long story short the purchaser of the trailer almost lost $4K in canoes because he welded everything too cold and the trailer fell apart on the road..dont mean to be discouraging, just telling it like it is... no offense kid but your still young and you seem to be asking alot of questions - now there is nothing wrong with that but you come off to me like every other punk highschool kid who tells me they are going to the piplines to make $60K a year.....like everything it takes LOTS of PRACTICE,PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!! - instead of asking so many questions throw up some of your welds and lets see what you can do - just because you have the equipment and want to do it like there's no tomorrow, doesnt mean your cut out for it. Ive got a buddy who went out and bought a torch kit, full size tanks, and a trailblazer 350 so he could be a welder and you know who he calls to do his really important stuff?? me....the guy thats been studying welding and mechanics for the last 3 years in college - and i dont even want to do it professionally - i went to college so i can be the supervisor over the job instead of being one of the grunts working for $12/hr....you said you can go to classes at niagra falls college or whatever for free, TAKE ADVANTAGE of that and continue your education - you will get 10x's farther in life with even just an associates degree and anyone who doesnt agree is an idiot....not everybody is cut out for a bachelors or master degree but anybody can get their associates from a community college
Reply:i do agree, there are the few that arnt cut out for 2 year, but anyschool is much better than no school. this got me thinking about a guy i used to work with - got a job welding transformer connections together - simple stick welds about 1.5" long - he got fired about 2 days after he was hired cause he couldnt weld after he said he was a "welder"now he mows grass for the university i attend...I break things for a living...
Reply:Originally Posted by jdh239Oh, I think I get it....  are you talking about artsy fartsy stuff?  Like butterflies, birds, etc?  Kind of like the stuff found here:  http://www.gardenfun.com/garden-stakes.html ?
Reply:Originally Posted by smokin_dodgealot will depend on where you are and how tight ppl are with their money....in east texas everybody wants pipe fences built and structural work done, but nobody wants decorative art... alot of art like that these days is plasma cnc cut for cleanliness - it will take you hours upon hours of grinding and torchwork to make it as clean as a cnc cut...remember that if its going to be in somebody's yard its gotta look DAM good - so you need to make sure your technique is extremely good and you really know what you are doing.the only type of thing i did like you were talking about was 2 sets of scuba tank wind chimes. we would cut the tanks with a horizontal bandsaw (torch looks nasty) in different lengths and weld 1/4" chain to them - from there he had another welder come up with how to mount them. so far ive only done this twice and only made $250...never done any other decorative work like your talking about and made money....i believe thats why they call them "starving artists"...... If you want my $.02 worth, forget yard trinquets and work on utility trailers. i basically lived this past spring semester off of utility trailer redeckings and patch work. most were new tongues and crossmembers, side skirts, new fenders, new ramps, extending trailers, you name it I did it to light duty trailers as long as it was DOT legalnow at the same time - you only have a 110v mig which is greatly going to limit your abilities - and working on trailers is something you really need to know what ur doing - my degree is ag. mechanics so i know a few things about trailers.im guessing you just bought ur rig and want to put it to use? how much formal training do you have? if you have limited formal training it will greatly reduce the amount of work you can do, as well as you will have to stay away from complicated jobs - i always have underclassmen wanting me to get them side jobs like i get and i say "sure, but remember if you screw up, YOU'RE LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE for the work you do" so if you dont know what ur doing u might lose ur pants...there was this one kid who wanted to make money like your talking about - he decided