The five minute job ?

admin

How many of us have helpfull well meaning colleauges and friends recommending us to others for that "five minute job".Its one I am wary off having being caught too many times by the job time duration "quoted by another". In an effort to not put the well meaning friend offside ,you do the job which general goes bad.An example could be the small crack to be tigged in the alumninium dingy,where the five minutes extends to an hour  becuse your frind did not notice the extent of the crack etc.No more I say!. Also love jobs attract a liquid form of currency  which is better negotibale.It brings a new way of thinking about beer money?waddya reckon ?Grahame
Reply:most small job take 5min to weld but take a lot longer to prep for the weldChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:No such thing as a 5 minute job.. takes me 5 min to say "ok i'lll do it" ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:"C'mon man, It's just a 5 minute deal, hook me up" I hear that all the time, and just look at them a laugh
Reply:There are no five minute jobs.  That is right up there with, "just need a few spot weld" or "tack it",  As stated it takes longer than five minutes to set up and prep. I don't mind the "5  minute job" if you pay me what I ask.  I challenge people to do it themselves if it is so easy or "will take no time"-- Otherwise pay me for my time, skill and equipment use.
Reply:That's why i stick to being a hobby welder for myself and my immediate family. I have been asked to do the five mniute jobs and when I finiished, an hour later, the happy recipient wouldn't even give me $5 for the shielding gas fund. I don't do that anymore.
Reply:i know how that goes . thats why i wont fire up welder for less than 40$  and of coarse you hear  #@# that much ,i say if it cost less to replace than repair  go buy it new.  but the barter 4 beer fund does help  in some cases
Reply:There is no such thing as a five minute job. It takes more than 5 mins to set up the welder and put on pretection. They should pay for the job not the time it takes to do it. Be like i'll do this for .... not for the time it takes.
Reply:those 5 minute jobs can turn into the weekend from hell. i had a family member call and ask me to weld a 8 in piece of ali on his big rig. well, i showed up, service truck in tow. "well, since your here. it's the fuel tank, and it's still on the truck. can you help me take it off?" sure no prob unk. somebody had put the fiberglass fender flares on with red loctite. heat and remove. hey, YOUR torch messed up my paint. sorry unk, why did you use red. it takes a whole lotta gas to purge a 100 gallon diesel tank. oh well, just give em a taillight warranty. when you have to explain it to em. they usually don't call back again."Retreat hell, were just fighting in the other direction"Miller Trailblazer 302, Extreme 12 VS, Dimension 400, Spectrum 375, HF 251D-1, Milermatic 251 w/ spoolgun  Hypertherm 1000Lincoln sp 1702000 F-450 to haul it
Reply:Yup, nothing is 5 min. I qutoe an hour right off the bat, even if it really is a 5min job.   T.J.www.tjsperformance.com
Reply:Originally Posted by backuprollerthose 5 minute jobs can turn into the weekend from hell. i had a family member call and ask me to weld a 8 in piece of ali on his big rig. well, i showed up, service truck in tow. "well, since your here. it's the fuel tank, and it's still on the truck. can you help me take it off?" sure no prob unk. somebody had put the fiberglass fender flares on with red loctite. heat and remove. hey, YOUR torch messed up my paint. sorry unk, why did you use red. it takes a whole lotta gas to purge a 100 gallon diesel tank. oh well, just give em a taillight warranty. when you have to explain it to em. they usually don't call back again.
Reply:Even  my 5 minute jobs turn into an hour. Hahahaa, damn cars.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:I have a select few friends that i'll do "government work" for. These friends know NOT to refer me for anything other than eating free BBQ or drinking free beer."I need this parade like I need a hole in the head"~John F.Kennedy
Reply:I have been a mechanic since I was 14, worked in my dads body shop then started fixing industrial machines. Since I do a little of everything welding included I get the "can you take a look at this real quick for me" all the time. Drives me crazy especially on weekends when people think I have nothing better to do then look at there crap. My personal favorite is when you goto fix something that is worth about 5 cents and it takes you 2 hours then they offer you a beer and a have a nice weekend for your trouble. Sometimes even better when there rushing you because they have plans to do something. Drivesector
Reply:it should be "50$ minimum" ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:For people I consider to be "real" friends (hardly any of them family) I'll do just about anything, be it a "5-minute job" or a whole weekend of back-breaking work. With buddies it always comes back around one way or another. Thank goodness real friends are so hard to come by, though.  I don't think I could handle any more. For anyone else, we are going to work out some kind of barter beforehand, one that will satisfy me even if the job turns out to be a "worst case scenario" type thing. My price will always be less than if they took it to a repair shop somewhere, and I don't care if they tell me I'm crazy for asking so much. That way I never feel like I got hurt in the deal. I used to be a real "good samaritan", helping basically anyone, but people have proven that it just doesn't pay (or even break even) to be such a nice guy.