to build a canoe trailer....long story short the purchaser of the trailer almost lost $4K in canoes because he welded everything too cold and the trailer fell apart on the road..dont mean to be discouraging, just telling it like it is... no offense kid but your still young and you seem to be asking alot of questions - now there is nothing wrong with that but you come off to me like every other punk highschool kid who tells me they are going to the piplines to make $60K a year.....like everything it takes LOTS of PRACTICE,PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!! - instead of asking so many questions throw up some of your welds and lets see what you can do - just because you have the equipment and want to do it like there's no tomorrow, doesnt mean your cut out for it. Ive got a buddy who went out and bought a torch kit, full size tanks, and a trailblazer 350 so he could be a welder and you know who he calls to do his really important stuff?? me....the guy thats been studying welding and mechanics for the last 3 years in college - and i dont even want to do it professionally - i went to college so i can be the supervisor over the job instead of being one of the grunts working for $12/hr....you said you can go to classes at niagra falls college or whatever for free, TAKE ADVANTAGE of that and continue your education - you will get 10x's farther in life with even just an associates degree and anyone who doesnt agree is an idiot....not everybody is cut out for a bachelors or master degree but anybody can get their associates from a community college
Reply:I know this is wandering from the OP but it has to be said....I have spent 25 years in the computer industry as everything from a simple programmer to a staff level engineer, manager and systems architect.  In this field folks love to spout off about the need for degrees but I am here to tell you that a degree MIGHT get you a little more attention at an interview but it will not land you the job and will not keep you employed.Even in professions like software engineering the ability to DO the work well outstrips the cache of a degree almost every time.  I never finished my degree but I regularly hire (or refuse to hire folks).  My peers agree (we have talked about this at length)....during an interview you MUST be able to demonstrate your skills by solving real problems right in front of me where I can evaluate your abilities. I suspect that welding is no different - being able to demonstrate real skill trumps a degree.If you find an exception to this rule you are probably looking at a place where you won't want to spend much time working - folks stuck on the "value of an education" over the ability to "git 'er done" are a real pain to work with.The key to the easy money (bear in mind easy usually means easy but small dollar amounts) is finding things that folks want/need that are not easy to get.  Ebay is a good place to get a feel for the kind of thing that people will pay money for - search on COMPLETED auctions to get the real story.  Also, visit a few local farmers markets and craft shows and see what is selling and for how much.  Most artisans love to talk about their work and what they have sold in the past.Hobart LX235Victor 250 Oxy-Acetylene Rig (welding and cutting)Bobcat 773F-350, 1999, 4x4, 16' 10K# trailerOutdoor Wood Burner - 10 cords/year
Reply:I actually just finished my first year in boces. I'm not going to lie i have dreamed of making that kinda money on a pipeline but have came to realization that wont happen without alot of work on my end. Plus I am not even in the right area for that kinda work. I have been told by my teachers many times they have never had a kid come through and excel as well as I have. I'm not the type that like to brag though I just love to weld. My dream is to make a career out of it but I just don't see it happening. Because of this I have been thinking about joining the airforce and entering the union through the the helmets to hard hats but who knows if they will be busy and have work available?  That College I can get free tuition is very hard to get into and I don't know if I would even be accepted. Sorry for getting off subject but pretty much im just trying to find some ideas to make some extra money. And thank you jman those are pretty cool and i bet they sell very easily. Do you know how much your friend was/is selling them for?
Reply:I always see guys selling boot scrapers from horse shoes and such. While searching around the net I found that all the scrapers from the UK have handles, making them easier and safer to use. Depending on your market you might be able to add something similar to your garden stake idea. Attached Images
Reply:Smokin dodge needs to go back and read the original post. This guy is looking to make a few bucks making some cheap trinkets for people. No attitude, no BS. Big douchbaggery from youUA Local 598
Reply:Originally Posted by WHughesSmokin dodge needs to go back and read the original post. This guy is looking to make a few bucks making some cheap trinkets for people. No attitude, no BS. Big douchbaggery from you
Reply:your correct - i had a horrible day yesterday - cut open my favorite boots and almost sliced my foot off with a chainsaw thanks to a nasty kickback...yes - i am the king of the douchebags - as well as head ******* in the world! but still doesnt change the fact that the OP has yet to even prove he can run a bead....it sounds to me like he is another self taught garagewelder who went out and bought a machine and has grandious ideas of making money....I live in a college town and there is no money to be made....anywhere!! the economy sucks too much right now.i searched all of his posts and all they are is questions, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it doesnt sound to me like he completely understands the business.....if he wants to make money the best advice i can give is get off the computer AND START BUILDING!! doesnt matter what just start welding things!!here is the very first project i built to make money - took me 4 other full size pits to understand how to build one and hope to make a good $2500 - already have a buyer lined up, he just cant make up his mind.correct me if im wrong, but the forums are for helping people improve their welding skills, not sit around BS'ing about making moneyi was in his shoes when i was his age, thought i was a great welder and could build some cool stuff, started with small firepits and such, and never got me anywhere....now that im about to graduate i know 10x's more than when i came to college thanks to the physics and welding and fabrication courses ive taken. i went from barely being able to run a bead to framing housing and building steel structures and fabbing 14Klb trailershere's my nearly completed senior project - took me a month to build (2-3 hours a day every day) and i didnt make a dime...and then there's the steel structure i helped build and frame out for a guys shop/house - i was the only person recommended to work for this guy, made $100 a day and decent money, but i couldnt have made any of this stuff or gotten any of these projects without my schooling - there's soo much more to welding than just laying beads....everybody here should know that. i got to where i am from spending every minute possible in the shop building and learning, not sitting on the forum asking questions....Last edited by smokin_dodge; 06-22-2010 at 01:56 PM.I break things for a living...
Reply:Smokin Dodge, your right I am that garage welder. Is there something wrong with that???? I got one more year of high-school and take boces half of my school day. All I was asking for is some ideas from people of stuff that sell well. I would go out and build tons of things but I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on material! believe me if I did I would be right now. I really don't care about all of your schooling, just like others said its what you can do. Thats great that you did but I just don't care lol. Also I still don't get why you want me to throw some beads up on here???? I mean what does that have to do with anything???? All I'm trying to do is find some cheap good selling projects that I can do when im not working during this summer.
Reply:Originally Posted by jmanHmmm, not those, they're not quite what I had in mind.  The ones that I'm talking about are VERY, VERY simple, inexpensive to make and inexpensive to sell, but have a GREAT mark-Up.Check these out....http://www.etsy.com/listing/49701831...-dads-or-papashttp://www.etsy.com/listing/48319736...rder=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
Reply:Originally Posted by rocko2527 Also I still don't get why you want me to throw some beads up on here????
Reply:maybe you can make some money out of hot dog men.....?
Reply:Originally Posted by smokin_dodgebecause until you start to show us what you are capable of we cannot help you improve your skilland until you show what your capable of im going to continue to assume you can only tack things together...
Reply:I haven't made too much crafty stuff but what I did do seemed to be a hit and you know how women like to talk so once one of them likes something you made there will be alot of thier friends wanting the same thing. I suggest talk to any any older ladies you may know 35-60 and bounce ideas off them. Ask them what they may be interested in and then add some flair to it. You know cute little bugs and flowers. Heres some pictures of things I made while I was taking classes. The first one I got the ideas because I was cutting down some trees at my boss's house and the stumps just seemed so useless. Well mothers day was coming up so I made these for his wife to give the stumps a purpose. Theres only one pictured but I made 2 the other one had a flower and a butterfly. They where made from random scrap at school and didnt cost me anything. I purposely made them hodge podged so I wouldnt be wasting my class time for nothing. I just slapped them togather. The top is solid twisted square stock. and the bottom was a pipe cut at an angle for a point. the flowers also have springs on the back so they bounce in the wind.She loved these and all her friends wanted some but I didnt want to kill my self for nothing so I made one more plant holder for a mutual friend that really wanted one for inside. All of it was just scrap from my school and I didnt really try to make it too pretty. Attached Images
Reply:Now for some actually cool stuff that should have a market but I just made it for myself. These where also made in class with scrap but I did try to make them look nice. I believe all of these could be done with found items or things collected for free.The first 2 are a mace. the 3rd is the back of a shield and the last is both. I also make chainmail armor as seen in the picture. These items are very heavy and really are not toys/show pieces. Theres no question they are are alot better then the run of the mill stuff you can get from the BudK catalog. How you finish them may also help you to sell. I personally just made these for my own private collection so I cant give you an idea on how well they will sell.If you can find the materials for free I think your going to be on the right track. Maybe try doing some metal scrapping if you have access to a vehicle or ask friends and family to save you metal items. Attached Images
Reply:why dont you show us what you have made so far. that way we can gauge your capabilities as far as what you are capable of building and then we can better suggest projects for you to make.your not really going to make any real money with small yard trinquets when you factor in your cost of consumables, materials, and your time invested. when you calculate all of that together you have to have an "affordable" product that you can sell - thus you end up with nominal profits and probably be better use of your time going and working 25hours a week at some minimum wage job....I break things for a living...