Reply:I got a sign in m shop that says , all work billed at 50.00 per hour...""5 minute jobs"  billed at 200.00 per hour.They get a deal if it only takes 5 minutes!steveBTS Welding
Reply:Originally Posted by steve buteraI got a sign in m shop that says , all work billed at 50.00 per hour...""5 minute jobs"  billed at 200.00 per hour.They get a deal if it only takes 5 minutes!steve
Reply:my dad rebuilt engines all his life..he had a sign in his shop that read..or as well as i can remember 35 yrs ago..shop rates..30$ hrif you watch 40$ hrif you help 50$ hrif you laugh 60$ hrif you cry 70$ hri want to find that sign..i'll bet he still has it......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:For anyone else, we are going to work out some kind of barter beforehand, one that will satisfy me even if the job turns out to be a "worst case scenario" type thing.
Reply:I love 5 min jobs. At one hour min labor charge of $75, I can make $900 per hour. Line up the 5 min jobs.
Reply:Mine was slightly different, but I still love the idea:$50if you watch $75if you ask questions $100if you help $200 Originally Posted by zapster my dad rebuilt engines all his life..he had a sign in his shop that read..or as well as i can remember 35 yrs ago..shop rates..30$ hrif you watch 40$ hrif you help 50$ hrif you laugh 60$ hrif you cry 70$ hri want to find that sign..i'll bet he still has it......zap!
Reply:I don't have this problem, there's NO welding machine at home, and everybody knows that. If they want it done, then take it to a shop. Hell I don't even do 5 minute jobs for myself because I'm to expensive.StephenI'd rather be hunting........USE ENOUGH HEAT.......Drifting around Aussie welding more pipe up, for something different.....wanting to get home.
Reply:If you worked on it before bringing it in  $500
Reply:Originally Posted by Bob WarnerIf you worked on it before bringing it in  $500I don't have 5 minutes  Maybe a more typical example is . . .Cust:  Can you do this?Me: Sure Cust:  How much?Me:  250 Dollars  Cust:  Wow.  Can you give me a better price?Me:  Sure.  275.For jobs with a couple more zeros it gets real interesting.   - Jim
Reply:Originally Posted by wirehuntI don't have this problem, there's NO welding machine at home, and everybody knows that. If they want it done, then take it to a shop. Hell I don't even do 5 minute jobs for myself because I'm to expensive.Stephen
Reply:I actually did a "5 minute job" today for the neighbors kid, he's not a bad kid so I didn't mind. 20 minutes to clean and prep, about 15 minutes with a O/A torch. I lucked out it took less then an hour
Reply:those little jobs are great,, you just really got to lay it straigt before you hook up your cables. make it very clear,, i say ya,, i will do that for XX bucks IF it goes as well as it looks like it will,, but otherwise its all by the hour.Those little jobs are great though,, 15 minutes and you got some cash to go buy a case of beer.Some people really dont understand,, it takes 10 minutes to talk about the job,, 5 minutes to prep the job, 2 minutes to weld it, 1 minute to grind it, 2 minutes to clean up, ,,, Never let your customers push you around
Reply:I usually tell people you take it off, clean it up and bring it by and I'll weld it up next time I have to do some welding. 80% off the time the 5 minute job never shows up.
Reply:I dont mind doing the '5 minute job' in my down time.   I probably wasn't going to do anything profitable during that half-hour anyways, plus I get an extra 20 bucks for the beer fund .
Reply:i think we all have family with the 5 jobs request, just gotta figure out wich ones return the favor and deal with it acordingly. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:yep you got love those 5 minute jobs my daughters inlaws have a water truck and are at me all the time to fix it for them they don't want to fix the right way and only patch it so after they rang at 7 am on Sunday morning and got me out of bed because they can't wait it has to be now it cost's them a base rate of 50 bucks the more they keep pestering me the more it cost them they haven't woke up to the fact yet the only thing is it keeps the beer frig full  Creative metal Creative metal Facebook
Reply:Here ya go, I tweaked and combined your and my Shop Rates:$ 50.00 hr. Includes the five minute part of the job. "The Quote"  $ 60.00 hr. if you watch.$ 70.00 hr. if you ask questions.$ 80.00 hr. if you laugh.$ 90.00 hr. if you cry.$ 100.00 hr. if you tried to fix it first.$ 200.00 hr. “5 min. jobs” or “easy jobs”$ 400.00 hr. “5 min. or easy jobs” which you tried to fix first.$ 900.00 hr. if you help.Also you must make people realize that the weld equipment, your knowlege,  skill and materials did not come free. If they don't like the first line of the shop rates, tell them that next time they cime in for a quote or a five minute job that they don't but one free and they have already had that one. "Pay Up Sucker!"
Reply:Maximumwoodie, I like your way of pricing. I think I'll convert to New Zealand $ and adopt it, if you don't mind.
Reply:"If you didn't like the first price, you sure as hell won't like the next one". Thats what my buddies old man a mechanic tells whiny customers that whine about the quoted price.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Originally Posted by kelzweldMaximumwoodie, I like your way of pricing. I think I'll convert to New Zealand $ and adopt it, if you don't mind.