Reply:Yeah I thought about the cost involved but figured if I made something quick and easy in large numbers it could work out. And yeah thats what im doing now, working 30 plus hours a week for minimum wage lol. Ill post some picks up tonight though. And skeluhtor that mace is really cool.Here are some pictures. http://s813.photobucket.com/albums/zz53/rocko724/
Reply:> making money...The biz plan is at least as important as the product if you talking about wanting/planning to make money (as opposed to picking some up once in a while).Stuff like who you want to sell to, how you want to "reach" them; how you going to make more than $1/hr fabbing the thing; are you going to fix it when it falls apart; are you going to be in deeeeep doo-doo _if_ it falls apart; if somebody wants 100 or them can you get the job done; when are you going to tell the feds...That's biz and it's well worth getting good at it, at least if you like it. But it's not the same thing as welding although welding might be part of it. You'll see. And you might not want to make 20 of one thing until you have already sold 5 and know it can be sold and how much t costs to make. And remember, it's a small world. You gotta make _every_ customer as happy as you can; when something goes wrong you gotta fix it perfect and then do something to make it 5 times more worthwhile just to balance the bad taste of the first problem. May not seem like it at the time but "fixing it better" (for free and/or at no more than cost) is the best investment of time OR money there is for a business man.  One pissed off customer kills 10 happy ones when it comes to your bottom line. And that goes double with your suppliers and others in your line of work and triple for any authorities you deal with. Small world, keep your part of it real clean or you'll get tripped up fast.Cheers, Rufus
Reply:skeluhtor, are you in the sca? A friend of mine has been involved in that for 25 years and makes alot of armor and such. He was king a few years back.Kid, good pics. Dont worry about some of these guys. Farm and garden stores may have some things to give you ideas, local landscapers may need trailer modifications or brackets welded.Dodge, you seem very angry. And even though that trailer you are building looks nice and well thought out, it is pretty rudimentary for a senior project.  Thats my .02UA Local 598
Reply:while my trailer might be rudamentary, i built the whole thing for under $2K, you cant find one that strong for less than $6K at a trailer yard.... not a bad profit if you ask me, but its for a guy who owns a contracting company....Rocko- you can clearly weld, so quit piddling with this kiddie yard stuff, you can make an easy $200 a day redoing trailers, and almost everybody has a trailer sitting around that needs some good work...oh hughes - **** the unions - nothin more than abunch of worthless lazy ppl who are over paid and completely worthlessI break things for a living...
Reply:oh hughes - **** the unions - nothin more than abunch of worthless lazy ppl who are over paid and completely worthless__________________You are entitled to your opinion, meanwhile I will continue making xray welds for 150k a year. Enjoy your college salary.UA Local 598
Reply:[QUOTE=WHughes;402628]skeluhtor, are you in the sca? A friend of mine has been involved in that for 25 years and makes alot of armor and such. He was king a few years back.No I am not in the SCA I just like making cool things. I really cant get that into roll playing I would love to be an infantry man(not the center of attention) in a re-enactments but theres no real big medieval re-enactments here in the states. Theres a couple in europe. Makes sense since it was just native americans here during that time no real battles fought with metal weapons and armor. Rocko I say start doing odd welding jobs for people. Your welds look great especially for run of the mill stuff. Just dont lie to the people and if you think someone could get hurt because of your repair/fabrication then be honest and suggest they find someone else. This way is great because they will buy any materials and its all cash in your pocket.
Reply:Originally Posted by smokin_dodgewhy dont you show us what you have made so far. that way we can gauge your capabilities as far as what you are capable of building and then we can better suggest projects for you to make.your not really going to make any real money with small yard trinquets when you factor in your cost of consumables, materials, and your time invested. when you calculate all of that together you have to have an "affordable" product that you can sell - thus you end up with nominal profits and probably be better use of your time going and working 25hours a week at some minimum wage job....
Reply:Originally Posted by smokin_dodgebecause until you start to show us what you are capable of we cannot help you improve your skilland until you show what your capable of im going to continue to assume you can only tack things together...
Reply:Originally Posted by rocko2527...............Sorry for getting off subject but pretty much im just trying to find some ideas to make some extra money. And thank you jman those are pretty cool and i bet they sell very easily. Do you know how much your friend was/is selling them for?
Reply:Thanks Jman and I'm located in Niagara Falls.
Reply:Originally Posted by rocko2527Thanks Jman and I'm located in Niagara Falls.
Reply:Originally Posted by jmanCanadian Side?  Are you familiar with Calgary?
Reply:I think you might be better trying to make some stuff like trellises for people to put in their gardens for stuff to grow on.  I never have got much into the art stuff because (and maybe this is because I'm too much of a perfectionist) it just takes me way too long to get everything cut and fit right.  It's easy to make a trellis, and you generally don't have to have any curves, or features that take longer to fabricate.  It all depends on how much you want to make though, I think you could do yard art and get enough money to pay for your mat'l and consumables but not your time.  Would be a great way to learn and not have to fork out the dough for mat'l.  A few more ideas are things like wine bottle holders/racks, cd/dvd racks, coffee tables (these could get complicated and have a lot more money invested up front - so you might want to find somebody who wants one and design it with them and have them buy you the mat'l), coat racks, picture frames (these are ALWAYS good),  simple little gates (i just made some little ones to keep my parents new pup in the kitchen).  Just shy away from anything load bearing, especially if it's higher than about your knee.  that's a lot of liability for a garage welder who didn't have previous training.  (I'm a garage welder, but spent 5 years working in welding and machining shops thru college and am an engineer now who works closely with our M/P guy so while I'm still learning the ins and outs of welding I at least know how to make sure my welds will hold and have had some training on the different machines/processes/techniques).  Good luck - and don't let some of the guys on here get you down.  We ALL had to learn at some point, just be real careful not to get yourself in trouble.  Oh - and don't tell your friends you have a welder or you'll just be working on their projects all the time!!!!!Millermatic 135Syncrowave 250
Reply:Don't listen to people like Dodge, Rocko. He can't see past his own arc, as evident by his short sighted comments. I've made upwards of $200 an hour making "trinkets". Some of these "real welders" seem to have a complex about "time under the hood" and your status in the food chain. But when it comes to making the garden stuff and things of that nature, couple hours practice on a MIG and your on your way. You sure as hell don't need to stack dimes to make a garden stake. With this stuff, people don't even see the welds. They are buying the shape and color and function. That's it. You can blow your time and consumables making the perfect joint, perfect x-ray weld, grinding it down smooth, but you're wasting your time and money when it comes to real world selling. A "tacked" together garden stake will sell for the same price and at the same volume as the "professional" welded one. But you'll make 6 of them in the time it takes to do one"proper". That's a fact based on over 12 years doing this kinda stuff! So, go grab some crap outta the junk pile and make $hit!!!! Enjoy your time "off" and make a bit of extra cash at it. 200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:Trellis are a good idea, and yea i already got that problem with friends always wanting things fixed lol. And Bert I'm a perfectionist so I'm definatley gonna have to get used to that lol. I was also thinking those things that people stick in their yard to hold plants off of?
Reply:Originally Posted by rocko2527Trellis are a good idea, and yea i already got that problem with friends always wanting things fixed lol. And Bert I'm a perfectionist so I'm definatley gonna have to get used to that lol. I was also thinking those things that people stick in their yard to hold plants off of?
Reply:I'd skip the shepard's hooks for hanging plants.  Somebody asked me to make a couple, so I checked what they cost at the store.  I could buy one for $7-8 bucks.  You can't even justify the drive to pick up material for that.  If you made something different and unique, that's another story.  I recently made some heart shaped things for decorating graves and sold 10 of them for $20 a pop.  $5 in material and half an hour labor or so.My name's not Jim....
Reply:The key is to make a bunch of easy stuff. Even the shepards hooks can be profitable if you make ten of them at once. Bird houses out of metal may just end up cooking some little birdies. Those hot dog guys are simple and can be made on the cheap. I bet you can make 20 of them in an hour.UA Local 598
Reply:Originally Posted by BoostinjdmI'd skip the shepard's hooks for hanging plants.  Somebody asked me to make a couple, so I checked what they cost at the store.  I could buy one for $7-8 bucks.  You can't even justify the drive to pick up material for that.  If you made something different and unique, that's another story.  I recently made some heart shaped things for decorating graves and sold 10 of them for $20 a pop.  $5 in material and half an hour labor or so.
Reply:Rocko, I appoloagize for taking this off subject matter, but there were some derogatory comments made towards Unions that I'm having a hard time "letting ride".1st off, I would hope that anyone in college or any other school would have had some courses in labor history.   Long story short, Unions gave the workingman 5 day workweeks, daily breaks, child labor laws, 8hr workdays, decent/prevailing wages, benefits, OSHA, and many other rights that were fought hard for. Sometimes paid for with life and limb.2ndly, unfortunately there's corruption in any governing body, even Unions. And yes in certain circumstances, Unions protect the lazy.  But the benefits and rights far outweigh the "black eyes", so before spouting off about something you may not know much about, take the blinders off and do a little research.Now back to your regularly programmed thread Lincoln SA 200Esab Caddy 160Thermal Arc 201TSMiller Dialarc HFI don't like making plans for the day because then the word "premeditated" gets thrown around the courtroom....
Reply:Originally Posted by WHughes Even the shepards hooks can be profitable if you make ten of them at once.
Reply:Originally Posted by BoostinjdmSorry, but....... Bull$hit!
Reply:Well made garden/plant shelves and tables are worth something. Especially of they have some tasteful curves in them. I saw a 3 shelf plant stand, about 40" wide, 36" high, maybe 24" deep that looked decent w/some nice curls and scroll work on the sides and top; the store was using it to hold stuff the staff worked on and when I asked for a price they hemmed and hawed and looked at  other stuff they were selling and said $350; this was something rusty w/a couple broken welds, about 50 years old but nothing real special. They were about on the money at least for that area (very high end Olde Ritz); I just asked hoping to catch them not paying attention and get a deal on something they might look at as junk - no such luck!  Shucks. I just remembered the weapons shown above. Some of the most willilng buyers are found at historical meets of all kinds. That's why most of them have at least one black smith in attendance. Most allow vendors to sell just about anything discretely but it helps to have stuff that sort of fits the period. From what I"ve seen, you can make a living that way but it doesn't qualify as winning the lottery and it involves a lot of work and smiling at the customers. In the line of shepards crooks - wrought tent pegs are usually a big seller. Rufus
Reply:Ok, you asked. I make my a loy of my money on the things talked about here. So here goes.Mail box,business card holder,scorpion hook, wood rack, branding irons.[not only for people that own cows] Attached Images
Reply:Remember, you asked.Boot scrapers, decorative clothes hangers[hundreds], sewing spool trees, fly rod racks, wine racks. Attached Images